Personal characteristics of mental health professionals can impact their attitudes toward juvenile sex offenders (JSOs) and affect treatment. The correlation between mental health professionals' religiosity and their attitudes has not been examined, and there is limited research about the correlation between professionals' gender and attitudes. The purpose of this study was to examine how mental health professionals' religiosity and gender related to their attitudes toward JSO treatment. Labeling theory provided the theoretical foundation for this study. This theory posits that individuals label certain populations, such as sex offenders, as deviant and this labeling perpetuates a cycle of criminal behavior. Using a quantitative approach, 123 mental health professionals completed an Internet survey that included demographic information, the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire, and the Attitudes Toward Treatment of Sex Offenders survey. These served to identify gender and measure religiosity and attitudes toward JSO treatment. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was then used to examine the research questions and hypotheses. There were no statistically significant findings about how participants' religiosity and gender relate to their attitudes toward JSO treatment. However, further analyses revealed that type of profession and race of the participants affected their attitudes toward treatment. The findings can guide training programs to educate professionals that personal characteristics may affect their attitudes toward treatment. The potential for social change is that professionals' increased awareness may improve treatment effectiveness, which might ultimately lower offenders' recidivism and increase protection for the public.

Over the last decade there has been a substantial research effort directed toward understanding recidivism and risk prediction among adult sex offenders. In contrast, the juvenile sex offender field has received much less empirical attention. Consequently, there are very few risk assessment instruments designed for use with young persons who have committed sexual offences. Available measures do not appear to take into account the higher rates of non-sexual recidivism typical of this population. This thesis aimed to identify risk factors for sexual and non-sexual recidivism among juvenile sex offenders (JSOs) and explore their utility in the context of a risk assessment instrument. In Study One, a meta-analysis was conducted on JSO research to examine risk factors for sexual recidivism. The meta-analysis involved 17 studies and 22 predictor constructs. Seven variables emerged as reliable predictors of sexual recidivism: an index sexual offence involving a stranger victim, a history of physical abuse in the offender's background, the presence of sexual deviance, a non-contact index sexual offence, sexually offending against a greater number of victims, a history of sexual offending, and a history of non-sexual offending. In Study Two, a meta-analysis was performed on JSO research to identify risk factors for non-sexual recidivism. The meta-analysis involved 14 studies and 19 predictor constructs. Six variables emerged as reliable predictors of non-sexual recidivism: a history of non-sexual offending, a history of sexual abuse (negative relationship), the presence of an antisocial orientation, an index sexual offence involving a child victim (negative relationship), a history of physical abuse in the offender's background, and the use of threats/force in the index sexual offence. Taken together, the two meta-analyses were able to identify risk factors specific to sexual recidivism (e.g., sexual deviance) and non-sexual recidivism (e.g., antisocial orientation) as well as risk factors common to both outcomes (e.g., a history of non-sexual offending). These studies therefore made an original and significant contribution to the understanding of recidivism among JSOs. Based upon the meta-analyses, Study Three involved the construction of a risk assessment checklist that could be easily scored from file information. The Juvenile Risk Assessment Checklist (J-RAC) contained 11 items based upon the most consistent operationalisations of the predictors that emerged from the meta-analyses. The J-RAC is unique in the JSO risk assessment field as it contains two scales designed to provide separate estimates of the risk of youth engaging in further sexual and non-sexual recidivism, respectively. The J-RAC was scored based on file information from 82 youth who had been found guilty of sexual offences and referred to a treatment service in Queensland, Australia. The majority of the items possessed good inter-rater reliabilities and the two scales both possessed high inter-rater reliabilities. An existing JSO risk assessment instrument, the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol Version 2 (J-SOAP-II; Prentky & Righthand, 2003), was also administered and the J-RAC possessed significant correlations with the majority of the J-SOAP-II scales. The J-RAC was also found to significantly discriminate between juveniles in detention and juveniles in the community, with those in detention found to be at higher risk on both scales. Thus, the reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the J-RAC was established. Consistent with current adult sex offender recidivism theory, the findings demonstrated the distinct roles of sexual deviance and antisocial orientation in the prediction of sexual and non-sexual recidivism of JSOs, respectively. The current thesis goes some way towards advancing a theory of juvenile sex offender recidivism by drawing upon the variables that emerged as reliable risk factors in the two meta-analyses. While the J-RAC could not yet be considered an actuarial instrument capable of assigning low, medium and high risk levels, the results of the research conducted in this thesis are encouraging. The utility of the J-RAC may be further enhanced through the aid of prospective research that incorporates substantial numbers of juvenile recidivists.

