The antisocial attitudes and associates of sex offenders

Understanding the dark side of personality in sex offenders considering the level of sexual violence

This study examined the relationship between the actual level of physical violence in sexual offenses and dark triad, empathic and impulsive personality traits of their perpetrators. Sixty-four male perpetrators of sexual offenses without any serious mental illness were included. A 5-point Likert-type coding system based on Violence Profile for Current Offense was applied to assess the severity of physical violence of each sexual offense. Personality traits of dark triad (psychopathy, Machiavellianism, narcissism), trait empathy and impulsiveness were also evaluated. Multivariate analyses indicated that non-stranger victim, secondary psychopathy, narcissism and empathy could significantly predict greater involvement of physical violence in a sexual offense. In addition, empathy was negatively correlated with all dark triad traits. Sexual violence should be conceptualized in the form of a continuum, and, considering such an approach, offenders with high secondary psychopathy and narcissism may show preference for sexual assaults that are more violent in nature.

Rugby as a rehabilitation program in a United Kingdom Male Young Offenders' Institution: key findings and implications from mixed methods research

There is a growing body of research on the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs in a Young Offenders' Institution (YOI). The aim of the present study is to investigate the effectiveness of rugby training as a rehabilitation intervention in a YOI in the United Kingdom. Young adult males (n=46) currently serving sentences at the YOI were split into two groups, intervention (n=25; mean age, 19.64±0.81 years) and no intervention (n=21; mean age, 19.76±0.89). Participants completed the Criminal Attitudes and Associates (MCAA) instrument at three different time cycles and then pre/post for intervention group. Additionally, qualitative interviews (one to one and focus groups) were carried out with the intervention and no intervention groups during the same cycles of the study. The results of questionnaire analysis showed no significant difference in MCAA measures taken before and after rugby intervention. Interestingly, the intervention group showed more procriminal attitudes on their responses compared to the no intervention group. Finally, analysis of the 3 cycles of data collected showed that the time of the year the questionnaire was completed has a significant impact on the responses given. In contrast, the qualitative interviews showed a very positive change of attitude towards rehabilitation from the intervention group after rugby training. The implications of the results in relation to studies aimed at evaluation of the intervention programs in YOI are discussed.

Latent classes of criminal intent associated with criminal behaviour

<b>Background</b><br /> This study aimed to examine the number of latent classes of criminal intent that exist among prisoners and to look at the associations with recidivism, number of police arrests, type of offending (robbery, violent offences, murder, and multiple offences), and age.<br /> <br /> <b>Participants and procedure</b><br /> Latent class analysis was used to identify homogeneous subgroups of prisoners based on their responses to the 10 questions reflecting criminal intent. Participants were 309 male recidivistic prisoners incarcerated in a maximum security prison. Multinomial logistic regression was used to interpret the nature of the latent classes, or groups, by estimating the association between recidivism and latent classes of criminal intent while controlling for offence type (robbery, violent offences, murder, and multiple offences), number of arrests, and age. <br /> <br /> <b>Results</b><br /> The best fitting latent class model was a three-class solution: ‘High criminal intent’ (49.3%), ‘Intermediate criminal intent’ (41.3%), and ‘Low criminal intent’ (9.4%). The latent classes were differentially related to the external variables (recidivism, violent offences, and age).<br /> <br /> <b>Conclusions</b><br /> Criminal intent is best explained by three homogeneous classes that appear to represent an underlying continuum. Future work is needed to identify whether these distinct classes of criminal intent may predict engagement in various types of criminal behaviour.

Predicting Recidivism in Sex Offenders With the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) was capable of predicting recidivism in 322 male sex offenders released from prison-based sex offender programs in a Midwestern state. The Static-99R and PICTS General Criminal Thinking (GCT), Reactive (R), and Entitlement (En) scores all correlated significantly with general recidivism, the Static-99R correlated significantly with violent recidivism, and the Static-99R score and PICTS GCT, Proactive (P), and En scores correlated significantly with failure to register as a sex offender (FTR) recidivism. Area under the curve effect size estimates varied from small to large, and Cox regression analyses revealed that the PICTS En score achieved incremental validity relative to the Static-99R in predicting general recidivism and the PICTS GCT, P, and En scores achieved incremental validity relative to the Static-99R in predicting FTR recidivism. It is speculated that the PICTS in general and the En scale in particular may have utility in risk management and treatment planning for sex offenders by virtue of their focus on antisocial thinking.

