Victim empathy, social self-esteem, and psychopathy in rapists

Treatment and Therapeutic Change of Individuals Imprisoned for Child Abuse in the Barcelona Study on Sex Offenders

The sexual abuse of children is a serious social problem that must be prevented through distinct measures. Among them is the application of treatments to those who have already committed sex crimes in order to prevent them from committing a new one. To assess the efficacy of sexual offense treatment, the most common method has been to compare the recidivism rates of treated and untreated groups. Several meta-analyses in this regard-as well as some specific studies in Spain-have shown that the application of treatment is associated with lower recidivism rates. However, the analysis of the subjects' recidivism alone does not reveal the therapeutic changes that the treatment may elicit in them. Some international studies have evaluated the therapeutic improvements resulting from the application of treatments to men who had sexually abused children. In this context, this study explores the therapeutic changes experienced by a sample of subjects imprisoned for child abuse (N = 145), after participating in the treatment program applied in the Spanish prison system. Nine therapeutic variables were assessed (such as anxiety, cognitive distortions, impulsivity, and social self-esteem), before and after treatment, using an instrument named the Psychological Assessment Scale for Sex Offenders (PASSO). The obtained results show that most of the assessed therapeutic variables improved after treatment, with strong correlations between them. The implications of the results for treatment practice are discussed, as well as the main methodological limitations of this research.

Understanding Empathy, Self-Esteem, and Adult Attachment in Sexual Offenders and Partner-Violent Men

The assessment and treatment of emotional variables is a priority in the rehabilitation of offenders. Although theoretical proposals suggest a clear relationship between violence and self-esteem, attachment, and empathy, the research carried out to date has reached contradictory results due mainly to differences in the measurements used, the reliability of self-reports, or even to problems with the definition of the constructs. The present study analyzed these three variables in a prison sample of sexual offenders (n = 48) and partner-violent men (n = 68), using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, the Rape Empathy Measure, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Adult Attachment Questionnaire. Results confirmed the low utility of nonspecific empathy, the predominance of high self-esteem, and the difficulty of identifying an insecure attachment. The implications of the use of these variables in the treatment of offenders, and the need to improve the assessment tools, are discussed.

Bidirectional associations between affective empathy and proactive and reactive aggression

Preliminary evidence indicates that affective empathy is differentially related to proactive and reactive functions of aggression. However, additional longitudinal research is needed to understand the potential reciprocal nature of these links. The current study examined the bidirectional associations between affective empathy and proactive and reactive aggression over a 6-month period during middle childhood, with attention to potential gender differences. Data were collected from 294 elementary school children (52% girls; M = 9.25 years; SD = 0.944 years) and their homeroom teachers. Affective empathy was assessed using self-reports, and teachers provided ratings of children's functions of aggression. Data were collected during the fall and spring of one academic year. Overall, results suggest some evidence that affective empathy and functions of aggression are reciprocally linked over time. As predicted, Time 1 empathy was inversely associated with Time 2 proactive aggression and Time 1 reactive aggression was inversely associated with Time 2 empathy. Contrary to expectations, Time 1 proactive aggression was marginally positively associated with Time 2 empathy, and Time 1 empathy was not significantly associated with Time 2 reactive aggression. These prospective links did not differ according to gender. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Use of penile plethysmography in the court: A review of practices in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States

Penile plethysmography (PPG) is an objective measure of male sexual arousal in response to the presentation of a series of erotic and neutral stimuli. This measure is now widely recognized as the most reliable means of objectively measuring male sexual arousal to specific stimuli. Many clinicians and researchers consider PPG to be a vital contribution to the assessment and treatment of adult men with paraphilic interests and men who have committed sex crimes. PPG contributes to the clinical assessment of paraphilic interests, appraisal of risk of recidivism, and provides an objective measurement of changes in sexual arousal in response to treatment. There is strong support for the utility of PPG within clinical and legal contexts. This article addresses ways in which PPG has been utilized in the courts as part of expert clinical opinion. History of its use, details regarding admissibility in court, and case law are explored within the legal systems of Canada, the UK and the USA. Support for the inclusion of PPG as expert evidence is provided and judicial misunderstandings on the rationale for PPG use and its clinical utility in forensic assessments are discussed.

