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Risk and Outcomes: Are Adolescents Charged with Sex Offenses Different from Other Adolescent Offenders?

  • Empirical Research
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Abstract

Juveniles who have committed sexual offenses are subject to specialized treatment and policies based on their assumed unique dangerousness, despite contradictory evidence. Limited information is available regarding risk factors and their relationships to outcomes in this population. The comparative frequency and predictive utility of empirically supported risk factors for general delinquency were examined using data from the Pathways to Desistance study. Adolescent males who committed sexual offenses (n = 127) were compared to adolescent males who committed non-sexual offenses (n = 1021). At the start of the study, the sample ranged in age from 14 to 18 (M = 16.00, SD = 1.12) and self-identified as primarily African American (44 %), Latino (29 %), or White (25 %). Outcomes were measured over 7 years and included general and sexual recidivism, involvement in school and work, and positive relationships with peers and adults. The results indicated a few small differences in the presence of risk factors and their relationship to outcomes, with many similarities. Juveniles who have committed sexual offenses had equivalent general recidivism but higher sexual recidivism, though this rate was low (7.87 %, or 10 of the 127 adolescents who had committed sexual offenses). New clinical and policy approaches may be needed given the similarities between groups.

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Notes

  1. Given the small sample size and potential heterogeneity within the “other” group, analyses using race/ethnicity excluded this group.

  2. The decision to estimate separate models for static and dynamic risk factors is in line with much of the empirically-based developmental/life-course criminology research (see review in Ttofi et al. 2016 and accompanying articles in the special issues of Journal of Criminal Justice on risk and protective factors) as well as sex offender risk assessment (McGrath et al. 2011). In short, by assessing the effect of static factors first and dynamic factors secondarily, researchers may be able to better assess the independent contributions of the dynamic, theoretically-based variables when they are introduced into the models in lieu of the static, largely unmodifiable variables (e.g., Piquero et al. 2015).

  3. For exploratory purposes, the adolescents who had committed sexual offenses were split into two subgroups based on type of sex offense charge. Given that the policies to which these youth are subject are sometimes based on charges, those with a “violent sex offense” (e.g., rape, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault; n = 66) and those with a “sexual abuse” offense (e.g., molestation, indecent exposure, sexual abuse, sexual conduct with a minor, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse; n = 61) were compared to the same group of non-sex offending delinquents (n = 1021) described above. These three groups were not significantly different in age at the time of the baseline interview, but they were different in ethnic/racial composition (Black juveniles over-represented in the Violent group). Adolescents with violent sex offense charges and those with sexual abuse charges did not significantly differ on any risk/need indicator nor any measure of recidivism. Those with violent charges had lower levels of gainful activity and higher levels of positive relationships. Full results on this subgroup comparison are available from the authors.

  4. No participants self-reported attempted or completed forced sex on the SRO during the follow-up period.

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Acknowledgments

The project described was supported by funds from the following organizations: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Institute of Justice, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, William Penn Foundation, Center for Disease Control, National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA019697), Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and the Arizona Governor’s Justice Commission. We are grateful for their support. The content of this article, however, is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of these agencies.

Author Contributions

AF conceived of the current usage of the Pathways study data, performed data analyses, and drafted the majority of the manuscript. CS served as Study Director for the original Pathways to Desistance study, contributed to the current data analyses and interpretation, and drafted part of the methods section; EM served as Principal Investigator for the original Pathways to Desistance study, contributed to data interpretation, and contributed to the writing of the manuscript. AI participated in planning data analyses and editing the manuscript. AP contributed to data analyses planning and interpretation as well as to the writing of the manuscript. All authors contributed to hypothesis generation and all read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Palo Alto University, 1791 Arastradero Rd, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA

    Amanda M. Fanniff

  2. University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O’Hara St., Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Carol A. Schubert & Edward P. Mulvey

  3. Teaching Lab Building, Room 2019, University of North Carolina-Wilmington (UNCW), 601 South College Road, Wilmington, NC, 28403, USA

    Anne-Marie R. Iselin

  4. Program in Criminology, EPPS, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Road, GR31, Richardson, TX, 75080, USA

    Alex R. Piquero

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  1. Amanda M. Fanniff
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Correspondence to Amanda M. Fanniff.

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Fanniff, A.M., Schubert, C.A., Mulvey, E.P. et al. Risk and Outcomes: Are Adolescents Charged with Sex Offenses Different from Other Adolescent Offenders?. J Youth Adolescence 46, 1394–1423 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0536-9

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