Child versus peer/adult offenders: A critical review of the juvenile sex offender literature

• Published in: Aggression and violent behavior Vol. 18; no. 6; pp. 732 - 744
• Main Authors: Keelan, Colleen M, Fremouw, William J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-11-2013; Elsevier; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Abused children; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aggression; Biological and medical sciences; Child abuse; Child abuse & neglect; Child offender; Children; Comparative analysis; Juvenile delinquency; Juvenile offenders; Juvenile sex offender; Juvenile sex offenders; Literature reviews; Medical sciences; Mixed offender; Offenders; Peer offender; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Recidivism; Sex; Sex crimes; Sex offenders; Sexual behavior disorders. Psychogenic sexual dysfunctions; Social behavior disorders. Criminal behavior. Delinquency; Teenagers; Victim-age; Violence; Peer offender; Victim-age; Child offender; Mixed offender; Juvenile sex offender; Human; Review; Sexual behavior disorder; Adolescent; Sex offense; Critical study; Social behavior disorder; Age; Victim
• ISSN: 1359-1789; 1873-6335
• DOI: 10.1016/j.avb.2013.07.026

Abstract Sexual offenses are serious crimes and it is believed that adolescents perpetrate 20% of all sexual assaults and 50% of all child sexual abuse (Barbaree & Marshall, 2006). To better understand the etiology of juvenile sexual offending, researchers have explored differences between those who offend children versus those who offend peers/adults. This paper critically reviewed 21 studies that compared juvenile sex offenders who abused children with those who abused peers/adults on a variety of variables including victim, offense, and offender characteristics; psychosocial variables; and predictors and rates of recidivism. Strengths and weaknesses of these studies as well as future directions for the literature are discussed. Common methodological limitations of victim-age based comparisons of juvenile sex offenders included inconsistent definitions, low-powered studies, lack of standardized measures, and recidivism data based solely on conviction rates. Overall, many inconsistent findings limit our ability to give overarching conclusions; however, the research does suggests that not only is it important to examine child and peer/adult offenders, but mixed offenders (i.e., offender with both child and peer victims) as a distinct group need to be included in comparisons as well.