Understanding Criminals’ Thinking

The Measure of Offender Thinking Styles (MOTS) was originally developed to examine the structure of dysfunctional thinking exhibited by criminal offenders. In the initial investigation, a three-factor model of criminal thinking was obtained using the MOTS. These factors included dysfunctional thinking characterized as Control, Cognitive Immaturity, and Egocentrism. In the present investigation, the stability of the three-factor model was examined with a confirmatory factor analysis of the revised version of the MOTS (i.e., MOTS-R). In addition, the internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and convergent validity of the MOTS-R were examined. Results indicated that the three-factor model of criminal thinking was supported. In addition, the MOTS-R demonstrated reliability and convergent validity with other measures of criminal thinking and attitudes. Overall, it appears that the MOTS-R may prove to be a valuable tool for use with an offender population, particularly because of the simple, intuitive structure of dysfunctional thinking that it represents.

Juvenile sex offenders compared to non-sex offenders: a review of the literature 1995-2005

An unresolved but clinically important issue in the literature on juvenile delinquency is to what extent juvenile sex offenders resemble non-sex offenders with respect to individual, familial, and environmental characteristics. The current article reviewed published studies (1995-2005) comparing sex offenders with non-sex offenders. The 17 articles meeting the inclusion criteria suggest that differences exist between sex offenders and non-sex offenders on personality characteristics, behavioral problems, history of sexual abuse, nonsexual offending, and peer functioning. Inconsistent results were found for demographic factors, family functioning and background, antisocial attitudes, and intellectual and neurological functioning. Although it is likely that sex offenders can be differentiated from nonsex offenders on a number of characteristics, caution is warranted because of methodological differences between studies and small samples size. Also, studies show that sex offenders are a heterogeneous group. Further research should take into account this heterogeneity by including sex offenders from clearly circumscribed groups and investigating characteristics specifically related to sexual behavior.

An investigation of the validity and reliability of the Criminal Sentiments Scale in a sample of treated sex offenders

The Criminal Sentiments Scale (CSS) purports to measure attitudes and values pertaining to and in support of criminal conduct (Andrews & Bonta, 2003). A sample of 72 sex offenders treated in a high intensity sex offender program completed the CSS pre- and post-treatment and was followed up for approximately 3 years. The CSS demonstrated high internal consistency. Correlational and ROC analyses indicated that the CSS is a robust predictor of non-sexual violent and non-violent recidivism. The CSS also correlated significantly with the General Statistical Information on Recidivism Scale which assesses non-sexual recidivism risk. Similar analyses showed that the CSS did not predict sexual recidivism nor did it correlate with a tool that assesses sexual recidivism risk-the Static 99. The CSS scores changed significantly in the predicted direction following treatment. The present results suggest that the CSS is an internally consistent tool for the assessment of criminal sentiments among sex offenders and that it predicts non-sexual but not sexual recidivism.

Impression management and self-report among violent offenders

Offenders are assumed by many to employ socially desirable responding (SDR) response styles when completing self-report measures. Contrary to expectations, prior research has shown that accounting for SDR in self-report measures of antisocial constructs does not improve the relationship with outcome. Despite this, many self-report measures reliably predict future criminal outcome criteria. The present research examines the relationship of SDR (self-deception and impression management) with self-reported antisocial attitudes and the outcome of criminal recidivism in a sample of violent offenders. Offenders high on impression management reported lower antisocial attitudes. However, when impression management was statistically partialed from antisocial attitudes, the relationship with recidivism tended to diminish, though not to a statistically significant degree. This finding, though hypothesized based on previous empirical findings, is contrary to the theoretical assumption that controlling for SDR should improve the relationship of self-report with outcome. The discussion centers on the implications of routinely removing impression management from self-report.

Appraising, researching and conceptualizing criminal thinking: a personal view

BACKGROUND

It is argued that current interest in the concept of criminal thinking has its roots in traditional theories of criminology and criminal justice such as Sutherland's differential association model, neutralization theory, and Yochelson and Samenow's criminal personality.

AIM

The purpose of this paper is to briefly review and summarize theory, research, and practice on criminal thinking as it relates to the author's work in this area.

CONCLUSIONS

Three self-report inventories--the Criminal Sentiments Scale (CSS), the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS), and the Measures of Criminal Attitudes and Associates (MCAA); three principal areas of research--criminal thinking as a predictor of criminal behaviour, offence as a moderator of criminal thinking, and changes in criminal thinking leading to changes in criminal behaviour; and a general theory of criminal thinking are briefly reviewed in this paper.