Understanding of Emotional States in Persons with Pedophilia / Pedophilic Disorder

This article highlights the problem of emotional perception in pedophilia (ICD-10) / pedophilia disorder (ICD-11). In present paper, emotional perception is considered as abilities of recognizing and identifying a wide range of mental states like emotions, affects, moods, feelings. The assumption about relations of alexithymia and disturbances in the recognition of emotions, perspective taking, empathy with pedophilia and regulatory mechanisms of activity verified empirically. Two groups of persons accused of sexual crimes are compared: 44 people with pedophilia, 32 people without the disorder; also 95 persons who haven't been accused were examined for the control group; as well intra-group comparison of pedophilic persons with egosyntonic and egodystonic attitude toward sexual drive was made. Contradictions of earlier studies are resolved in the result: it is shown that in pedophilia the ability of understanding emotional states remains normal at first sight (in comparison with the deficits found in the accused without pedophilia). However, the group with pedophilia is characterized by extremely high level of alexithymia and based on this the consistently conclusion is made about disturbances of emotional regulation in egosyntonic form of this disorder.

On the role of dominance and nurturance in the confluence model: A person-centered approach to the prediction of sexual aggression

Malamuth's (1998) confluence model holds that the combination of hostile masculinity, impersonal sexuality, and the constellation of high dominance and low nurturance plays a crucial role in explaining men's sexual aggression against women. Most studies on the confluence model concentrate on hostile masculinity and impersonal sexuality rather than dominance and nurturance. Using a person-centered approach, we investigated whether sexual aggressive men could be better identified in a sample of 692 men when not only hostile masculinity and impersonal sexuality but also dominance and nurturance were used as indicators in a latent profile analysis. Regardless of whether dominance and nurturance were considered or not, latent profile analyses revealed a high-risk group, which showed higher sexual aggression than other groups. In both cases, the sensitivity (i.e., the proportion of sexually aggressive men correctly assigned to the high-risk group) was low (33% and 31%, respectively) but increased substantially for the identification of severe sexual aggression. The positive prediction value, however, increased from 68% to 78% when dominance and nurturance were considered as predictor variables in addition to hostile masculinity and impersonal sexuality, indicating that more men assigned to the high-risk group were indeed sexually aggressive. These results demonstrate the power of the confluence model for identifying sexually aggressive men from a person-centered perspective. They also point to the necessity of expanding this perspective by considering further (e.g., situational) risk factors, which have previously been identified as predicting sexually aggressive behavior in men. Aggr. Behav. 43:251-262, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Exploitive Mating Strategy of the Dark Triad Traits: Tests of Rape-Enabling Attitudes

The Dark Triad traits have been repeatedly labeled as facilitating an exploitive mating strategy. However, various researchers have repeatedly conflated short-term mating or casual sex with an exploitive mating strategy. In this study using Mechanical Turk participants (N = 252; 142 men, 110 women), we provided a better test of just how sexually exploitive those high on the Dark Triad traits might be by examining how the traits related to rape-enabling attitudes. We examined how each trait may facilitate rape, whether these associations were robust to partialing the variance associated with the Big Five traits and similar in men and women, and showed that one reason why men may be more likely to rape than women is they are characterized by the Dark Triad traits more than women are. In so doing, we test the confluence model of rape that asserts that personality traits similar to the Dark Triad traits act as one pathway to rape.

Discriminating Coercive from Sadomasochistic Sexuality

Sadomasochistic (SM) sexual interest is reported by a wide range of individuals. Within the sex offender literature, the presence of SM interest is often viewed as a herald of criminal sexual behavior; however, research indicates that SM interests are not predictive of coercive sexual behavior. In the current study, we measured a range of sexual fantasies and behaviors, and then applied cluster analyses to determine (1) if individuals endorsed elevated SM interests also endorsed coercive fantasies and, (2) to explore cluster membership correlates using measures of sensation seeking, externalizing and antisocial behaviors, attitudes toward rape, and empathic capacity. A total of 550 participants were recruited through a variety of on-line discussion areas. A four cluster solution best fit the data with distinct clusters observed for those endorsing SM behaviors and those reporting coercive sexual behavior. Additional analyses revealed greater endorsement of victim blaming attitudes and lower empathic concern among members of the coercive sexual behavior cluster. Elevated sensation seeking and externalizing behaviors were reported by members of clusters marked by SM and coercive sexual behavior. Results provide further support for the differentiation between SM and coercive sexual behaviors as representative of individuals with divergent attitudes, traits, and behaviors.

