Konsumenten illegaler Internet-Pornographie – psychische Auffälligkeiten und Risiken der Straffälligkeit

Internet sex offending, especially child pornography, is widespread and numbers of convictions are increasing steadily worldwide. The still sparse data from research as well as empiricism from risk assessment and therapeutic work suggest the following: Internet sex offender as well as child abusers are represented in all social classes and all age ranges. Both show similarities in dependent, avoidant and partially schizoid social interaction as well as in anxiety. However the personality organisation of child abusers is usually less structured and tends towards personality disorder, especially with emotionally instable and antisocial traits. Usually pedophilia can be diagnosed in child abusers. Internet sex offenders on the other hand have fewer prior convictions, are less likely to fail in the community, have a very low risk of sexual recidivism and only part of them fulfil the diagnostic criteria for pedophilia. There is no clear evidence for an escalation from internet sex offending to child abuse. The essential characteristics for an escalation are well known and should lead to immediate therapeutic intervention as well as psychological strain should. Only few institutions worldwide provide professional help to support the ones concerned to reduce stigma and thus prevent recidivism and child abuse.     

From child pornography offending to child sexual abuse: A review of child pornography offender characteristics and risks for cross-over

In this review, concrete directions are provided for individual risk assessment, treatment planning, and future research on child pornography offending. First, based on reviewing offender characteristics, including demographics, socio-affective difficulties, cognitive distortions and psychosexual issues, it is concluded that despite individual differences, many child pornography offenders have psychological difficulties in multiple areas of functioning. Based on earlier child pornography offender typologies, it is proposed that risk factors of individual offenders can be viewed along the lines of two continua: (1) features related to criminal behavior, and (2) sexual deviance/fantasy. These continua not only give insight into psychological differences between offender types, but also allow for variation in the severity of psychological difficulties within offender types and therefore may enhance individual risk assessment and treatment planning. Moreover, risk factors for cross-over are discussed, including individual characteristics, factors related to engagement with the internet, and the offline environment. Future research should focus on the integration of risk domains within particular offending types. Specifically, research is needed on non-offending pedophiles in order to gain more insight into the relationship between pedophilia and child pornography offending in general.     

Child pornography offenses are a valid diagnostic indicator of pedophilia

This study investigated whether being charged with a child pornography offense is a valid diagnostic indicator of pedophilia, as represented by an index of phallometrically assessed sexual arousal to children. The sample of 685 male patients was referred between 1995 and 2004 for a sexological assessment of their sexual interests and behavior. As a group, child pornography offenders showed greater sexual arousal to children than to adults and differed from groups of sex offenders against children, sex offenders against adults, and general sexology patients. The results suggest child pornography offending is a stronger diagnostic indicator of pedophilia than is sexually offending against child victims. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.     

Die Screening Skala Pädophilen Tatverhaltens

The importance of including crime scene information into the diagnostic process and into risk assessment is emphasized throughout the literature. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the feasibility of identifying pedophilic interest in child molesters using crime scene information. The development sample consisted of 113 expert opinions in forensic cases of sexual child abuse. The sample covered 50 pedophilic and 63 non-pedophilic offenders. Based on theoretical and empirical considerations it was concluded that the study should capture 6 content areas including 24 variables. Multivariate analyses revealed that the seven items that comprise the screening scale of pedophilic criminal behavior (SSPC) showed high predictive accuracy for the diagnosis of pedophilia (area under the curve AUC?=?0.91, standard error SE?=?0.03) and had incremental validity above and beyond the screening scale for pedophilic interest (SSPI).     

Understanding online child pornography use: Applying sexual offense theory to internet offenders

This review outlines the links between contemporary etiological and offense-process theories of child sexual abuse and our current knowledge of individuals who commit offenses related to online child pornography. First, we integrate previous behavioral typologies into a four-category internet offender typology. Second, we summarize development of etiological theory and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these theories in explaining the child pornography offender. Third, we outline the potential situational and ecological factors relating to the online environment that may also be a cause for the development and maintenance of prurient online behavior. Fourth, we review theories of the offense process and apply these to research into the modus operandi of child pornography offenders. Finally, we examine the usefulness of this approach in the assessment of risk and the treatment of online offenders.     

