Adolescent Rapists and Adolescent Child Sexual Assaulters

Abstract

We studied 15 adolescent rapists and 17 adolescent child sexual assaulters with respect to their psychiatric and physical status, family history, their victim(s), and their modus operandi. While the two groups were disturbed to a similar extent in terms of their psychiatric and family findings, they differed in age, choice of victim(s), and certain aspects of their modus operandi. The findings are discussed by comparison to current literature on adolescent and adult rapes. Several findings such as the higher proportion of cross-racial rapes, more frequent prior use of alcohol and drugs by the offender, and lack of victim provocation appear to be more characteristic of adolescent rapes.