Construct Validity of the Violence Risk Scale-Sexual Offender Version Instrument in a Multisite Sample of Treated Sexual Offenders

The present study examined the construct validity of the Violence Risk Scale-Sexual Offender version (VRS-SO) through an examination of its factor structure and convergence with psychological measures assessing conceptually relevant constructs in a sample of 732 treated incarcerated adult male sex offenders. The VRS-SO was rated prospectively pre- and posttreatment by service providers, and several of the men had completed a psychometric battery at each time point. Prospective Stable 2000 ratings were examined for comparison purposes. Results of exploratory longitudinal factor analysis, performed on VRS-SO pre- and posttreatment dynamic item scores, supported a three-factor model (comparative fit index = .990) and the measurement invariance of the loadings over time. A stringent longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis of the VRS-SO items also supported the three-factor structure. Scores from the three factors (Sexual Deviance, Criminality, and Treatment Responsivity) were correlated in conceptually meaningful ways with scores from the Stable 2000 and selected psychometric measures. The results provide evidence for the construct validity of VRS-SO test scores as providing an index of sex offender risk and, more specifically, that its item content and factor domains measure psychological constructs pertinent to sex offender risk and need.

Standardization of Penile Plethysmography Testing in Assessment of Problematic Sexual Interests

Penile plethysmography (PPG) is an objective measure of sexual arousal for men, commonly used to assess sexual arousal to both abnormal (i.e., paraphilic) and normal stimuli. While PPG has become a standard measure in the assessment and treatment of male sex offenders and men with paraphilic interests in both Canada and the United States, there is a lack of standardization of stimulus sets and interpretation of results between sites. The current article critically reviews the current state of the art while highlighting clinical and research efforts that may be undertaken in an attempt to reduce issues arising from lack of standardization across sites. Types and themes of stimulus sets, assessment apparatuses, laboratory preparation, and testing procedures are discussed. The continued development of standardized testing protocol and procedures across multiple international sites continues to be encouraged to promote unified PPG administration and interpretation, thus further enhancing the practical utility of the measurements and decreasing inter-rater discrepancies and error.

Assessment of problematic sexual interests with the penile plethysmograph: an overview of assessment laboratories

Phallometric testing, or penile plethysmography (PPG), is an objective measure of sexual arousal for males. While extensive research on the reliability and validity of PPG has promoted its reputation as the "gold standard" of objective measurement of sexual arousal, there is a lack of standardization of stimulus sets and interpretation of results between sites. This article describes the laboratory protocol employed for PPG at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre's Sexual Behaviours Clinic (SBC) in Ottawa, Ontario, as well as those used by the Sexual Behaviors Clinic and Lab (SBCL) in the Community and Public Safety Psychiatry Division (CPSPD) of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, South Carolina. The need for standardization in both testing protocol and stimuli use across sites are highlighted.

Men with intellectual disabilities with a history of sexual offending: empathy for victims of sexual and non-sexual crimes

BACKGROUND

The objectives were (a) to compare the general empathy abilities of men with intellectual disabilities (IDs) who had a history of sexual offending to men with IDs who had no known history of illegal behaviour; and (b) to determine whether men with IDs who had a history of sexual offending had different levels of specific victim empathy towards their own victim, in comparison with an unknown victim of sexual crime, and a victim of non-sexual crime, and make comparisons with non-offenders.

METHODS

Men with mild IDs (n=35) were asked to complete a measure of general empathy and a measure of specific victim empathy. All participants completed the victim empathy measure in relation to a hypothetical victim of a sexual offence, and a non-sexual crime, while additionally, men with a history of sexual offending were asked to complete this measure in relation to their own most recent victim.

RESULTS

Men with a history of sexual offending had significantly lower general empathy, and specific victim empathy towards an unknown sexual offence victim, than men with no known history of illegal behaviour. Men with a history of sexual offending had significantly lower victim empathy for their own victim than for an unknown sexual offence victim. Victim empathy towards an unknown victim of a non-sexual crime did not differ significantly between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that it is important include interventions within treatment programmes that attempt to improve empathy and perspective-taking.

Victim empathy intervention with sexual offenders: rehabilitation, punishment, or correctional quackery?