There is widespread concern within at least Western cultures of the potential damage that sex offenders may cause to society. The government statistics highlight a frightening pattern of sexual abuse in Australia, with the trend implicating that sexual assault is on the rise and that children are the predominant victims (ABS, 2003b). Specifically, 17,850 reports of sexual assault were recorded in 2002, a 6% increase since 2001. Further to this, there is still no universal agreement as to the extent to which treatment effectively reduces sexual recidivism. Therefore, there is an urgent need for research into this problem behaviour. Research examining the causes of sexual offending has examined a biological hypothesis that sex offenders have functional brain impairment. However, the results of neuropsychological assessments of various sex offender populations are inconsistent and inconclusive. The aim of this study was to investigate the brain function of males convicted and incarcerated for sexual offences against children using neuropsychological assessment. Specifically, it was hypothesised that the sex offenders would show functional impairment in their frontal and temporal lobes. A battery of neuropsychological tests was compiled to assess the functions of these regions including four WAIS-Ill subtests (Arithmetic, Vocabulary, Block Design and Picture Arrangement), Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), Rey Complex Figure (RCF), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the FAS Test. These tests were administered to 25 incarcerated male sex offenders, 25 incarcerated male non-sex offenders and 25 men with no criminal history. Although attempts were made to match these groups on age, level of education and level of intelligence, statistical analyses revealed that there were significant differences between the groups on these variables. These differences were statistically controlled using analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) and factorial analyses of variance (ANOVA). The results indicated that the sex offenders performed significantly worse than the controls on all neuropsychological tests. However, statistically significant differences were only found between the sex offenders and control group on the immediate recall trials of the RAVLT and RCF. These observed differences did not change when age, level of education and level of intelligence were statistically controlled. It was concluded that there is insufficient evidence from this study to support the hypothesis that sex offenders have functional impairment in their frontal and temporal lobes. However, given the relevance of potential brain impairment to both the biological and social-cognitive perspectives of sexual offending, future research in this field is warranted.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the types of behaviors juvenile sexual offenders participate in and inflict on animals, and compare them to the behaviors of youths involved in other types of crimes, and youths not involved in any criminal activity. A total of 654 juvenile males participated in the study and were included for data analysis. Participants were recruited in two phases. The first phase gathered participants from two treatment centers, and the second phase collected data from students enrolled in undergraduate classes at a public southeastern university. All participating youths were then divided into five categories: non-offenders, non-violent offenders, sexual offenders, violent offenders and youths who committed both violent and sexual offenses (violent/sex offenders). Results indicated the overall relationship between group membership and bestiality was statistically significant, χ2(4)=26.62, p< .001. Further analysis revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between sex offenders (18.9%) and non-violent offenders (3.9%), Z=3.29, p<.05; sex offenders (18.9%) and non-offenders (2.4%), Z=4.30, p<.05; and violent/sex offenders (18.2%) and non-offenders (2.4%), Z=2.14, p<.05. Additionally, an overall test of the relationship between physical violence and group membership were also statistically significant, χ2(4)=36.42, p<.001. Further analysis revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between violent/sex offenders (90.9%) and non-offenders (31.4%), Z=3.78, p<.05; violent/sex offenders (90.9%) and non-violent offenders (50.8%), Z=2.30, p<.05; violent/sex offenders (90.9%) and sex offenders (51.4%), Z=2.00, p<.05; violent offenders (53.8%) and non-offenders (31.4%), Z=2.974, p<.05; sex offenders (51.4%) and non-offenders (31.4%), Z=2.235, p<.05; and non-offenders (31.4%) and non-violent offenders (50.8%), Z=4.545, p<.05. Because of a low response rate, the temporal order of sexual offenses against humans and sexual behavior with animals was not able to be determined in this study. As for the temporal order of physical violence to people and animals, no statistically significant difference was found regarding the order of violence perpetrated against humans and animals.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 36-44). