NCJ Number
147091
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 21 Issue: 1 Dated: special issue (March 1994) Pages: 132-149
Date Published
1994
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the literature on the construct of deviant sexual arousal and its application to understanding juvenile sexual offending.
Abstract
In contrast to a longstanding and more extensive literature on adult sex offenders, researchers have only recently begun to study the role of deviant sexual arousal in juvenile offenders. Studies from both the adult and emerging juvenile sex offender literature support the salience of deviant arousal in the commission of sexual offenses against children and its relatively early developmental onset in male pedophilia particularly. Apparently, however, there is no compelling evidence of a particular theoretical model of deviant arousal and interest acquisition, including conditioning and social learning theory explanations. Histories of maltreatment or the vicarious witnessing of violent and aggressive behaviors are prominent in the backgrounds of juvenile sexual offenders, but the exact relationship between such experiences and emergent deviant arousal and interest patterns has yet to be explained. Future research in this area will likely be influenced by an emerging developmental psychopathology literature on the cognitive and neurobiological effects of early developmental trauma. The potential utility of the clinical interview and psychological tests in the evaluation of juvenile sex offenders is well established. The authors encourage continued examination of the role of deviant arousal in juvenile sexual offending, including its developmental origin, measurement, and treatment. 48 references