A sexual offender is thought to have victim empathy when he has a cognitive and emotional understanding of the experience of the victim of his sexual offense. Most sex offender treatment programs devote significant time to developing victim empathy. The authors examine three meta-analytic studies and some individual studies that suggest victim empathy work is unnecessary, or even harmful. Service user studies, however, report positive reactions to victim empathy work. The authors conclude that the enthusiasm for victim empathy work as a rehabilitative endeavor is disproportionate given the weak evidence base and the lack of a coherent theoretical model of change. However, because the research is inconclusive, it is not possible to conclude that victim empathy work is "correctional quackery." We suggest a research program to clarify whether or not victim empathy intervention for sexual offenders has value.

Are cognitive distortions associated with denial and minimization among sex offenders?

Although there has been much speculation about the relationship between cognitive distortions and denial/minimization, little research on the subject is available. The authors conducted secondary analyses on existing data sets to further examine the degree of association between various measures of cognitive distortions and denial/minimization among child molesters (Sample 1, n = 73; Sample 2, n = 42; Sample 3, n = 38) and rapists (Sample 1, n = 41; Sample 3, n = 14). Meta-analysis of the findings from Samples 1, 2, and 3 indicated that greater endorsement of cognitive distortions about sex offending in general was significantly associated with greater denial/minimization of one's own guilt and deviance (r = .24), harm to one's own victims (r = .32), one's need for treatment (r = .21), and responsibility for one's sex offenses (r = .16). Although correlated, cognitive distortions and denial/minimization, at least as typically measured, are distinct constructs.

A systematic qualitative review of risk and protective factors for sexual violence perpetration

The current review summarized results of 191 published empirical studies that examined the risk and protective factors for sexual violence perpetration. Studies in the review examined factors for perpetration by and against adolescents and adults, by male and female perpetrators, and by those who offended against individuals of the same sex or opposite sex. Factors associated with child sexual abuse (CSA) perpetration were not included. In all, 2 societal and community factors, 23 relationship factors, and 42 individual-level factors were identified. Of these 67 factors, consistent significant support for their association with SV was found for 35, nonsignificant effects were found for 10, 7 factors had limited or sample-specific evidence that they were associated with SV but were in need of further study, and 15 demonstrated mixed results. The factors identified in the review underscore the need for comprehensive prevention programs that target multiple risk and protective factors as well as factors that occur across the social ecology. Moreover, we identified two domains of factors--the presence and acceptance of violence and unhealthy sexual behaviors, experiences, or attitudes--that had consistent significant associations with SV but are not typically addressed in prevention programs. Therefore, SV prevention may also benefit from learning from effective strategies in other areas of public health, namely sexual health and youth violence prevention.

Psychosocial and developmental characteristics of civilly committed sex offenders

A convenience sample of 38 civilly committed sex offenders completed questionnaires on selected psychosocial and developmental characteristics. More than half (61%) demonstrated an external locus of control. They had higher levels of empathy compared to normative data for the general population, and their levels of anger, aggression, and hostility were similar to male college students. Somatization was comparable to psychiatric outpatients. A high proportion reported at least one form of childhood trauma (87%), with 66% reporting childhood sexual abuse. Issues related to the use of self-report instruments with this patient population are discussed and recommendations for future studies are suggested.

Cognition, empathy, and sexual offending

Most empathy research in the forensic context has assumed that empathy has two components. In this two-component model, the cognitive component involves perspective taking, and the affective component involves experiencing appropriate emotion. In this review, we identify how this assumption has both dominated and limited empathy research with offenders, nearly all of which has been conducted with sexual offenders. We propose instead that five components are involved in the experience of empathy: perspective taking, the ability to experience emotion, a belief that others are worthy of compassion and respect, situational factors, and an ability to manage personal distress. We suggest that the non-situational factors that blocked empathy for the victim at the time of a sexual offense are probably other dispositions known to be related to sexual offending, such as sexual preoccupation, generalized hostility to others, implicit theories about children and sex, and/or poor coping with negative emotions. We conclude with directions for practice and research, and urge greater caution in correctional policies on victim empathy programs.

