Traumatic Brain Injury and Sexually Offensive Behaviors

ABSTRACT

Sexually offensive behavior is known to be one of many consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI). This article provides a brief review of research to ascertain the effects of TBI in childhood and adulthood as related to cognitive, behavioral, social, and sexual behaviors. Brain impairment is also identified as a result of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Individuals with sexual offending histories are found to have experienced high numbers of ACEs. Sexually offensive and sexual offending behaviors post-TBI appears to occur in between 3.5 and 9% of affected adults (Simpson, Blaszczynski & Hodgkinson, 1999; Simpson, Sabaz & Daher, 2013). It is recommended that treatment providers make themselves aware of the relationship between TBI, ACEs, and sexually offensive behavior and how this may affect the treatment process.

KEYWORDS:

• Traumatic brain injury
• adverse childhood experiences
• ACEs
• sexually offensive behaviors
• sexual offending
• learning and memory

Compliance with Ethical Standards

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Additional information

Funding

N/A

Notes on contributors

Gerry D. Blasingame

Gerry D. Blasingame has worked with adolescent and adult persons who have intellectual and other developmental disabilities for more than two decades. He currently provides training, program development, evaluations and consultation for therapists and programs supporting people with disabilities who have offended sexually.