Psychological treatment of pedophiles

The main treatment problem of pedophilia is motivating the offender to change. Reasons for the perpetrator's resistance to therapy and strategies for motivating them to change are discussed. Current assumptions about the etiology of this sexual anomaly are examined. Results from a databank of sex offenders are reviewed to show that it is uncommon for pedophiles to be victims of sexual abuse, including incest, and few need pornography as stimulants. Therapeutic difficulties include the egocentric, egosyntonic, and erotically gratifying nature of pedophilia to the perpetrator, his unwillingness to give up his behavior, his tendency to rationalize his acts, and to see the child as consenting. Group therapy and a variety of clinical imagery procedures with case examples are discussed as ways of overcoming the poor motivational state of pedophiles for treatment.     

The dark figure of sexual offending: A replication and extension

Studies of the dark figure of sexual offending using federal correctional clients reported significant evidence of previously unknown or hidden sexual violence, often among clients with no official criminal history. Unfortunately, research has produced variable estimates of how large the dark figure is. The current study sought to replicate recent studies of federal sexual offenders about the dark figure of sexual offending. We also extended the knowledge base by providing additional correlational analyses to see whether self-reported and official sexual offending have shared or divergent correlates. Overall, 73.8% of federal sexual offenders reported prior contact victims, which is higher than, but generally consistent with, prior prevalence estimates of 55–69% in studies of federal correctional clients. In the current data, clients convicted of child pornography possession or receipt and who had no official record of sexual abuse nevertheless reported contact sexual offenses in more than 59% of cases.     

Pornography use and sexual aggression: the impact of frequency and type of pornography use on recidivism among sexual offenders

In this study, we examined the unique contribution of pornography consumption to the longitudinal prediction of criminal recidivism in a sample of 341 child molesters. We specifically tested the hypothesis, based on predictions informed by the confluence model of sexual aggression that pornography will be a risk factor for recidivism only for those individuals classified as relatively high risk for re-offending. Pornography use (frequency and type) was assessed through self-report and recidivism was measured using data from a national database from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Indices of recidivism, which were assessed up to 15 years after release, included an overall criminal recidivism index, as well as subcategories focusing on violent (including sexual) recidivism and sexual recidivism alone. Results for both frequency and type of pornography use were generally consistent with our predictions. Most importantly, after controlling for general and specific risk factors for sexual aggression, pornography added significantly to the prediction of recidivism. Statistical interactions indicated that frequency of pornography use was primarily a risk factor for higher-risk offenders, when compared with lower-risk offenders, and that content of pornography (i.e., pornography containing deviant content) was a risk factor for all groups. The importance of conceptualizing particular risk factors (e.g., pornography), within the context of other individual characteristics is discussed.     

Born This Way? A Qualitative Examination of Public Perceptions of the Causes of Pedophilia and Sexual Offending against Children

Understanding public opinion about the causes of pedophilia and/or child sex offending is vital, as the views of the public influence how governments respond to sexual offenders. However, little research has been undertaken on this topic. This study addresses this gap by examining the causes that members of the public ascribe to pedophilia and/or child sexual abuse using qualitative data from online forums. The etiological accounts that the public gave provide important information for those developing public prevention policies and/or education campaigns about child sexual abuse. Key implications of these etiological explanations are analyzed in this regard.     

Schädigungsmechanismen beim sexuellen Missbrauch von Kindern

The criminal intervention in child sexual development is carried out in a protean event of increasing exploration of ones own body, also reciprocally with other children and ultimately the development of shame. This process is part of the identity development of children, to which their bodily sexual self-concept also belongs. Against this background, the multitude of sexual activities also of smaller children is presented in order to discuss the question of whether the quality and intensity of the various acts of sexual abuse (manifest violence versus apparently violence-free usurpation) lead to different mental and social sequelae. Thoughts are presented on how this harm could have arisen. Excluded are the particularly complex problems of ideological excessive assaults in religious or pedagogic faith communities. The article is intended as an incentive to discussion.     

