Sibling Incest Offenders as a Subset of Adolescent Sexual Offenders

• NCJ Number: 202773
• Author(s): Sue Rayment-McHugh; Ian Niset
• Date Published: May 2003
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Paper presented at the Child Sexual Abuse: Justice Response or Alternative Resolution Conference held in Adelaide, Australia, May 1-2, 2003; downloaded November 6, 2003.

Annotation

This study compares a sample of Queensland (Australia) sibling incest offenders (n=13) with other adolescent sex offenders (n=19) on a number of dimensions, including offense dynamics, family background, and psychological profile; implications are drawn for the response to sibling sexual abuse.

Abstract

The sibling incest offenders had committed a sexual offense against a brother or sister, a half-brother or half-sister, or a step-brother or step-sister. All data used in the study were collected routinely as part of the assessment procedures of the Griffith Adolescent Forensic Assessment & Treatment Centre (GAFATC). The majority of the participants (78 percent) were Anglo-Australian, and the remainder (22 percent) had an Indigenous-Australian background. The mean age at the time of the index offense was 14.69 years old. There were no significant differences between the sibling and nonsibling groups on these variables. Sibling incest offenders had been charged with a higher mean number of sexual offenses (4.67 compared with 2.11) than the other sex offenders. Although the two groups had a similar mean number of victims, sibling incest offenders were more likely to have two or more victims than nonsibling offenders. More sibling offenders were likely to be victims of child sexual assault and were significantly more likely to have a history of conduct problems. Individual psychological characteristics of the two groups, as measured by the Youth Self Report, were not significantly different. The sibling incest offenders were assessed as having more risk factors for sexual offense recidivism. The potentially increased risk associated with sibling offending has a direct bearing on statutory intervention, especially with respect to decisionmaking about contact between the perpetrating and victimized siblings. With respect to treatment planning, evidence of an increased level of risk may be associated with a longer period in treatment and suggests a need for higher resource allocation to these clients. 19 references