Hypersexual disorder and recidivism risk in individuals convicted of sexual offenses

ABSTRACT

Hypersexual disorder (HD) is characterized by an excessively increased frequency and intensity of sexual fantasies, urges, or behaviors and is a recidivsm risk factor for sexual offenses. The present study examined the relevance of HD in predicting sexual recidivism using previously proposed diagnostic criteria for DSM-5. First, we investigated the prevalence of HD in a sample of 418 adult men incarcerated for sexual offenses. Second, by using a follow-up period of M = 11.07 years (SD = 1.86), the accuracy of the HD criteria in predicting general sexual, contact sexual and violent recidivism was examined. Finally, the incremental predictive validity of HD beyond the Static-99 and the Stable-2007 was calculated. The proposed DSM-5 criteria were fulfilled by 6.6% of the sample. HD and two of its five diagnostic criteria exhibited significant correlations with sexual recidivism. A small significant predictive accuracy for contact sexual recidivism (AUC = .614) was found, which increased when a sum score of the five diagnostic criteria was used (AUC = .652). Finally, the HD sum score showed incremental predictive validity beyond the joint Static-99 and Stable-2007. Therefore, a more specific understanding of hypersexuality can contribute to risk management in the context of sexual (re-)offending.

KEYWORDS:

• Hypersexual disorder
• hypersexuality
• sexual addiction
• sexual compulsivity
• DSM-5
• sexual offenses
• recidivism risk

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Declarations

P.G-H designed the research study. She did all statistical analyses and wrote up the paper. P.G-H, D.T., and M.R. completed the HD ratings. R.E. and M.R. analyzed and computed reoffense data. P.B. and D.T. reviewed the draft of the manuscript. R.E., D.T., and M.R. contributed to the data interpretation and writing up the result and discussion section. R.E. provided consultation on data analysis and interpretation, reviewed, and revised the manuscript, and contributed new content to the discussion section.

Ethical statement

The current research project was conducted in accordance with the legal and ethical demands of the Austrian Department of Justice and in accordance with the national Data Protection Act. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Austrian Prison System.

Notes

1. During the discussion process, the diagnostic threshold proposed for DSM-5 changed from three A-criteria – as assumed in the present study – to four out of the five A-criteria (Kafka, 2013). This decision grounds on the recommendation of different expert groups, which intended to reduce the risk of false-positive diagnoses. Changes in the diagnostic threshold did not lead to changes in the prevalence rates in the present sample.