Sexual offenses against children: Patterns and motives

Children are the quintessential innocent victims; therefore, special opprobrium is reserved for offenders who sexually abuse them. This article describes the more prominent typologies of pedophilic sex offenders and discusses the role of child pornography in child sexual abuse of actual children. It next examines the often overlooked population of women offenders who sexually abuse children. Attention then turns to the sexual abuse of children in child care settings and by members of the clergy; practical recommendations are provided for reducing the risk of this kind of institutional child sexual abuse. Theoretical conceptualizations of child sexual abuse are considered, in the three main categories of cognitive–psychodynamic theories, neuropsychological conceptualizations, and contributions from the emerging field of evolutionary psychology. Finally, recommendations are made for developing a way of handling sex offenders, including sexual offenders against children, that balances the fair administration of justice with society's obligation to protect vulnerable potential victims.     

Association between Child Abuse and Health Risk Behaviors among Chinese College Students

Little is known about the link between child abuse and health risk behaviors among Chinese college students. This cross-sectional study examined the prevalence of child abuse and its relations with individual and clusters of health risk behaviors among Chinese college students. A total of 507 students participated in this survey. The prevalence of child abuse from the highest to the lowest was emotional neglect (53.9%), physical neglect (49.0%), emotional abuse (21.8%), physical abuse (18.3%), and sexual abuse (18.1%), respectively. Males were more likely to report child abuse than females (p?<?0.01). For males, emotional abuse was associated with internet addiction [OR?=?2.28; 95%CI (1.00, 5.20)] and suicidal behavior [OR?=?12.47, 95%CI (2.61, 59.54)]; while sexual abuse was associated with internet addiction [OR?=?2.30, 95%CI (1.14, 4.66)]. For females, emotional abuse was significantly associated with increased risks for self-harm behavior [OR?=?15.03, 95%CI (3.59, 63.07)] and suicidal behavior [OR?=?5.16, 95%CI (1.63, 16.40)]. Physical abuse was related to risks for internet addiction [OR?=?2.50, 95%CI (1.03, 6.04)] significantly. Two-step cluster analysis showed that participants in clusters with more health risk behaviors reported higher scores of child abuse. These findings suggest that child abuse was associated with both individual and clustering of health risk behaviors among Chinese college students.     

Psychopathie,antisoziale Persönlichkeitsstörung und Sexualdelinquenz

In today’s field of forensic psychiatry, psychopathy is seen as a subtype of antisocial personality disorder and includes manipulative behavior, egocentric and arrogant characteristics, high-risk behavior as well as a lack of empathy. Empirical data on the prevalence of psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder among offenders greatly vary depending on the study design and the composition of the sampled population. Offenders who committed both violent and sex offenses seem to have antisocial traits with a higher probability than offenders who committed only violent or only sex offenses. In the context of criminal responsibility and risk assessment for sex offenders, antisocial and psychopathic traits have a negative impact on the prediction of recidivism. Many study results, even though not all, additionally indicate that the combination of psychopathic traits and sexual deviance (i.?e. for example a paraphilic disorder such as sexual sadism) in sex offenders may be associated with a particularly high risk to reoffend. Due to the specific interpersonal characteristics (e.?g., dominant, provocative behavior, exaggerated self-esteem), therapeutic treatment of sex offenders with antisocial and psychopathic traits is often difficult. The regular supervision by the therapist is considered to be crucial to avoid harmful relationship dynamics or distorted perception of the therapist.     

