A sample of 701 adult men underwent assessment following illegal or clinically significant sexual behaviors or interests. Patients were categorized on the basis of phallometric (penile) responses in the laboratory to erotic stimuli depicting adults, pubescent children, and prepubescent children; histories of sexual offenses; and self-reported sexual interests. Comprising the categories were men sexually interested in prepubescent children (pedophiles; n = 114), men sexually interested in pubescent children (hebephiles; n = 377), men sexually interested in adults and who had committed a sexual offense against an adult (teleiophilic offenders; n = 139), and men sexually interested in adults and who had no known history of any sexual offenses (teleiophilic nonoffenders; n = 71). Patients’ assessments included IQ testing and self-reported academic history, which included any grade failures and assignment to special education classes. Relative to the teleiophilic offenders, both the pedophilic and the hebephilic groups showed approximately double the odds of failing a grade or being enrolled in special education, both before and after covarying IQ. No significant differences were detected between the teleiophilic offenders and the teleiophilic nonoffenders. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that an erotic age preference for children sometimes results from a perturbation of neurodevelopment occurring early in life.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Pedophilia is the erotic interest in prepubescent children (von Krafft-Ebing, 1886/1965).
Hebephilia is the erotic interest in pubescent children (Glueck, 1955).
Teleiophilia is the erotic interest in adults (Blanchard et al., 2000).
REFERENCES
Barnett, K. P., Clarizio, H. F., & Payette, K. A. (1996). Grade retention among students with learning disabilities. Psychology in the Schools, 33, 285–293.
Biederman, J., Monuteaux, M. C., Doyle, A. E., Seidman, L. J., Wilens, T. E., Ferrero, F., et al. (2004). Impact of executive function deficits and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on academic outcomes in children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 757–766.
Blanchard, R., Barbaree, H. E., Bogaert, A. F., Dickey, R., Klassen, P., Kuban, M. E., et al. (2000). Fraternal birth order and sexual orientation in pedophiles. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 29, 463–478.
Blanchard, R., Christensen, B. K., Strong, S. M., Cantor, J. M., Kuban, M. E., Klassen, P., et al. (2002). Retrospective self-reports of childhood accidents causing unconsciousness in phallometrically diagnosed pedophiles. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 31, 511–526.
Blanchard, R., Klassen, P., Dickey, R., Kuban, M. E., & Blak, T. (2001). Sensitivity and specificity of the phallometric test for pedophilia in nonadmitting sex offenders. Psychological Assessment, 13, 118–126.
Blanchard, R., Kuban, M. E., Klassen, P., Dickey, R., Christensen, B. K., Cantor, J. M., et al. (2003). Self-reported injuries before and after age 13 in pedophilic and non-pedophilic men referred for clinical assessment. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 32, 573–581.
Buck, G. M., Msall, M. E., Schisterman, E. F., Lyon, N. R., & Rogers, B. T. (2000). Extreme prematurity and school outcomes. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, 14, 324–331.
Cantor, J. M., Blanchard, R., Christensen, B. K., Dickey, R., Klassen, P. E., Beckstead, A. L., et al. (2004). Intelligence, memory, and handedness in pedophilia. Neuropsychology, 18, 3–14.
Cantor, J. M., Blanchard, R., Robichaud, L. K., & Christensen, B. K. (2005). Quantitative reanalysis of aggregate data on IQ in sexual offenders. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 555–568.
Cantor, J. M., Klassen, P. E., Dickey, R., Christensen, B. K., Kuban, M. E., Blak, T., et al. (2005). Handedness in pedophilia and hebephilia. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 34, 447–459.
Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Déry, M., Toupin, J., Pauzé, R., & Verlaan, P. (2004). Frequency of mental health disorders in a sample of elementary school students receiving special educational services for behavioural difficulties. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 49, 769–775.
Faraone, S. V., Beiderman, J., Lehman, B. K., Spencer, T., Norman, D., Seidman, L. J., et al. (1993). Intellectual performance and school failure in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and in their siblings. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 616–623.
Frank, B. (1931). Mental level as a factor in crime. Journal of Juvenile Research, 15, 192–197.
Glueck, B. C., Jr. (1955). Final report: Research project for the study and treatment of persons convicted of crimes involving sexual aberrations. June 1952 to June 1955. New York: New York State Department of Mental Hygiene.
Hanson, R. K., & Bussière, M. T. (1998). Predicting relapse: A meta-analysis of sexual offender recidivism studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 348–362.
Hollowman, H. A., Dobbins, D. R., & Scott, K. G. (1998). The effects of biological and social risk factors on special education placement: Birth weight and maternal education as an example. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 19, 281–294.
Howes, R. J. (1995). A survey of plethysmographic assessment in North America. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 7, 9–24.
Kochanek, T. T., Kabacoff, R. I., & Lipsitt, L. P. (1987). Early detection of handicapping conditions in infancy and early childhood: Toward a multivariate model. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 8, 411–420.
McLeskey, J., & Grizzle, K. L. (1992). Grade retention rates among students with learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 58, 548–554.
National Center for Education Statistics. (1997). Dropout rates in the United States: 1995 (NCES 97-473). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
Offord, D. R., & Lipman, E. L. (1996). Emotional and behavioural problems. In Human Resources Development Canada & Statistics Canada (Eds.), Growing up in Canada: National longitudinal study of children and youth (pp. 119–126). Ottawa, Ontario: Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada.
Place, M., Wilson, J., Martin, E., & Hulsmeier, J. (2000). The frequency of emotional and behavioural disturbance in an EBD school. Child Psychology and Psychiatry Review, 5, 76–80.
Pinto-Martin, J., Whitaker, A., Feldman, J., Cnaan, A., Zhao, H., Rosen-Bloch, J., et al. (2004). Special education services and school performance in a regional cohort of low-birthweight infants at age nine. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, 18, 120–129.
Tellegen, A., & Briggs, P. F. (1967). Old wine in new skins: Grouping Wechsler subtests into new scales. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 31, 499–506.
U.S. Department of Education. (2002). Twenty-third annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Washington, DC: Author.
von Krafft-Ebing, R. (1965). Psychopathia sexualis: A medico-forensic study (H. E. Wedeck, Trans.). New York: Putnam. (Original work published 1886).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank C. Crimmins for her assistance in locating background information and Meredith Chivers for her comments on an earlier version of this paper. This research was supported by the Canadian Institute of Health Research grant 94205 to Ray Blanchard.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cantor, J.M., Kuban, M.E., Blak, T. et al. Grade Failure and Special Education Placement in Sexual Offenders’ Educational Histories. Arch Sex Behav 35, 743–751 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-006-9018-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-006-9018-6