Eric Beauregard, Patrick Lussier, Jean Proulx
First Published April 1, 2004 – http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/107906320401600205
Abstract
This study investigated developmental factors associated with deviant sexual preferences among a sample of adult male rapists.
While theoretical models of sexual aggression against women have identified several variables related to rape proclivity, few have examined the process through which deviant sexual preferences develop. The current study assessed 118 adult male sexual aggressors against women who were processed through the Regional Reception Center, a maximum-security penal institution in Canada, between 1995 and 2000. Participants completed a self-administered computerized questionnaire which probed issues related to developmental factors, crime factors, and psychological characteristics. Questionnaires were based on semi-structured interviews conducted with participants. Of the total sample, 102 participants underwent phallometric assessment using French translations of audiotaped stimuli. Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that a sexually inappropriate family environment, use of pornography during childhood and adolescence, and deviant sexual fantasies during childhood and adolescence were associated with the development of deviant sexual preferences. These findings are consistent with theoretical explanations related to the proclivity to commit rape. The findings also support the model proposed by Knight and Sims-Knight involving three developmental pathways to sexual deviance. Given the moderate level of explained variance in the current study, future research should investigate additional variables in the etiology of sexual deviance among male rapists.
| Abel, G.G., Barlow, D.H., Blanchard, E.B., & Guild, D. (1977). The components of rapists’ sexual arousal. Archives of General Psychiatry, 34, 895-903. Google Scholar Medline | |
| Abel, G.G., Blanchard, E.B., Becker, J.V., & Djenderedjian, A. (1978). Differentiating sexual aggressives with penile measures. Criminal Justice and Behavior , 5, 315-332. Google Scholar | |
| Abel, G.G., Mittelman, M.S., & Becker, J.V. (1985). Sexual offenders: Results of assessment and recommendations for treatment. In M. H. Ben-Aron, S. J. Hucker, & C. D. Webster (Eds.), Clinical Criminology: The Assessment and Treatment of Criminal Behavior (pp. 191-205). Toronto: M. & M. Graphics. Google Scholar | |
| Abel, G.G., & Rouleau, J.L. (1990). The nature and extent of sexual assault. In W. L. Marshall, D. R. Laws, & H. E. Barbaree (Eds.), Handbook of sexual assault: Issues, theories, and treatment of the offender (pp. 9-21). New York: Plenum . Google Scholar | |
| Barbaree, H.E., Marshall, W.L., & Lanthier, R.D. (1979). Deviant sexual arousal in rapists. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 77, 215-222. Google Scholar | |
| Barbaree, H.E., Seto, M.C., Serin, R.C., Amos, N.L., & Preston, D.L. (1994). Comparisons between sexual and nonsexual rapist subtypes: Sexual arousal to rape, offense precursors, and offense characteristics . Criminal Justice and Behavior, 21, 95-114. Google Scholar | |
| Baxter, D.J., Barbaree, H.E., & Marshall, W.L. (1986). Sexual responses to consenting and forced sex in a large sample of rapists and nonrapists. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 24, 513-520. Google Scholar Medline | |
| Baxter, D.J., Marshall, W.L., Barbaree, H.E., Davidson, P.R., & Malcolm, P.B. (1984). Deviant sexual behavior: Differentiating sex offenders by criminal and personality history, psychometric measures, and sexual response . Criminal Justice and Behavior, 11,477-501. Google Scholar | |
| Becker, J.V., Hunter, J.A., Stein, R.M., & Kaplan, M.S. (1989). Factors associated with erection in adolescent sex offenders. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment , 2, 355-363. Google Scholar | |
| Becker, J.V., Kaplan, M.S., & Tenke, C.E. (1992). The relationship of abuse history, denial and erectile response: Profiles of adolescent sexual perpetrators. Behavior Therapy, 23, 87-97. Google Scholar | |
