A Structural Examination of the Predictors of Sexual Coercion Against Children in Adolescent Sexual Offenders

Abstract

The study proposed an etiological model for sexually offending behavior against younger victims. In a sample of adolescent sexual offenders ( N = 329), it tested whether attachment disruptions, specific maltreatment experiences, or combinations of early abuse experiences played a role in the development of certain unique, core personality traits (i.e., sexual inadequacy, psychopathy, child sexual arousal) that mediate the prediction of sexually coercive behavior. Juvenile sexual offenders were administered the Multidimensional Assessment of Sex and Aggression. In a structural equation model, four significant paths and one minimal path emerged that predicted the preference for younger victims. The model supports the contributory role of emotional abuse (i.e., neglect and antipathy) to the development of the latent variable psychopathy analysis inadequacies and suggests unique features in a subgroup of adolescent child molesters. Thus, this model provides data for the preliminary design of a dimensional model of adolescent sexual coercion against younger children.

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