Sexuality and Autistic-Like Symptoms in Juvenile Sex Offenders: A Follow-Up After 8 Years.

Juveniles who have committed a sexual offense (JSOs) are thought to have abnormal sexual development, as well as increased ASD symptoms. In the current study, sexual development and behavior, as well as stability of ASD-like symptoms were assessed in a sample of 44 male JSOs (mean age 24.7 ± 1.5 years) 8 years after their sexual offence. JSOs exhibited less knowledge of sexuality, less positive attitudes towards pornography and more often reported having been a victim of verbal sexual intimidation than a matched normal population sample. ASD symptoms were relatively stable over the 8 years follow-up, indicating that social difficulties in JSOs may be part of life-long autistic-like traits. However, ASD symptoms were not related to alterations in sexual development or behavior.

Mental disorders and criminal re-referrals in juveniles who sexually offended.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of mental disorders in (subgroups of) juvenile suspects who sexually offended (JSOs), and its relation with criminal re-referrals five to eight years later. METHODS: A sample of 106 JSOs (mean age 15.0 ± 1.5 years) referred to the Dutch Child Protection Board between May 2003 and December 2006 was classified into JSOs with child victims (N = 19), solo JSOs with adolescents and/or adults victims (N = 29), and group JSOs with adolescents and/or adults victims (N = 58). Mental disorders were assessed at baseline by means of a semi-structured interview (K-SADS-PL), the level of functioning by means of the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) and re-referrals was ascertained from official judicial registration systems. RESULTS: Three quarters of JSOs met criteria for at least one mental disorder. Comorbidity was found in more than half of the subjects and almost two thirds of the JSOs were functionally impaired. As compared to the other subgroups, JSOs with child victims showed higher rates of affective disorders and had a lower overall level of functioning. Furthermore, JSOs re-referred for another sexual offense were more often diagnosed with an affective disorder, were more often sexually abused and had a lower level of global functioning than JSOs who were not re-referred for another sex offense. CONCLUSIONS: JSOs should receive mental assistance, as more than two thirds are functionally impaired due to mental problems. This may not only be important to safeguard the development of the juvenile offender but might also reduce repeated sexual offending.

Self-reported psychopathic traits in sexually offending juveniles compared with generally offending juveniles and general population youth.

The aim of the current study is to gain a better insight into the relationship between sexually aggressive behaviour and psychopathy in youths; juveniles who sexually offended (JSOs) were compared with generally offending youths and a general population group. Seventy-one JSOs, 416 detained general offenders, and 331 males from the general population were assessed by means of the Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory (YPI), a self-report instrument. Sexually and generally offending juveniles had significantly lower levels of self-reported psychopathic traits than youths from the general population. Juvenile sexual offenders and generally offending juveniles did not differ in self-reported psychopathic traits. Furthermore, no differences in self-reported psychopathic traits were found between subgroups of JSOs (i.e., child molesters, solo offenders, and group offenders). The finding that self-reported psychopathic traits are less prevalent in offending juveniles than in general population youths raises questions about the usefulness of the YPI when comparing psychopathic traits between clinical samples and general-population samples.

Juvenile group sex offenders: a comparison of group leaders and followers.

The aim of this study was to investigate group sex offenses with regard to the role of leaders versus followers and to compare both groups on levels of psychopathology, intelligence, and psychosocial and offense-related characteristics. Eighty-nine adolescent group sex offenders (mean age = 14.9, SD = 1.4) referred by the police to the Dutch child protection agency were examined. Psychopathology, intelligence, and psychosocial and offense-related characteristics were assessed by means of standardized instruments, and criminal careers of the participants were ascertained from official judicial records. Although leaders and followers were similar on many characteristics, some remarkable differences were found. During their sexual acts, followers reported using excessive force more frequently than leaders. Furthermore, leaders reported more emotional problems, whereas followers were characterized by higher levels of problems in the social relational domain. As the findings indicate that juvenile group sex offenders constitute a group with specific mental health needs, diagnostic investigation is important to recognize risk factors and (treatable) problems. The absence of some expected differences between leaders and followers could be due to the method of classification or because group offending constitutes a dynamic process without clearly defined roles for individuals.

Autism spectrum disorder symptoms in juvenile suspects of sex offenses.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms in juvenile suspects of sex offenses. METHOD: A group of 175 juvenile suspected sex offenders (all males, mean +/- SD age = 14.9 +/- 1.4 years) was compared with a matched healthy control group (N = 500, mean +/- SD age = 14.0 +/- 1.4 years) and a group of children with DSM-IV-diagnosed ASD (N = 114, mean +/- SD age = 14.2 +/- 1.9 years) with respect to autistic symptoms as measured by means of a standardized questionnaire, the Children's Social Behavior Questionnaire. Furthermore, specific subgroups of sexual offenders, i.e., child molesters, solo peer offenders, and group offenders, were compared with regard to levels of ASD symptoms. The study was conducted from May 2003 to December 2006. RESULTS: Significantly higher levels of ASD symptoms were found in juvenile sex offenders than in healthy controls, while levels were lower than in the ASD group (F = 148.259, p < .05). Solo peer offenders and child molesters scored higher on several subscales as well as on core autistic symptoms than group offenders (F = 5.127, p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Levels of ASD symptoms are higher in juvenile suspects of sex offenses as compared to the healthy population, which argues for considering specific diagnostic assessment in this population, especially in solo offenders and child molesters.