The role of key developmental variables in identifying sex offenders likely to fail in the community: an enhanced risk prediction model.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
Anthony Beech
Publications and source records attributed to Anthony Beech.
Differences in personality and risk characteristics in sex, violent and general offenders.
BACKGROUND: Studies examining the characteristics of sex and violent offenders have found differences in personality and offence characteristics. However, none of these studies has examined differences in personality characteristics between violent, sex and general offenders using the Special Hospitals Assessment of Personality and Socialization (SHAPS). METHOD: Using a retrospective archival research design, data on 153 male offenders were divided into three groups, sexual (n = 85), violent (n = 46) and general offenders (n = 22). Of the sample 139 offenders had completed the SHAPS. The Sexual Violence Risk-20 (SVR-20) measure was used to categorize levels of risk. Reconviction data collected over a 10-year follow-up period were analysed using the receiver operating characteristic analysis. RESULTS: Violent offenders had significantly more chaotic lifestyles, displayed greater psychopathology than sex or general offenders, and were most likely to reoffend, with over a quarter committing further violent offences. The sexual offender group share more in common with the general offenders, in terms of personality characteristics and recidivism rates, than with the violent offenders. More of the violent offenders were categorized as at medium or high risk of recidivism than any other group. The SVR-20 significantly predicted any reconviction over five- and 10- year follow-up periods. DISCUSSION: The results from this study support the use of self-report inventories in assessing differences between offender groups. Such information may assist clinicians in prioritizing management and intervention strategies for those offenders, and in turn lower the risk of further offending.
Adolescent↗
Cross-validation of the risk matrix 2000 sexual and violent scales.
The predictive accuracy of the newly developed actuarial risk measures Risk Matrix 2000 Sexual/Violence (RMS, RMV) were cross validated and compared with two risk assessment measures (SVR-20 and Static-99) in a sample of sexual (n= 85) and nonsex violent (n= 46) offenders. The sexual offense reconviction rate for the sex offender group was 18% at 10 years follow-up, compared with 2% for the violent offenders. Survival analyses revealed the violent offenders were reconvicted at twice the rate compared to sexual offenders. The RMV significantly predicted violent recidivism in the sex and combined sex/violent offender groups. Although the RMS obtained marginal accuracy in predicting sexual reconviction in the sex offender group, none of the scales significantly predicted sexual reconviction. An item analysis revealed four factors not included in the risk scales that were significantly correlated with sexual and violent reconviction. Combining these factors with Static-99, RMV, and RMS increased the accuracy in predicting sexual reconviction.
Adolescent↗
Sexual murderers' implicit theories.
Interviews with 28 sexual murderers were subjected to grounded theory analysis. Five implicit theories (ITs) were identified: dangerous world, male sex drive is uncontrollable, entitlement, women as sexual objects, and women as unknowable. These ITs were found to be identical to those identified in the literature as being present in rapists. The presence of dangerous world and male sex drive is uncontrollable were present, or absent, such that three groups could be identified: (a) dangerous world plus male sex drive is uncontrollable; (b) dangerous world, in the absence of male sex drive is uncontrollable; (c) male sex drive is uncontrollable in the absence of dangerous world. These three groups were found to differ in motivation: (a) were motivated by urges to rape and murder; (b) were motivated by grievance, resentment and/or anger toward women; (c) were motivated to sexually offend but were prepared to kill to avoid detection, or secure compliance.
Adult↗
Pretreatment self-esteem and posttreatment sexual recidivism.
The relationship between self-esteem assessed prior to treatment using the Self-Esteem Scale and sexual recidivism was explored in two samples of adult male sex offenders, 53 of whom were beginning treatment in the community and 172 of whom were beginning treatment in prison. Sexual reconviction rates were obtained for both samples using a 6-year followup for the community sample and an average follow-up of just less than 4 years for the prison sample. Lower levels of self-esteem were associated with higher sexual recidivism rates with similar trends being apparent in both samples. The linear main effect of self-esteem was significant at beyond the .01 level in a logistic regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristics analysis was used to assess the strength of this association and an area-under-the-curve coefficient of .69 was obtained. Results are discussed in terms of their meaning for the relevance of self-esteem as a predictor of recidivism and as a target for treatment.
Adult↗
The characteristics of a geographical sample of convicted rapists: sexual victimization and compliance in comparison to child molesters.
The limited research literature that relates specifically to sexual offenders against adults (rapists) would suggest that they are more likely to demonstrate a greater criminogenic profile but to have experienced fewer childhood and adult psychological difficulties than child molesters. The aim of this study is to describe the characteristics of an urban sample of convicted rapists (n =80), comparing them to a sample of child molesters (n = 230) on background and offense-related variables. Although there were a number of similarities between the two groups, rapists were less likely to have been sexually victimized as a child. The sexual recidivism rate was low (5%) for rapists after an average time at risk of 3 years despite a trend toward them being less compliant in the community. This article comments on the treatment needs of those with a range of psychological difficulties and indicates future directions for research.
Adolescent↗
The relationship between static and dynamic risk factors and reconviction in a sample of U.K. child abusers.
This study examined how well historical information and psychometric data predicted sexual recidivism in a sample of child abusers about to undergo group-based cognitive behavioral treatment in the community. Static, historical factors, as measured by the Static-99 (R. K. Hanson & D. Thornton, 2000), significantly predicted recidivism over the 6-year follow-up period. High-risk men were over 5 times more likely to be reconvicted for a sexual offence compared to low-risk men. Adding psychometric measures of dynamic risk (e.g., pro-offending attitudes, socio-affective problems) significantly increased the accuracy of risk prediction beyond the level achieved by the actuarial assessment of static factors. This result indicates the importance of considering dynamic risk factors in any comprehensive risk protocol.
Adult↗