Pathologisches Glücksspiel und Delinquenz

Pathological gambling is characterized by excessive gambling behavior which influences the life and well-being of a person in a dysfunctional way. It often leads to severe consequences in social and family life, career and material matters. This can also include illegal acts. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV) excessive gambling was classified under impulse-control disorders but was renamed as gambling disorder (GD) and reclassified under the category “substance-related and addictive disorders” in DSM-5, due to parallels to substance use disorders in the clinical characteristics as well as genetic and neurobiological factors. In Germany, approximately 0.5?% of the adult population suffer from GD. Especially gambling machines are associated with an increased risk of gambling-related problems. Common comorbidities are substance-related and affective disorders. The most important risk factors are young age, male gender, a history of migration, gambling-related problems in the family, unemployment, a low educational level and low household income. Delinquent behavior was not considered to be a sufficiently discriminative factor for GD, although there is a correlation between delinquency and gambling behavior. In addition, those GD subjects who show delinquent behavior also show a specific risk profile. Thus, mental health professionals should be aware of possible psychosocial consequences in GD, such as illegal acts, and this should be addressed in the effective treatment strategies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Moreover, it is necessary to improve the access routes for affected people into healthcare system in order to ensure early detection and treatment of the disease.     

Therapieverläufe von Sexualstraftätern

Throughout the past decades evaluation studies on sexual offender treatment have led to controversies. While numerous studies examined the effectiveness of different interventions, the possible underlying mediating mechanisms have largely been neglected. This study took a multimethod approach to investigate the measurability of change processes in sexual offenders serving a sentence in the social therapeutic institution (SothA) of the detention center in Tegel, Germany (n?=?105). A longitudinal design with three groups (i.e. waiting group, treatment group and day release group) from four perspectives on change processes (i.e. external criminal prognostic assessment, therapists’ view, staff observation and clients’ perspective) was employed. Most criminal prognostic risk and protective factors improved over the course of treatment and this effect was smallest in the waiting group. While therapists reported increased therapeutic constraints in the course of treatment, they were more favorable in the criminal prognosis and detected more differentiated patterns of needs and resources of clients as conceptualized by the primary and secondary assets of the good lives model (GLM). In contrast, during the course of treatment the sexual offenders showed an increased awareness of the criminogenically relevant problems in the sexual domain. Nonetheless, the overall number of problems they identified as criminogenically relevant decreased. The internal problem attribution in the sense of internal causes (“It is my fault”) and capability of change (“Only I can solve the problem”) was increased. The stronger the clients’ perception of own problems in the sexual context increased over the course of treatment, the more positive the change in the staff’s view of their behavior became and the more their dynamic risk factors improved. Overall, this study found strong evidence that change processes in SothA might already be detectable during ongoing social treatment. It is currently uncertain whether these changes influence future recidivism. A comparison with recidivism data is necessary and in planning.     

The role of pornography in the etiology of sexual aggression

Despite the public and scientific attention the topic has received, the evidence for a causal link between pornography use and sexual offending remains equivocal. This article critically examines the research literature on the association of pornography and sexual offending, focusing on relevant experimental work. The difficulty of this research is highlighted in a discussion of operational definitions of the term pornography, the choice of proxy measures for sexual offending in experimental research, and the emphasis given sexual assault of adult females over other kinds of criminal sexual behavior such as child molestation, exhibitionism, and voyeurism. We also review the major theoretical perspectives conditioning, excitation transfer, feminist, and social learning—and some of the hypotheses that can be derived from them. From the existing evidence, we argue that individuals who are already predisposed to sexually offend are the most likely to show an effect of pornography exposure and are the most likely to show the strongest effects. Men who are not predisposed are unlikely to show an effect; if there actually is an effect, it is likely to be transient because these men would not normally seek violent pornography. Finally, we present a Darwinian perspective on the possible relationship between pornography use and sexual aggression.     

The fear of confession? High Catholic collective narcissism and low secure identification with Catholics predict increased pedophilia myth acceptance

Over the past 30 years, the Catholic Church has been rocked by a series of child sexual abuse scandals worldwide. Some of the religious officials suggested that the children are partly to blame for being sexually abused by priests. We assumed that such convictions (i.e., pedophilia myth acceptance) should be associated with a defensive commitment to one's religious group, captured by religious collective narcissism. In two studies conducted among Polish participants (Study 1, longitudinal, n = 719; Study 2, cross-sectional, n = 357), we found that pedophilia myth acceptance was positively predicted by Catholic narcissism but negatively by secure identification with Catholics. We additionally demonstrated that the effect of Catholic narcissism on pedophilia myth acceptance was mediated by a siege mentality with respect to the religious in-group. We discuss the role of different types of group commitment in predicting in-group criticism and prejudice against underaged victims of sexual abuse.     

