Comparison of sexual offenders against children with sexual offenders against adolescents and adults: data from the New York State Sex Offender Registry.

Beth Israel Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York 10003, USA. Lcohen@chpnet.org

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether sexual offenders against children have fewer characteristics associated with impulsive-aggression and more characteristics associated with aberrant sexual arousal than do sexual offenders against adolescents and adults. METHODS: Data on 837 sex offenders from the New York State Sex Offender Registry for the five counties of New York City were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: Compared to offenders against older age groups, offenders against children were older and less likely to use force or a weapon. They were more likely to molest males or victims of both genders than female victims only, and they were also more likely to molest known victims. They were also more likely to commit multiple acts and "deviate intercourse" and less likely to commit sexual intercourse. Offenders against adolescents largely fell between the two other groups. CONCLUSIONS: Relative to sexual offenders against adults, pedophiles may be characterized more by aberrant sexual arousal than by impulsivity and aggression. This distinction has significant implications for the selection of targeted treatments and for the direction of future research.

PMID: 18032982 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]