| Becker, J.V., & Stein, R.M. (1991). Is sexual erotica associated with sexual deviance in adolescent males? International Journal of Law and Psychiatry , 14, 85-95. Google Scholar Medline | |
| Blader, J.C., & Marshall, W.L. (1989). Is assessment of sexual arousal in rapists worthwhile? A critique of current methods and the development of a response compatibility approach. Clinical Psychology Review, 9, 569-587. Google Scholar | |
| Castonguay, L.G., Proulx, J., Aubut, J., McKibben, A., & Campbell, M. (1993). Sexual preference assessment of sexual aggressors: Predictors of penile response magnitude. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 22, 325-334. Google Scholar Medline | |
| Earls, C.M., & Proulx, J. (1987). The differentiation of francophone rapists and nonrapists using penile circumferential measures. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 13, 419-429. Google Scholar | |
| Freund, K., Scher, H., Racansky, I.G., Campbell, K., & Heasman, G. (1986). Males disposed to commit rape. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 15, 23-35. Google Scholar Medline | |
| Hall, G.C.N., & Hirshman, R. (1991). Toward a theory of sexual aggression: A quadripartite model. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 662-669. Google Scholar Medline | |
| Harris, G.T., Rice, M.E., Chaplin, T.C., & Quinsey, V.L. ( 1999). Dissimulation in phallometric testing of rapists’ sexual preferences. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 28, 223-232. Google Scholar Medline | |
| Harris, G.T., Rice, M.E., Quinsey, V.L., Chaplin, T.C., & Earls, C. (1992). Maximizing the discriminant validity of phallometric assessment data. Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 4, 502-511. Google Scholar | |
| Howes, R.J. (1998). Plethysmographic assessment of incarcerated nonsexual offenders: A comparison with rapists. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 10, 183-194. Google Scholar | |
| Hunter, J.A., & Becker, J.V. (1994). The role of deviant sexual arousal in juvenile sexual offending: Etiology, evaluation, and treatment. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 21, 132-149. Google Scholar | |
| Knight, R.A., & Prentky, R.A. (1990). Classifying sexual offenders: The development and corroboration of taxonomic models. In W. L. Marshall, D. R. Laws, & H. E. Barbaree (Eds.), Handbook of sexual assault: Issues, theories, and treatment of the offender (pp. 23-52). New York: Plenum. Google Scholar | |
| Knight, R.A., & Sims-Knight, J.E. (in press). The developmental antecedents of sexual coercion against women in adolescents. | |
| Lalumi6re, M.L., & Quinsey, V.L. ( 1994). The discriminability of rapists from non-sex offenders using phallometric measures: A meta-analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 21, 150-175. Google Scholar | |
| Langevin, R., Ben-Aron, M.H., Coulthard, R., Heasman, R., Purins, J.E., Handy, L.C., et al. (1985). Sexual aggression: Constructing a predictive equation. A controlled pilot study. In R. Langevin (Ed.), Erotic preference, gender identity, and aggression in men: New research studies (pp. 39-76). Hillsdale, NJ : Erlbaum. Google Scholar | |
| Laws, D.R., & Marshall, W.L. (1990). A conditioning theory of the etiology and maintenance of deviant sexual preference and behavior . In W. L Marshall, D. R. Laws, & H. E. Barbaree (Eds.), Handbook of sexual assault: Issues, theories, and treatment of the offender (pp. 209-229). New York: Plenum . Google Scholar | |
| Looman, J. (2000). Sexual arousal in rapists as measured by two stimulus sets. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 12, 235-248. Google Scholar Medline | |
| Malamuth, N.M. (1986). Predictors of naturalistic sexual aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 953-962. Google Scholar Medline | |
| Malamuth, N.M., Haber, S., & Feshbach, S. (1980). Testing hypotheses regarding rape: Exposure to sexual violence, sex differences, and the normality of rapists. Journal of Research in Personality, 14, 121-137. Google Scholar | |
