Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment最新文献

In the present study we sought to shed light on the experience of adults who were sexually abused by females. Narratives in the current study were chosen from a large set of narratives (n = 505) that were submitted to the Israeli Independent Public Inquiry on CSA. Twenty-eight (n = 28) narratives of adults who experienced CSA committed by females were included in the study and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Two main themes were identified: (1) adults who as children experienced CSA committed by females, and (2) personal, interpersonal, and social constructions of the abuse. Most of the narratives included intrafamilial abuse, with half of the participants reporting that their mother was the one who committed the CSA, which often occurred during daily routine activities, with the main abuse scene being the shower/bathroom. Participants described various abuse experiences including the experience of powerlessness, "standing together," and captivity. Finally, participants discussed how social constructions of gender impacted how they understood and experienced the abuse. Child sexual abuse committed by females was described by the participants as having serious consequences for their lives. Participants shared how perceived gender roles and social scripts have an important role in casting doubt on the existence and reliability of CSA experiences committed by females. Findings from the current study help to identify key characteristics of sexual abuse that was conducted by females, and suggests social mechanisms that may help explain why perpetration by females is understood and treated differently than perpetration by males.

Research suggests that sexual offending is one of the more common forms of offending behaviour committed by autistic individuals. Despite this, very little research has investigated approaches to rehabilitation for autistic individuals who have sexually offended. The small body of literature that does exist suggests that interventions to address sexual offending may not be sufficiently adapted for this group. In this paper we present an exploratory qualitative study that (i) explores how prison-based interventions to address sexual offending are experienced by autistic individuals with sexual offense convictions and the staff who work with them, and (ii) identifies and explores the features of prison-based sexual offending interventions that may be challenging or beneficial for autistic individuals, from the perspective of those involved in treatment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 autistic men serving prison sentences for sexual convictions, and 13 members of prison staff. A multi-perspective phenomenologically-informed thematic (MPT) analysis identified three themes of 'Feeling overwhelmed', 'Out of the comfort zone', and '(Dis)connected to others'. These themes highlight some of the key issues relating to the format and delivery of interventions, as well as the impact of the broader prison context on rehabilitation.

Recent research indicates that the consequences of sexual offenses extend beyond target victims, including to non-offending partners of individuals with sexual offense histories. However, little research has focused on non-offending partners' wellbeing and relationships with persons with sexual offense histories leading up to and following acts of sexual aggression. Non-offending partners may be secondary victims of their partners' offenses in managing psychological difficulties (e.g., guilt, shame), social stigma and isolation, fear for their safety, or difficulties in their romantic relationships resulting from their partners' sexual offenses, often with minimal supports. The current study examined key correlates of individual and interpersonal adjustment among 207 non-offending partners of individuals with histories of sexual offenses who were residing in Canada (n = 36) or the United States (n = 171). Findings indicate that positive changes due to the offense (i.e., improved finances), self-esteem, interpersonal adjustment, instrumental support, lower levels of acceptance, and humor positively predicted individual adjustment. Interpersonal adjustment was predicted by trust, intimacy, partner's stress communication, and problem-focused and emotion-focused common dyadic coping. Findings highlight the need for services for non-offending partners, including interventions that address self-esteem and practical difficulties resulting from the offense, and couples therapy to address trust issues, intimacy concerns, and shared coping with stressors related to the offense.

This study seeks to extend research evaluating tools to assess the disclosure of sexually abusive behavior. The subjects were 239 male youth (ages 10-20 years) who were court-ordered to participate in a community-based collaborative intervention for sexual offending that includes outpatient and probationary services. All youth participated in an interview to capture referral incident details about admission, responsibility, empathy, and remorse at intake, during intervention, and at discharge. Intake, treatment, discharge, and recidivism measures were also collected from multiple sources. Latent class analysis identified three classes based on the intake interview: Empathetic Admitters (22%), Unempathetic Admitters (38%), and Unempathetic Deniers (40%). Significant class differences were found on intake (e.g., use of physical force, caregiver denial of youth responsibility), treatment (e.g., any sanctions/violations), and discharge measures (e.g., successful treatment, probation officer ratings), but not in recidivism rates. The findings extend efforts to identify and target different disclosure patterns whose clinical monitoring may support a comprehensive intervention.

Treatment programs for people with histories of sexual violence form a critical part of criminal justice service rehabilitation. Completion of these programs is often a precondition of release. Meta-analytic reviews suggest moderate benefit is associated with treatment completion, although effect sizes vary. This study examined whether commencement of open versus closed group programs was associated with treatment completion and recidivism. Participants were 426 adult men who commenced treatment between April 1, 2014, and December 31, 2017. Participants were followed-up until June 30, 2018. Programs varied by type (open versus closed), location (in-custody versus in-community) and intensity (moderate versus high). No significant differences were observed between open and closed programs for treatment completion but men who were treated in-custody were more likely to complete treatment when compared to those men who commenced treatment in the community. No significant differences were observed between open and closed programs for sexual or for any recidivism.