Assessment of moral judgment and empathy in young sex offenders: a comparison of clinical judgment and test results

Professional decision making in forensic clinical practice may have lifelong consequences for offenders. Although information on moral development is important for prediction of reoffending and referral to adequate treatment, conclusions regarding moral development are still largely based on unstructured clinical judgment instead of assessment instruments. For this study, the authors examined to what extent unstructured clinical judgment of both moral judgment and victim empathy concurred with test results in a group of young sex offenders. Moral judgment was measured with the Sociomoral Reflection Measure-Short Form (SRM-SF), whereas victim empathy was measured with an extended version of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES). No significant associations were found between clinical judgment of moral judgment and the mean scores on the SRM-SF. However, clinical judgment of victim empathy was significantly associated with victim empathy on the Victim Empathy Scale but not consistently in the expected direction. Juvenile sex offenders, who were judged by clinicians to show little victim empathy, displayed lower mean scores on the Victim Empathy Scale than juvenile sex offenders who were evaluated to lack victim empathy or to have intact victim empathy. This study showed unstructured clinical judgment of moral development not to concur with test results. To improve decision-making processes regarding moral development, clinicians are advised to rely on instruments that assess moral development to inform clinical judgment. Further research is needed to examine which predictions are more accurate and to establish the predictive validity of moral development evaluations.

General and victim-specific empathy: associations with actuarial risk, treatment outcome, and sexual recidivism

An empathy-related component has been included in most sex offender treatment programs since the 1980s; however, research linking empathy to sexual offending and/or to treatment outcome has produced mixed findings. This study examined the relationship between victim specific empathy, general empathy, and overall treatment change (determined by responses on a battery of psychometric tests) with static risk (Risk Matrix 2000 [RM 2000]) and sexual offense reconviction data in a sample of 105 offenders who completed treatment while in prison or in the community in England and Wales and followed up for an average period of more than 10 years. Victim-specific empathy improved from pretreatment to posttreatment and related to overall treatment change. A small group of offenders, whose victim empathy scores deteriorated from pretreatment to posttreatment, had higher rates of sexual recidivism compared with the rest of the sample. In contrast, neither were any reliable pretreatment to posttreatment changes noted on general empathy scores, except for an indication on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index Personal Distress Scale, nor was any relationship found to sexual recidivism. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to treatment goals and sexual recidivism.

Empathy in sexually sadistic offenders: an experimental comparison with non-sadistic sexual offenders

Previous studies suggest that severe sexual sadism and psychopathy are phenotypically different, although both are characterized by deficits in emotional processing. We assessed empathic capacity in a sample of 12 sexual sadists in comparison with 23 non-sadistic offenders using the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET). All participants were forensic patients under mandatory treatment orders who had committed sexual offenses. The MET is a computerized rating task that differentiates and measures cognitive and emotional components of empathy, or perspective-taking versus compassionate components. To identify the effects of possible empathy deficits caused by psychopathic traits, we controlled both samples for psychopathy as a covariate, measured by the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). According to our results, sexual sadists did not differ from non-sadistic sexual offenders with regard to emotional empathy for either positive or negative stimuli. The results suggest that severe sexual sadism is a distinct, pathological sexual arousal response, not a deficit in emotional processing.

From parallel to intersecting narratives in cases of sexual assault

Restorative justice alternatives to criminal justice are designed to balance the needs of victims, offenders, families, friends, and the community at large to achieve social justice, repair of victims, and deterrence of crime. In the model we evaluated from RESTORE (Responsibility and Equity for Sexual Transgressions Offering a Restorative Experience), each offender and victim received individual services and met in guided conferencing to mutually determine reparative actions for the offender. At the exit meeting, the offender, as the responsible person, read a written apology to the survivor/victim. In this article, we analyze the expression of empathy in the apology, in which the initial mitigation of responsibility in early documents was replaced by acknowledgment of harm to the survivor/victim and acceptance of responsibility for the assault. Those accused of felony rape and those targeting a visible person in cases of misdemeanor indecent exposure expressed greater regret and remorse than offenders of indecent exposure with an indeterminate victim.

Rape Treatment: An Overview of Current Knowledge

Sexual offending is frequently seen by the lay person as being a result of an innate abnormality that is relatively fixed and unchangeable. Accordingly, sexual offenders are seen as more likely to recidivate than other types of offenders. In fact, this is not the case, and most sexual offenders do not re-offend. Also, contemporary research has shown that treatment programs driven by cognitive behaviour therapy significantly reduce rates of sexual offender recidivism. Nevertheless, while there has been a great deal of research on the treatment of child sexual offenders, the treatment of rapists has received comparatively less attention. Thus, the main aim of this article is to summarise current knowledge of sexual offender treatment, paying specific attention to the needs of rapists. In particular, we pay attention to the content of sexual offender treatment programs, and the relevance of this content to rape. We also discuss therapeutic issues of relevance for rapist treatment that are typically ignored or underestimated in the research literature. Finally, based upon our analysis of the literature, we present a schematic overview of rape treatment and identify important areas for further research.

