Family Violence and Juvenile Sex Offending: The Potential Mediating Role of Psychopathic Traits and Negative Attitudes Towards Women

• NCJ Number: 178790
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 26 Issue: 3 Dated: September 1999 Pages: 338-356
• Author(s): Alice A. Caputo; Paul J. Frick; Stanley L. Brodsky
• Date Published: September 1999
• Length: 19 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Paper presented at the annual convention of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, 1996, New York.

Annotation

Juvenile sex offenders were compared to other juvenile offenders in the degree of violence against women they witnessed in their families of origin.

Abstract

The sample consisted of 69 juvenile males between 13 and 18 years of age; 23 were sex offenders, 17 were violent non-sex offenders, and 29 were non-contact offenders. All participants in the study were recruited from a secure juvenile facility that was part of Alabama's Division of Youth Services. Data were obtained using the Conflict Tactics Scales, the Psychopathy Screening Device, the Sexist Attitudes Toward Women Scale, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Poor impulse control, a callous and unemotional interpersonal cycle, and sexist attitudes toward women were tested as potential mediators. Results showed that witnessing severe domestic violence was related not only to juvenile sex offending but also to contact offending in general. No group differences were observed on measures of impulse control and sexist attitudes toward women. However, juvenile sex offenders had more callous and unemotional traits than other juvenile offenders. Although these traits did not mediate the effects of witnessing family violence, they appeared to be important in distinguishing juvenile sex offenders from other juvenile offenders. 50 references and 4 tables