Parenting Programs for the Prevention of Child Physical Abuse Recurrence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Child physical abuse is an issue of global concern. Conservative estimates set global prevalence of this type of maltreatment at 25%, its consequences and cost to society escalating with increasing frequency and severity of episodes. Syntheses of the evidence on parenting programs for reducing rates of physical abuse recidivism have, to date, not been able to establish effectiveness. Paucity of data and inconsistent inclusion criteria in past reviews made meta-analysis often impossible or uninformative. The current systematic review updates prior reviews and overcomes some of the methodological issues they encountered by pooling trial-level data from a well-defined scope of trials of parenting interventions aimed at preventing the re-abuse of children by parents with substantiated or suspected physical abuse history. Randomized controlled trials and rigorous non-randomized designs were sought via nine online databases, two trial registries, several clearinghouses and contact with experts. A total of fourteen studies of variable quality were included in this review, four of which had outcomes that enabled meta-analysis. Overall, this review presents evidence supporting the effectiveness of parenting behavioral programs based on social learning theory for reducing hard markers of child physical abuse recidivism. Meta-analysis found that the absolute risk reduction in risk of recidivism was 11 percentage points less for maltreating parents who undergo parenting programs (RD = ?0.11, 95% CI [?0.22, ?0.004], p = 0.043, I ² = 28.9%). However, the pooled effect size was not statistically significant when calculated as a risk ratio (0.76, 95% CI [0.54, 1.07], I ² = 38.4%). Policy makers and practitioners should be made aware that this intervention method is backed by promising evidence featuring modest yet significant reductions in hard markers of child physical abuse, even though the methodological robustness of these findings should be further explored in future research.     

Zur Häufigkeit der Schuldfähigkeitsbegutachtung von Sexualstraftätern im Erkenntnisverfahren

This study investigated how often and depending on which factors sexual offenders are examined by mental health experts regarding their criminal responsibility. Out of a total of 306 legal charges against sex offenders accused of child sexual abuse (CSA: n?=?145), rape or sexual assault (n?=?89), exhibitionism (n?=?39), sexual abuse of adolescents, mentally defective, physically helpless or warded persons (n?=?18) that were admitted by a criminal court in 2001 in the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, 209 (95.6 %) were analyzed regarding the following questions: how often was the accused examined by a mental health professional regarding mental responsibility? Was the chance of being examined systematically related to certain factors (e.g., personality of the accused)? Expert advice regarding the mental responsibility of the accused was obtained by the court in only 34 cases (11.7 %). No systematic relationships of personal variables as well as the modus operandi and the chance of commissioning a mental health expert were found. The main reason for assigning a forensic expert opinion was the vague impression of a psychic disorder. Re-offending increased the rate of a mental health examination only in CSA (34.6 % of re-offenders were examined compared to 9.2 % of first-time offenders), but not in rape or sexual assault. Also age does not predict the commissioning of an expert opinion. Only one fifth of all accused below the age of 21 were investigated by a mental health professional. Results are discussed in terms of legal background, consequences for risk assessment and relapse prevention.     

Sexualstrafrecht,Sexualmoral, Medienmoral

The law on sexual offences is a crystallization point of legal doctrine and criminal political dispute. It reflects in a special way the tendency and content of a “modernization”, which is characterized by an alienation of collectives and an orientation to a topus of being strictly personal and is defined as quasi-natural. The current hypertrophization of the legal protection of self-determination is closely coupled with the tendency towards socioeconomic dissolution of the western contemporary personhood. This article addresses terminological and systematic associations between “liberal” concepts of governmental restraint and “modern” concepts of a functional security strategy.