Scholars have studied developmental factors relevant to adult sex offenders. These factors, however, have not been of interest so far in the area of adolescent sexual offenders. Given the paucity of research in this area, this study examines developmental factors that may be relevant in understanding why some offenders become persistent throughout the course of adolescence. The sample consisted of male adolescents convicted of a sexual offense against a child. Compared to nonrepeat sexual offenders (n = 80), repeat sexual offenders (n = 27) were characterized by a history of sexual abuse victimization and inappropriate sexual behaviors. However, offenders who had a history of sexual abuse but who did not exhibit inappropriate sexual behaviors were more likely to be classified as repeat sex offenders.
BarbareeH. E.LangtonC. M. (2006). The effects of child sexual abuse and family environment. In BarbareeH. E.MarshallW. L. (Eds.), The juvenile sex offender (2nd ed., 58-76). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
2.
CarpentierJ.LeclercB.ProulxJ. (2011). Juvenile sexual offenders: Correlates of onset, variety, and desistance of criminal behavior. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 38, 854-873.
3.
CarpentierJ.ProulxJ.LussierP. (2005). Predictors of criminal activity in a sample of juvenile sexual aggressors of children. In CalderM. C. (Ed.), Children and young people who sexually abuse: New theory, research and practice developments. (pp. 59-73). Lyme Regis, UK: Russell House.
4.
Developmental Crime Prevention Consortium. (1999). Pathways to prevention: Developmental and early intervention approaches to crime in Australia. Canberra, Australia: Commonwealth Government.
5.
FaganJ.WexlerS. (1988). Explanations of sexual assault among violent delinquents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 3, 363-385.
6.
FarnworthM.ThornberryT. P.KrohnM. D.LizotteA. J. (1994). Measurement in the study of class and delinquency: Integrating theory and research. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 31, 32-61.
7.
FarringtonD. P. (1989). Early predictors of adolescent aggression and adult violence. Violence and Victims, 4, 79-100.
8.
FarringtonD. P. (1994). Early developmental prevention of juvenile delinquency. Criminal Behavior and Mental Health, 4, 209-227.
9.
FarringtonD. P. (2000). Psychosocial predictors of adult antisocial personality and adult convictions. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 18, 605-622.
10.
FarringtonD. P. (2002). Families and crime. In WilsonJ. Q.PetersiliaJ. (Eds.), Crime: Public policies for crime control (2nd ed., pp. 129-148). Oakland, CA: Institute for Contemporary Studies Press.
11.
FarringtonD. P. (2005). Integrated developmental and life-course theories of offending: Advances in criminological theory (Vol. 14). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
12.
FarringtonD. P.BarnesG.LambertS. (1996). The concentration of offending in families. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 1, 47-63.
13.
FarringtonD. P.LoeberR.van KammanW. B. (1990). Long-term criminal outcomes of hyperactivity-impulsivity-attention deficit and conduct problems in childhood. In RobinsL.RutterM. (Eds.), Straight and devious pathways from childhood to adulthood (pp. 62-81). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
14.
FarringtonD. P.WestD. J. (1993). Criminal, penal, and life histories of chronic offenders: Risk and protective factors and early identification. Criminal Behavior and Mental Health, 3, 492-523.
15.
FreundK.KubanM. (1994). The basis of the abused abuser theory of pedophilia: A further elaboration on an earlier study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 23, 553-563.
16.
FreundK.WatsonR.DickeyR. (1990). Does sexual abuse in childhood cause pedophilia: An exploratory study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 19, 557-568.
17.
HaganM. P.KingR. P.PatrosR. L. (1994). Recidivism among adolescent perpetrators of sexual assault against children. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 21, 127-137.
18.
HastingsT.AndersonS. J.HempillP. (1997). Comparisons of daily stress, coping, problem behavior, and cognitive distortions in adolescent sexual offenders and conduct-disordered youth. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 9, 29-42.
19.
HawkinsJ. D.HerrenkohlT.FarringtonD. P.BrewerD.CatalanoR. F.HarachiT. W. (1998). A review of predictors of youth violence. In LoeberR.FarringtonD. P. (Eds.), Serious and violent juvenile offenders: Risk factors and successful interventions (pp. 106-146). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
20.
HunterJ. A.FigueredoA. J. (2000). The influence of personality and history of sexual victimization in the prediction of juvenile perpetrated child molestation. Behavior Modification, 24, 241-263.
21.
IrelandT. O.SmithC. A.ThornberryT. P. (2002). Developmental issues in the impact of child maltreatment on later delinquency and drug use. Criminology, 40(2), 359-396.
22.
LaubJ. H.SampsonR. J. (2003). Shared beginnings, divergent lives: Delinquent boys to age 70. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
23.
LeclercB.BeauregardE.ProulxJ. (2008). Modus operandi and situational aspects in adolescent sexual offenses against children: A further examination. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 52, 46-61.
24.
LoeberR. (1990). Development and risk factors of juvenile antisocial behavior and delinquency. Clinical Psychology Review, 10, 1-41.
