Abstract
The study investigated the behavioral antecedents of deviance in sexual aggressors and how they relate to sexual offending. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 553 convicted sexual aggressors to gather data on developmental history. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the behavioral antecedents. Results indicated the presence of three broad dimensions of deviance: internalization, externalization, and sexualization. Aggressors against children showed higher levels of internalization, whereas aggressors against adults reported higher levels of externalization. It is the dimension of sexualization and externalization, however, that appeared the most valuable in the understanding of sexual offending.
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