NCJ Number
184024
Journal
Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2000 Pages: 165-178
Date Published
July 2000
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study explored developmental pathways among childhood abuse, juvenile delinquency, and personality dimensions possibly conducive to the development of sexual coercion by adolescents.
Abstract
Using a retrospective self-report inventory, the study measured the extent to which juvenile sexual offenders experienced childhood trauma, engaged in adolescent delinquency, and exhibited particular dispositions and cognitive biases. The subjects were juvenile sexual offenders from five different inpatient treatment centers in Virginia and Minnesota. Of the 139 offenders who voluntarily agreed to participate in the study, 122 were administered both the computer and written versions of the Multidimensional Assessment of Sex and Aggression (MASA); these were the study subjects. The MASA is a retrospective self-report inventory that was originally designed to supplement archival records and to provide further information critical to differentiating among adult sexual offenders. The MASA consists of items that assess social competence, expressive aggression, sadism, juvenile and adult antisocial behavior and aggression, offense planning, sexual deviancy and fantasy behavior, and early life experiences. The effects of childhood and adolescent antecedents on sexual coerciveness were then analyzed through simultaneous multiple regression path analyses. Findings suggest that sexual compulsivity and hypermasculinity, through misogynistic fantasy behavior, significantly discriminate verbally and physically coercive juvenile offenders from those offenders who do not report using force in their sex offenses. Results also suggest that alcohol abuse may play a more salient role in the expression of coercive juvenile sexual behavior than previously hypothesized. 2 tables and 30 references