The non-consensual sharing of private sexual images (so-called 'revenge pornography') has become an increasingly prominent topic in social and legislative discussions about sexual crime but has received relatively little attention within psychological research. Here, we leveraged existing theorizing in the area of sexual offending proclivity to systematically develop and validate a measure of beliefs about this type of offending. There is currently a lack of validated assessment tools in this area, and these are important to better understand the role of offense-supportive cognition in predicting both proclivity of these offenses and judgements of both victims and perpetrators. Using an international community sample (N = 511) we found our 'Beliefs about Revenge Pornography Questionnaire (BRPQ)' to be comprised of four underpinning domains: 'Victims as Promiscuous', 'Victim Harm', 'Avoiding Vulnerable Behaviors' and 'Offense Minimization'. Concurrent validity is demonstrated through relationships with trait empathy, belief in a just world, dark personality traits and rape myth acceptance. Randomly dividing the sample, we also show that the BRPQ was associated with both proclivity (n = 227) and social judgements of this type of offending (n = 232). Implications and future directions are discussed. An open-access preprint is available at https://psyarxiv.com/6qr7t/.

The accuracy of risk assessment tools for Asian populations has received relatively little research attention. This study evaluated one of the most widely used static risk assessment tools - Static-99R - for assessing the likelihood of recidivism among men convicted of a sexual crime in South Korea. Overall, this South Korean sample (N = 8207) appeared to have a higher risk (more paraphilic interests, more sexual/general criminality) than the Static-99R normative samples (who were mostly White individuals from Western countries). Despite the differences, Static-99R was able to discriminate recidivists from nonrecidivists in South Korea, with AUC values similar to that observed in the normative samples (e.g., 0.72 for sexual recidivism). In terms of calibration, the observed sexual recidivism rates of the current sample were higher than the international routine/complete normative samples but lower than the high-risk/high-need normative samples (E/O = 0.75 and 1.26, respectively). Consequently, evaluators in South Korea can have reasonable confidence in the ability of Static-99R to rank individuals according to their relative likelihood of sexual recidivism.

Criminological theories and widespread assumptions about crime suggest that the modus operandi involved in sexual crimes should have changed over time given various contextual changes, such as better criminological knowledge (e.g., forensic awareness) as well as improved investigative techniques (e.g., forensic evidence analysis). The aim of this study was to test whether the modus operandi patterns of individuals having committed a sexual assault against female strangers have changed over time during the period of 2003-2017. More specifically, the study has identified changes in the trends of monthly counts and (relative) participations for sexual assaults during the study period in France. The measure of participations - a concept borrowed from the field of criminal career - was used to overcome the inherent limitations associated with this type of data. Results show that despite some significant changes in the modus operandi involved in sexual crimes, overall the modus operandi patterns appear to be fairly stable over time. The findings are discussed in light of their theoretical and practical implications.

It is widely understood that stable housing is a key element in the transition from prison to the community. However, many persons under correctional supervision face substantial barriers in securing and maintaining housing, a fact that is heightened among individuals with a sexual offense conviction. Although frequent movement is commonplace among people on parole, it is unclear how housing changes affect recidivism outcomes and whether such mobility uniquely impacts individuals with a sexual offense conviction. In the present study, we use a quasi-experimental propensity score weighting design to compare a sample of individuals paroled from prison in Michigan for sexual and non-sexual crimes (N = 3930) to consider the role of housing mobility on the likelihood of rearrests and technical revocation, with attention to disaggregating sexual crimes against adults and children. Results suggest that increased movement was distinctly associated with a higher hazard of rearrest for individuals with a sexual offense conviction, and a strong predictor of technical return hazard for both individuals with sexual and non-sexual convictions.

Undetected sexual offending creates challenges for risk assessment since estimated sexual recidivism rates are based on documented charges or convictions. Courts and other stakeholders may be primarily interested in the true risk for sexual reoffense and not simply risk for detected sexual offenses. Attempts to study and quantify the rate of undetected sexual offending have resulted in a wide variety of estimates. In this study, we explore whether sanctions imposed for detected sexual offenses increase the detection rate of subsequent offenses, and thereby suppress undetected sexual offending in an exceptionally high-risk sample who were ultimately committed as Sexually Violent Persons. Results indicate the detection rate of sexual offenses increased following an initial sanction, subsequently decreasing the proportion of undetected to detected offending. This effect only occurred after the first sanction. Overall, the sample had a high detection rate and spent little time in the community before subsequent arrests. These results differ from other reports that high rates of sexual offenses go undetected.