25.
LussierP.BeauregardE.ProulxJ.NicoleA. (2005). Developmental factors related to deviant sexual preferences in child molesters. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 999-1017.
26.
LussierP.ProulxJ.LeBlancM. (2005). Criminal propensity, deviant sexual interests and criminal activity of sexual aggressors against women: A comparison of explanatory models. Criminology, 43, 249-282.
27.
MaguinE.LoeberR. (1996). Academic performance and delinquency. In TonryM. (Ed.), Crime and justice: A review of research (Vol. 20, pp. 145-264). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
28.
McCordJ. (1979). Some child-rearing antecedents of criminal behavior in adult men. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1477-1486.
29.
MeitheT. D.OlsenJ.MitchellO. (2006). Specialization and persistence in the arrest histories of sex offenders: A comparative analysis of alternative measures and offense types. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 43, 204-229.
30.
MoffittT. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674-701.
31.
PattersonG. R. (1986). Performance models for antisocial boys. American Psychologist, 41, 432-444.
32.
PrentkyR.RighthandS. (2003). Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-II (J-SOAP-II) Manual. Bridgewater, MA: Justice Resource Institute.
33.
RajlicG.GrettonH. M. (2010). An examination of two sexual recidivism risk measures in adolescent offenders: The moderating effect of offender type. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37, 1066-1085.
34.
RubensteinM.YeagerC. A.GoldsteinC.LewisD. O. (1993). Sexually assaultive male juveniles: A follow-up. American Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 262-265.
35.
SampsonR. J.LaubJ. H. (1993). Crime in the making: Pathways and turning points through life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
36.
SetoM. C.LalumièreM. L. (2010). What is so special about male adolescent sexual offending? A review and test of explanations through meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 526-575.
37.
SimonL. M. J. (2000). An examination of the assumptions of specialization, mental disorder, and dangerousness in sex offenders. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 18, 275-308.
38.
SmallboneS. W. (2006). Social and psychological factors in the development of delinquency and sexual deviance. In BarbareeH. E.MarshallW. L. (Eds.), The juvenile sex offender (2nd ed., 105-127). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
39.
SmallboneS. W.McCabeB. (2003). Childhood attachment, childhood sexual abuse, and onset of masturbation among adult sexual offenders. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 15, 1-9.
40.
SmallboneS. W.WortleyR. K. (2004). Onset, persistence, and versatility of offending among adult males convicted of sexual offenses against children. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 16, 285-298.
41.
SmithC.ThornberryT. (1995). The relationship between childhood maltreatment and adolescent involvement in delinquency. Criminology, 33, 451-481.
42.
StewartA.LivingstonM.DennisonS. (2008). Transitions and turning points: Examining the link between child maltreatment and juvenile offending. Child Abuse and Neglect, 32, 51-66.
43.
ThornberryT. P.KrohnM. D. (2005). Applying interactional theory to the explanation of continuity and change in antisocial behavior. In FarringtonD. P. (Ed.), Integrated developmental and life-course theories of offending: Advances in criminological theory (Vol. 14, pp. 183-210). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
44.
ThornberryT. P.LizotteA. J.KrohnM. D.SmithD. A.PorterP. K. (2003). Causes and consequences of delinquency: Findings from the Rochester Youth Development Study. In ThornberryT. P.KrohnM. D. (Eds.), Taking stock of delinquency: An overview of findings from contemporary longitudinal studies (pp. 11-46). New York, NY: Kluwer/Plenum.
45.
van WijkA.LoeberR.VermeirenR.PardiniD.BullensR.DoreleijersT. (2005). Violent juvenile sex offenders compared with violent juvenile nonsex offenders: Explorative findings from the Pittsburgh Youth Study. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 17, 333-352.
46.
WaiteD.KellerA.McGarveyE. L.WieckowskiE.PinkertonR.BrownG. L. (2005). Juvenile sex offender re-arrest rates for sexual, violent nonsexual and property crimes: A 10-year follow-up. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 17, 313-331.
47.
WeatherburnD.LindB. (2001). Delinquent-prone communities. Cambridge Criminology Series. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
48.
WestD. J.FarringtonD. P. (1973). Who becomes delinquent? Second report of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. London, UK: Heinemann.
49.
WorlingJ. R.CurwenT. (2000). Estimate of Risk of Adolescent Sexual Offense Recidivism (ERASOR: Version 1.2). Unpublished Manuscript. Toronto, ON: Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services.
50.
WorlingJ. R.CurwenT. (2001). Estimate of Risk of Adolescent Sexual Offense Recidivism (ERASOR: Version 2.0). In CalderM. C. (Ed.), Juveniles and children who sexually abuse: Frameworks for assessment (pp. 372-397). Dorset, UK: Russell House
51.
WorlingJ. R.LångströmN. (2006). Risk of sexual recidivism in adolescents who offend sexually: Correlates and assessment. In BarbareeH. E.MarshallW. L. (Eds.), The juvenile sex offender (2nd ed., 219-247). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
