An exploration of individual differences in a sample of youth charged with violent sexual and non-sexual crimes

Abstract

Youth who engage in violent crime, including sexual offences, remain understudied. Research conducted on adults suggests that factors linked to antisocial and violent behaviour may enhance the current understanding of sexual offences. These factors include a consideration of how dark personality traits (such as psychopathy) and childhood maltreatment may inform the likelihood of sexual offending. Utilizing a sample of juvenile alleged violent offenders (n = 113), the present study examines the construct of adolescent psychopathy, with abuse as a potential moderator, in relation to offence perpetration. Contrary to some of the literature on adults, the findings indicate that neither psychopathy nor experience of abuse differentiates sexual from non-sexual violent offenders. They also suggest that scoring higher on psychopathy relates to violence more broadly. The importance of tailored programming for youth who may be at risk of offending or who require treatment in the justice system is explored.

Key words:

• violence
• sexual violence
• violence prevention
• psychopathy
• childhood maltreatment
• juvenile justice
• individual differences

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical standards

Declaration of conflicts of interest

Katherine Rose has declared no conflict of interest

Dr. Michael Woodworth has declared no conflict of interest

Jennifer Minton has declared no conflict of interest

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.