Publications (2)2.47 Total impact
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Article: CRIMINAL PROPENSITY, DEVIANT SEXUAL INTERESTS AND CRIMINAL ACTIVITY OF SEXUAL AGGRESSORS AGAINST WOMEN: A COMPARISON OF EXPLANATORY MODELS*
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ABSTRACT: Three hypotheses have been used to describe the male propensity for sexual aggression towards women: a general propensity to offend, a specific propensity to sexually offend and a combination of both. In this paper, using structural equation modeling, we compared the relative utility of these three hypotheses in explaining criminal activity in adulthood of sexual aggressors of women. In total, 209 adult males who were convicted of at least one sexual offence were included in the study. Results indicate that a propensity model emphasizing the role of an early and persistent general propensity to act in an antisocial manner during childhood and adolescence is most adequate to explain sexual aggressors' criminal activity. After controlling for the role of this propensity, a specific propensity characterized by high sexualization and deviant sexual interests explained only a modest proportion of variance of the sexual criminal activity.Criminology 01/2005; 43(1):249 - 282. · 2.47 Impact Factor -
Article: The generality of criminal behavior: A confirmatory factor analysis of the criminal activity of sex offenders in adulthood
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ABSTRACT: The presence of a general construct of deviance had not been investigated in sex offenders in spite of the presumption of specialization that characterized them. Consequently, the aim of this study was to investigate whether sex offenders' criminal behavior could be explained by a general construct of deviance. A semi-structured interview was conducted with each subject in order to assess deviant behavior during the life course. The official criminal behavior of 388 convicted sex offenders was analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. The pattern of covariance observed showed that the onset, frequency, and variety of criminal activity in adulthood could be explained by a general construct of deviance in sexual aggressors. The results, however, also suggested that child molesters' frequency of sexual crime was not part of a general construct of deviance. In other words, the offending behavior of sexual aggressors of women was predominantly versatile, whereas that of sexual aggressors of children tended to be more specific, at least for one dimension of their criminal activity.Journal of Criminal Justice.