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Texas, Aug., 2009. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Psychiatry. Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on February 17, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Using data from the Arizona public sex offender registry (SOR) and interview data from 30 registered sex offenders (RSOs), two probation officers, and one homeless shelter worker, this study addresses RSO housing experiences by placing RSOs at the center of the analysis. First, using a framework of social disorganization, I find RSOs are moderately segregated according to the index of dissimilarity, and tend to reside in areas characterized by lower than average median income and higher than average housing vacancies. The presence of RSOs is another indicator of social disorganization for these neighborhoods. Second, I identify issues faced by RSOs as they search for housing and the strategies they use to obtain housing. Commonly used strategies are being upfront and honest, using the assistance of friends and family members, and finding housing through private owners. Third, I assess the extent to which the RSO label operates to deter interactions or serves as the basis of harassment. Findings indicate that the RSO label can limit interactions between RSOs and others living near them. It also motivates avoidance particularly among those living in areas of low and moderate social disorganization. Many RSOs or their co-habitants have also experienced harassment due to the RSO label. These findings are problematic in terms of RSO reintegration. Lastly, I explore RSO assessments of the SOR. Many RSOs indicate concern over whether the SOR makes all RSOs appear the same. I offer a social process model in which I consider the process of labeling, stereotyping, and discrimination along with the potential for those who are stigmatized to seek out a basis to stigmatize others or distance themselves from others they perceive of as worthy of separation. I conclude by offering policy implications that are focused on the needs of communities and RSO reintegration issues.

This thesis is an attempt to theorise the therapeutic subjectivity of the 'young sexual abuser'. It falls into two parts. In the first, I make the case for an 'analytic bridging' between Foucauldian and other more broadly sociological perspectives in theorising sexual and therapeutic subjectivities. Specifically, I extend the Foucauldian idea of governmental practices into the therapeutic hour - that is, into the space and tie of therapeutic interaction. At the same tie, I also draw on more sociological readings about the self in interaction, sexuality and gendered embodient - themes which are revisited throughout the thesis when looking at chidhood, therapeutic practices and sexual risk. The second part of the thesis presents an empirical analysis of popular, practice and research accounts of 'problematic' young people and young sexual abusers; interview data with both 'young sexual abusers' and practitioners; and video-recordigs of a therapeutic programme for sexually abusive boys. Through ths analysis, I argue that the therapeutic subjectivity of the young sexual abuser is actually made up of three emergent subjectivities: the risky self, the victi-victiser and the controlled self. The thesis as a whole contributes to debates withn the sociology of chidhood, includig the relationship between gender, generation and sexual risk; to debates about the relationship between social theory and analysis of practice; and to debates about subjectification practices in late modernity, particularly with the gendered therapeutic project of sexual control.

Numerous studies have looked at attitudes about sexual assault, or rape myths, but most of these studies have looked at sexual assault when victims are female and perpetrators are male. However, female-to-male rape does occur, and male victims experience negative consequences from the event. The aim of the present investigation was to develop a scale to measure acceptance of female-to-male rape myths. The investigation involved two separate phases that build on a pilot study in which a preliminary scale was developed. The first phase of the investigation identified male rape myths that are pertinent to female-to-male rape. The second phase developed the items of the scale from the rape myths identified in Phase 1 and evaluated the factor structure, reliability and validity of the scale. The Female-to-Male Rape Myths Scale (FMRM) consists of 30 items and was found to be a reliable and valid measure of female-to-male rape myth acceptance in Midwestern college students. The construct was found to be unifactorial with good internal consistency at .94. Scores on the FMRM correlated with scores on the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 1996), the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale (Herek, 1988), and the Male Rape Myths Scale (Kerr Melanson, 1999). Implications for future research and practical uses of the scale are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services