Effect of sexual coercion proclivity and cognitive priming on sexual aggression in the laboratory

This research follows from the "rape proclivity" literature to evaluate whether proclivity actually predicts sexual coercion. One hundred forty-two heterosexual males attending a Canadian university participated. Participants completed the sexual coercion proclivity questionnaire packet to determine high or low sexual coercion proclivity, and were randomly assigned to complete either an innocuous or a sexually aggressive cognitive priming task. Sexual coercion was operationalized by having men read increasingly graphic sexual material to an increasingly uncomfortable confederate. Regardless of condition, high sexual coercion proclivity males were more likely to engage in sexual coercion than low sexual coercion proclivity males. When the effects of discomfort were controlled, a significant interaction emerged between sexual coercion proclivity and the priming condition on sexual coercion. Although engaging in significantly less sexual coercion than the high sexual coercion proclivity males when assigned to the innocuous cognitive priming task, the low sexual coercion proclivity males assigned to the sexually aggressive cognitive priming task were indistinguishable from the high sexual coercion proclivity group. The nature of this relationship differed for Caucasian and Chinese men. These findings suggest that even those not previously inclined toward sexual coercion can do so under opportunistic circumstances, following an increase in discomfort associated with exposure to and involvement with sexually aggressive material. The prevention implications associated with this are discussed.

Nonviolent communication training and empathy in male parolees

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a behavioral intervention, nonviolent communication (NVC), on the development of empathic coping and communication skills in a sample of male parolees enrolled in substance abuse treatment (SAT; N = 30). At the end of the 8-week intervention, results revealed a significant increase (p = .01) in participants' empathy levels. Findings also revealed the acceptability and utility of NVC training to men on parole. Results suggest that NVC training may (a) be a useful addition to substance abuse treatment programs for parolees, (b) be effective in addressing problematic coping and communication styles resulting from incarceration and criminal behavior, and (c) assist paroled individuals in building and sustaining positive social support networks.

Violence as a Public Health Risk

Violence is a public health problem that affects people of all ages. In 2007, violence was one of the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States for people from birth to age 64 years. Violence takes many forms, such as child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, self-directed violence, and youth violence. Violence may be best understood and prevented through a public health approach. A focus is placed on preventing violence before it occurs (primary prevention), employing a scientific approach to understand the problem and what action can be taken to prevent it, taking a population perspective that places an emphasis on broad-based changes in communities and society that benefit the largest number of people, and working across sectors (eg, health, justice, education) and integrating knowledge from multiple disciplines (eg, epidemiology, psychology, sociology, medicine). In this article, the authors review the incidence and burden of different forms of violence and the factors that place people at risk for, or protect people from, experiencing violence either as a victim or as a perpetrator. The authors also review strategies based on the best available evidence that may be implemented to prevent violence from occurring, highlighting violence prevention tools for health practitioners. By understanding the burden of violence, the factors that place people at risk for and protect people from experiencing violence, and strategies that can prevent and interrupt violence, health practitioners can play a more active role in enhancing the health and safety of their patients.

Predictors of child pornography offenses and child sexual abuse in a community sample of pedophiles and hebephiles

Little is known about factors that distinguish men who act upon their self-identified sexual interest in prepubescent or pubescent children from those who do not. Even less is known about pedophiles or hebephiles who are not involved with the criminal justice system. In this study, a sample of 155 self-referred pedophiles and hebephiles was recruited from the community. All participants met DSM-IV-TR criteria for pedophilia (or paraphilia not otherwise specified for those who were sexually attracted to pubescent children). Two sets of group comparisons were conducted on sociodemographic variables and measures of dynamic risk factors. The first set was based on recent activity and compared men who had committed child pornography only or child sexual abuse offenses in the past six months with men who remained offense-free during the same period. The second set was based on lifetime offense history (excluding the most recent six months) and compared child pornography offenders with child sexual abuse offenders and men who had committed both kinds of offenses. Overall, there were more similarities than differences between groups.

