NCJ Number
145988
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 20 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1993) Pages: 359-370
Date Published
1993
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Personality traits of adolescent sex offenders, nonviolent offenders, and violent offenders were compared.
Abstract
Each group consisted of 50 males charged with the respective type of offense. The delinquents were assessed using the Jesness Inventory (JI). The sex offender group showed the lowest prevalence of maladjustment indicators. They had the lowest social maladjustment scores, fewest socially deviant family members, limited mental health history, and an unelevated mean JI profile. However, they also were least represented at the I-4 level--the highest level of interpersonal maturity. Adolescent sex offenders' relatively good adjustment may have been unexpected based on results from studies of adult sex offenders, but studies of adolescent sex offenders have produced similar results. Therefore, sex offenders may be more amenable to treatment during adolescence than during adulthood. 2 tables and 30 references