Deck 14: B: Sexual Offenders

Question 1

Groth (1979)proposed a threefold rapist typology.Name and briefly define each of these types of rapists,focusing on each rapist's goals,the amount of force used,and the primary motivations.

Answer 1

-Anger rapist: goal is to unleash anger directed at women; uses more force than necessary to obtain compliance; motivated by anger and not by sexual gratification
-Power rapist: goal is to assert dominance and control over victim; amount of force used depends on victim compliance; frequent rape fantasies but generally not motivated by sexual gratification,but rather the need to dominate women
-Sadistic rapist: goal is to obtain sexual gratification by hurting the victim; high levels of aggression,torture,perhaps even death; frequent violent sexual fantasies

Question 2

Describe the two main components of relapse prevention programs aimed at sexual offenders.In addition,distinguish between the terms lapse,relapse,and abstinence violation effect in the context of relapse prevention programs.

Answer 2

-Components of relapse prevention program:
a.Offenders must list emotional and situational risk factors that lead to either fantasizing about sexual abuse or actually committing sexual abuse.
b.Offenders must develop a plan to learn appropriate coping and avoidance strategies to deal with potentially high-risk situations.
-Lapse: any occurrence of fantasizing about sexual offending or engaging in behaviours that are part of the offence cycle
-Relapse: occurrence of a sexual offence
-Abstinence violation effect: manner in which the offender reacts to a lapse

Question 3

Describe the primary method used to assess deviant sexual interests,as well as two approaches used to treat deviant sexual interests.

Answer 3

One of the most popular methods to assess deviant sexual interests is the use of penile phallometry.Penile phallometry involves placing a measurement device around the penis to measure changes in sexual arousal.To measure deviant sexual interests in child molesters,photos of naked male and female children and adults are presented,as well as rapists' recorded descriptions of nondeviant and deviant sexual behaviour.
Many different techniques have been developed to train offenders to eliminate deviant
thoughts and interests and to increase the frequency of appropriate sexual thoughts and interests.For example,in aversion therapy,the offender is sometimes given an aversive substance to smell (e.g.,ammonia)whenever he has a deviant sexual fantasy.The underlying goal is to reduce the attractiveness of these deviant fantasies by pairing them with a negative event.
Another approach is called masturbatory satiation.In this treatment,the offender is told to masturbate to ejaculation to a nondeviant fantasy.After ejaculation,he is told to
switch to a deviant fantasy,thus pairing the inability to become aroused to this deviant fantasy.The effectiveness of these techniques to change deviant sexual interests has been questioned by several researchers (Quinsey & Earls,1990).

Question 4

List four characteristics of the fixated child molester and four characteristics of the regressed child molester.

Question 5

Knight and Prentky (1990)developed the Revised Rapist Typology (MTC: R3)which consists of five primary subtypes of rapists.Name and briefly define each of these types of rapists,focusing on each rapist's motivational differences.

Question 6

Identify and discuss the five main myths associated with sexual assault discussed in your text,including facts that challenge these false beliefs.

Question 7

According to Finkelhor's (1984)theory of child molesting,what are the four preconditions in order for sexual abuse to occur?

Question 8

List the four types of female sexual offenders identified by Atkinson (1996).Describe each in terms of their offending behaviour and their backgrounds.