Psychopathy moderates the relationship between time in treatment and levels of empathy in incarcerated male sexual offenders

This study examined whether psychopathy moderated the relationship between time in treatment and forms of empathy in a sample of incarcerated male sexual offenders (N = 58). Empathy was assessed as a general personality trait as well as in attitudes toward specific victim groups (children, women).The three empathy measures were submitted to principal components analysis with oblique rotation, revealing a 3-component solution: general empathy, hostility toward women, and empathy for children. Hierarchical linear regression analyses demonstrated that level of psychopathy significantly moderated the effects of time in treatment on levels of general and victim-specific empathy, such that offenders with higher levels of psychopathy did not exhibit greater empathy with longer reported time in treatment. In contrast, offenders with lower levels of psychopathy exhibited greater empathy with longer time in treatment. Implications for treatment planning for sexual offenders are discussed.

Empathy-related Responding: Associations with Prosocial Behavior, Aggression, and Intergroup Relations

Empathy-related responding, including empathy, sympathy, and personal distress, has been implicated in conceptual models and theories about prosocial behavior and altruism, aggression and antisocial behavior, and intergroup relationships. Conceptual arguments and empirical findings related to each of these topics are reviewed. In general, there is evidence that empathy and/or sympathy are important correlates of, and likely contributors to, other-oriented prosocial behavior, the inhibition of aggression and antisocial behavior, and the quality of intergroup relationships. Applied implications of these findings, including preventative studies, are discussed, as are possible future directions.

Are all perpetrators alike? Comparing risk factors for sexual coercion and aggression

The present study developed and contrasted predictive models of male nonphysical sexual coercion (e.g., verbal pressure or manipulation) and physical sexual aggression (e.g., incapacitation, physical force, or threats) using a sample of 369 incarcerated males to identify shared and unique risk factors for each form of sexual perpetration. Results revealed a set of shared risk characteristics that predisposed individuals to both sexual coercion and aggression (i.e., belief in rape myths, sexual promiscuity, aggressive tendencies, and empathic deficits). In addition, findings indicated that whether the offenders engaged in only sexual coercion or also used more violent sexually aggressive tactics depended on the presence of two sets of traits unique to these forms of perpetration. Specifically, sexual coercers tended to possess traits that facilitated the use of verbal tactics (i.e., ability to manipulate others and to imagine others' emotional reactions). In contrast, sexual aggressors had characteristics that could increase their willingness to "cross the line" and resort to more violent means to obtain sex from an unwilling partner (i.e., hostility toward women, egocentricity, an impulsive disregard for sociolegal proscriptions, and childhood emotional abuse). A model of general sexual perpetration that directly contrasted sexually coercive and aggressive men was also developed, and hostility toward women was identified as the only predictor capable of predicting perpetrator group membership. Together, these findings suggest that although sexual coercers and aggressors share some underlying risk factors, the etiological patterns of these behaviors are distinct and necessitate individual attention by researchers and prevention programs.

Evidence regarding the need for a diagnostic category for a coercive paraphilia

Evidence relevant to a potential diagnosis of Paraphilic Coercive Disorder is reviewed. Salient cues indicating that their partner is feeling coerced normally at least partially inhibit male sexual arousal while cues indicating mutual interest heighten arousal. However, for a minority of males, this pattern reverses with salient coercion cues leading to heightened arousal. This unusual pattern of arousal and fantasy is associated with a self-reported willingness to rape among non-convicted samples and is more common among convicted rapists than in other offender groups. It is inconsistently associated with Sadism as defined by the DSM-IV-TR and only weakly associated with psychopathy or general criminality. Evidence for it as an abnormal and persistent sexual interest comes from behavioral patterns, self-reported sexual fantasy, and laboratory tests. Two possible ways of incorporating it into a future version of the DSM are outlined.

Theory of mind in men who have sexually offended against children: a U.K. comparison study between child sex offenders and nonoffender controls

Child sex offenders are typically characterized by empathy problems, cognitive distortions, and social skills deficits. It has been proposed that these characteristics may be attributable to an underlying impairment in the ability to attribute mental states to others (i.e., theory of mind).This study compared a group of nonincarcerated child sex offenders (n = 46) with a group of community controls ( n = 46) matched for age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and status as a parent. Both groups completed two measures of theory of mind: one that measures the ability to infer the mental states of adults and another that measures the ability to infer the mental states of children. Offenders were significantly worse than controls at inferring the mental states of adults. In contrast, there were no differences between offenders and controls in their ability to infer the mental states of children. The results are discussed with regard to psychological theory, clinical work, and future research.