| Malamuth, N.M., Sockloskie, R.J., Koss, M. P, & Tanaka, J.S. (1991). Characteristics of aggressors against women: Testing a model using a national sample of college students . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 670-68 1. Google Scholar Medline | |
| Marshall, W.L., & Barbaree, H.E. (1990). An integrated theory of the etiology of sexual offending. In W. L. Marshall, D. R. Laws, & H. E. Barbaree (Eds.), Handbook of sexual assault: Issues, theories, and treatment of the offender (pp. 257-275). New York: Plenum. Google Scholar | |
| Marshall, W.L., & Femandez, Y.M. (2000). Phallometric testing with sexual offenders: Limits to its value. Clinical Psychology Review, 20, 807-822. Google Scholar Medline | |
| McGuire, R.J., Carlisle, J.M., & Young, B.G. (1965). Sexual deviations as conditioned behavior: A hypothesis . Behaviour Research and Therapy, 2, 185-190. Google Scholar | |
| Murphy, W.D., Krisak, J., Stalgaitis, S., & Anderson, K. (1984). The use of penile tumescence measures with incarcerated rapists: Further validity issues. Archives of Sexual Behavior , 13, 545-554. Google Scholar Medline | |
| Proulx, J., Aubut, J., McKibben, A., & Côté, M. (1994). Penile responses of rapists and nonrapists to rape stimuli involving physical violence or humiliation. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 23, 295-310. Google Scholar Medline | |
| Proulx, J., Côté, G., & Achille, P.A. (1993). Prevention of voluntary control of penile response in homosexual pedophiles during phallometric testing. Journal of Sex Research, 30, 140-147. Google Scholar | |
| Proulx, J., St-Yves, M., Guay, J.-P., & Ouimet, M. (1999). Les agresseurs sexuels de femmes: Scénarios délictuels et troubles de la personnalité. In J. Proulx , M. Cusson, & M. Ouimet (Eds.), Les violences criminelles (pp. 157-185). Saint-Nicholas, QC: Les Presses de l’Université Laval . Google Scholar | |
| Proulx, J., St-Yves, M., & McKibben, A. (1994). CQSA: Computerized Questionnaire for Sexual Aggressors . Unpublished manuscript. Google Scholar | |
| Quinsey, V.L., & Chaplin, T.C. (1982). Penile responses to nonsexual violence among rapists . Criminal Justice and Behavior, 9, 372-381. Google Scholar | |
| Quinsey, V.L., & Chaplin, T.C. (1984). Stimulus control of rapists’ and non-sex offenders’ sexual arousal. Behavioral Assessment, 6, 169-176. Google Scholar | |
| Quinsey, V.L., Chaplin, T.C., & Upfold, D. (1984). Sexual arousal to nonsexual violence and sadomasochistic themes among rapists and non-sex offenders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 651-657. Google Scholar Medline | |
| Quinsey, V.L., Chaplin, T.C., & Varney, G. ( 1981 ). A comparison of rapists’ and non-sex offenders’ sexual preferences for mutually consenting sex, rape, and physical abuse of women. Behavioral Assessment, 3, 127-135. Google Scholar | |
| Quinsey, V.L., & Marshall, W.L. (1983). Procedures for reducing inappropriate sexual arousal: An evaluation review. In J. G. Greer & I. R. Stuart (Eds.), The sexual aggressor: Current perspectives on treatment (pp. 267-289). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Google Scholar | |
| Serin, R.C., Malcolm, P.B., Khanna, A., & Barbaree, H.E. (1994). Psychopathy and deviant sexual arousal in incarcerated sexual offenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 9, 3-11. Google Scholar | |
| Seto, M.C., Maric, A., & Barbaree, H.E. (2001). Role of pornography in the etiology of sexual aggression. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 6, 35-53. Google Scholar | |
| Wormith, J.S., Bradford, J.M.W., Pawlak, A., Borzecki, M., & Zohar, A. (1988). The assessment of deviant sexual arousal as a function of intelligence, instructional set and alcohol ingestion. Unpublished manuscript. Google Scholar | |
| Wydra, A., Marshall, W.L., Earls, C.M., & Barbaree, H.E. (1983). Identification of cues and control of sexual arousal by rapists. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 21, 469-476. Google Scholar Medline |
;