Self-help Articles

by Michael C. Seto, Ph.D., Martin L. Lalumiere, Ph.D.

Adolescent sex offenders are often stereotyped and treated as socially inept, but a research conducted by Michael Seto Ph.D. and Martin Lalumiere, Ph.D. negates this image. The research, which compared 3,855 male adolescent sex offenders with 13,393 male adolescent non-sex offenders between the ages 12 and 18, found that sex offenders are more likely to be characterized by atypical sexual interests than a lack of social skills.

“Researchers in the adolescent sex offender field have focused on sexual abuse history (more than half of the studies we reviewed reported data on this variable) but have paid relatively little attention to other aspects of sexuality, focusing instead on nonsexual factors (e.g., parent-child attachment, social skills deficits, psychopathology),” the authors wrote. “Our results suggest promising directions for research on the roles of exposure to sexual violence, exposure to sex or pornography more generally and atypical sexual interests.” Moreover, Seto said he hopes that the finding of their research can pave the way for a solution to stop the spread of adolescent sex offending cases.

Motivations For Adolescent Sex Offenders

The study found no significant difference between adolescent sex offenders and adolescent non-sex offenders in terms of social competence or social skills. This indicates that social incompetence does not explain why some adolescents commit sex crimes rather than other kinds of crimes, and questions the prominent role that social skills training often plays in rehabilitation programs.

The researchers found that atypical sexual interests seemed to be an important motivation for some adolescents who commit sexual offenses. In fact, adolescent sex offenders were found to be more likely to have atypical sexual interests than other adolescent offenders. Seto suggests that discussions of sexuality need to happen more often and openly in order to facilitate the identification of those who are at risk to become sex offenders and to facilitate their treatment. This shift can begin with more research about sexuality and sexual offenders.

It is important to note though that social isolation is an important factor. Seto and Lalumiere found that adolescent sex offenders had more feelings of social isolation and withdrawal than adolescent non-sex offenders.

“I speculate that feelings of social isolation among adolescent sex offenders come as a result of social norms and stigma that make it difficult to talk about sexual abuse history or sexual urges or fantasies that are outside of what is considered normal,” Seto said.

A Better Approach to Adolescent Sex Offenders

“If adolescents think they cannot talk about what they are thinking or feeling, then they cannot seek help and guidance. Encouraging more open dialogue about sexuality between young people and their parents, teachers and health care workers could be a key element in preventing adolescents from committing sexual offenses.”

Although Seto and Lalumiere emphasized that most adolescents who are sexually abused do not become sex offenders, the study reconfirmed that there is some relationship between a history of sexual abuse and sexual offending. The data suggest that sexual abuse is associated with the likelihood that someone will commit a sexual offense for the first time, but they do not predict who is more likely to sexually reoffend once identified. This suggests that child abuse prevention activities, in addition to the important role of protecting children from abuse, can help prevent adolescent sexual offending.

Article:

“What Is So Special About Male Adolescent Sexual Offending? A Review and Test of Explanations Through Meta-Analysis,” Michael C. Seto, PhD, University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research and Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, and Martin L. Lalumiere, PhD, University of Lethbridge; Psychological Bulletin, Vol.136, No. 4.