Investigating the Utility of the Film War Zone in the Prevention of Street Harassment

Street harassment, the act of sexual harassment by strangers in public, is a common experience shared by many women. This paper reports the first experimental evaluation of the impact of a popular documentary-style film, War Zone, on men's attitudes toward street harassment and empathy for women who experience it. The sample was an ethnically diverse group of undergraduate men attending an urban university ( N = 98). Given the film's primary focus on women's perspectives and the relation of street harassment to rape, we predicted the film would decrease acceptance of street harassment and increase empathy toward women who experience street harassment. We did not find support for these main effects. Hostility toward women, however, was negatively related to cognitive empathy and feelings of distress following the film, and hostility toward women moderated the effect of film condition on distress. Peer acceptance predicted greater self-acceptance of street harassment. Implications for future street harassment research and prevention strategies are discussed.

Empathy and recognition of facial expressions of emotion in sex offenders, non-sex offenders and normal controls

Research conducted on empathy and emotional recognition in sex offenders is contradictory. The present study was aimed to clarify this issue by controlling for some affective and social variables (depression, anxiety, and social desirability) that are presumed to influence emotional and empathic measures, using a staged multicomponent model of empathy. Incarcerated sex offenders (child molesters), incarcerated non-sex offenders, and non-offender controls (matched for age, gender, and education level) performed a recognition task of facial expressions of basic emotions that varied in intensity, and completed various self-rating scales designed to assess distinct components of empathy (perspective taking, affective empathy, empathy concern, and personal distress), as well as depression, anxiety, and social desirability. Sex offenders were less accurate than the other participants in recognizing facial expressions of anger, disgust, surprise and fear, with problems in confusing fear with surprise, and disgust with anger. Affective empathy was the only component that discriminated sex offenders from non-sex offenders and was correlated with accuracy recognition of emotional expressions. Although our findings must be replicated with a larger number of participants, they support the view that sex offenders might have impairments in the decoding of some emotional cues conveyed by the conspecifics' face, which could have an impact on affective empathy.

Power, anger, and sadistic rapists: toward a differentiated model of offender personality

The extant research on rapists repeatedly indicates that particular offender types can be specified. These include the power, anger, and sadistic assailants. Despite such classifications, limited empirical or anecdotal efforts have undertaken the task of exploring the personality features of each rapist type. This article endeavors to fill this gap in the literature. Using the heuristic analytical lens and the case study method, the high-profile crimes of Gilbert Escobedo (power type), Paul Bernardo (anger type), and Jeffrey Dahmer (sadistic type) are reviewed. As the article discloses, unique personality features were exhibited. Moreover, each rapist type displayed a number of convergent as well as divergent character traits. Given these findings, the article concludes with a series of summary observations relevant for future research on rape and personality as well as prospects for clinical diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Emotional deficits in psychopathy and sexual sadism: implications for violent and sadistic behavior

While both psychopaths and sexual sadists engage in acts of predatory violence, little empirical work has examined the relationship between the two disorders. This paper outlines the constructs of psychopathy and sexual sadism and reviews the literature investigating the emotional lives of individuals with these disorders, paying particular attention to how emotional deficits might facilitate instrumental violence. Specifically, it is hypothesized that the emotion recognition and emotional experience deficits found among psychopaths, and perhaps present in sexual sadists, may lead to deficits in their ability to empathize with others, resulting in an increased likelihood for perpetrating instrumental violence. The relationship between empathy and aggression in psychopaths and sexual sadists is discussed, and distinctions are drawn between the two disorders with respect to their capacities to experience cognitive and affective empathy on a global level. Gaps in the literature are identified and additional areas of inquiry are suggested.

Psychopathology of incarcerated sex offenders

The psychopathology and particularly the personality disorders of sex offenders were compared to general inmates of the Colorado Department of Corrections. Using the MCMI-III (Millon, 1994, 1997), sex offenders in general were found to have more varied types of personalities than general population inmates. Specifically, they were more schizoid, avoidant, depressive, dependent, self-defeating, and schizotypal. General population inmates had the more classically criminal personality characteristics of antisocial, narcissistic, and sadistic. Multivariate analysis showed the Dependent, Narcissistic, Antisocial, and Schizotypal scales to be the most differentiating. Sex offenders were also found to have more affective psychopathology such as anxiety, dysthymia, PTSD, and major depression. A similar trend was found when comparing child molesters to rapists. The child molesters were more neurotic, affective, and socially impaired than the rapists. Multivariate analysis showed the Dependent scale to be the most important in differentiating these two types of sex offenders.