Age and type of onset of offending: Results from a sample of male sexual offenders referred for civil commitment

International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology

Volumn 57, Issue 10, 2013, Pages 1226-1247

  Harris, Danielle Arlanda ^a  

^a SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

age of onset; criminal career; sexual offending; specialization

Indexed keywords

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; AGE DISTRIBUTION; AGED; ARTICLE; CHILD; COMPARATIVE STUDY; CRIME; CRIMINAL CAREER; HUMAN; MALE; MIDDLE AGED; ONSET AGE; PRISONER; RISK FACTOR; SEXUAL CRIME; SEXUAL OFFENDING; SPECIALIZATION; STATISTICS; UNITED STATES; YOUNG ADULT;

AGE OF ONSET; CRIMINAL CAREER; SEXUAL OFFENDING; SPECIALIZATION;

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; AGE DISTRIBUTION; AGED; CHILD; CRIME; HUMANS; MALE; MASSACHUSETTS; MIDDLE AGED; PRISONERS; RISK FACTORS; SEX OFFENSES; YOUNG ADULT;

EID: 84884255011     PISSN: 0306624X     EISSN: 15526933     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0306624X12448649     Document Type: Article

References (46)

1. Blumstein A., Cohen J., Roth J., Visher C. Criminal careers and career criminals. Washington, DC: National Academy Press ; 1986 :
2. Boer D., Hart S., Kropp P., Webster C. Manual for the Sexual Violence Risk-20: Professional guidelines for assessing risk of sexual violence. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: The Institute Against Family Violence ; 1997 :
3. Britt C.. The measurement of specialization and escalation in the criminal career: An alternative modelling strategy. Journal of Quantitative Criminology. 1996 ; 12: 193-222
4. Datesman S., Aickin M.. Offence specialization and escalation among status offenders. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. 1984 ; 75: 1246-1275
5. DeLisi M.. Extreme career criminals. American Journal of Criminal Justice. 2001 ; 25: 239-252
6. Eggleston E., Laub J.. The onset of adult offending: A neglected dimension of the criminal career. Journal of Criminal Justice. 2002 ; 30: 603-622
7. EppersonD.KaulJ.HuotS.HesseltonD.AlexanderW.GoldmanR. (1998). Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool - Revised (MnSOST-R): Development, performance and recommended risk level cut scores. Retrieved from http://blueshifthome.com/ recidivism/scales/minn/Minn%20-%20MnSOST- R%20Technical%20Paper%20Development%20validation%20and%20Recommended%20Risk%20L evel%20Cut%20Scores%20-%20Dec%202003.pdf
8. Farrington D.. Age and crime. Crime & Justice. 1986 ; 7: 189-250
9. Farrington D.. Early predictors of adolescent aggression and adult violence. Violence and Victims. 1989 ; 4: 79-100 (Pubitemid 19172038)
10. Gottfredson M., Hirschi T. A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press ; 1990 :
11. Hanson R.. Recidivism and age: Follow-up data from 4, 673 sexual offenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2002 ; 17: 1046-1062 (Pubitemid 36678217)
12. Hanson R., Thornton D.. Improving risk assessment for sex offenders: A comparison of three actuarial scales. Law and Human Behavior. 2000 ; 24: 119-136 (Pubitemid 30104438)
13. Hare R. Manual for the revised Psychopathy Checklist. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Multi-Health Systems ; 1991 :
14. HarrisD. A. (2008). Offense specialization and versatility in a sample of male sexual offenders referred for civil commitment (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Queensland, Australia: Griffith University.
15. Harris D. A.. Using life history plots to visualize the criminal careers of chronic sexual offenders. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Society of Criminology ; 2010 San Francisco, CA ; 2010..
16. Harris D. A., Knight R. A., Dennison S., Smallbone S.. Post release specialization and versatility in sexual offenders referred for civil commitment. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 2011 ; 23: 243-259
17. Harris D. A., Smallbone S., Dennison S., Knight R.. Specialization and versatility in sexual offenders referred for civil commitment. Journal of Criminal Justice. 2009 ; 37: 37-44
18. Hirschi T., Gottfredson M.. Age and the explanation of crime. American Journal of Sociology. 1983 ; 89: 552-584
19. Jeglic E., Mercado C. C., Levenson J.. The prevalence and correlates of depression and hopelessness among sex offenders subject to community notification and residence restriction legislation. American Journal of Criminal Justice. 2012 ; 37: 46-59
20. Jenkins P. Moral panic: Changing concepts of the child molester in modern America. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press ; 1998 :
21. Jennings W., Khey D., Mahoney M., Reingle J.. Evaluating the continuity of offending from adolescence to emerging adulthood and its effect on academic failure among college student arrestees: A research note. Journal of Criminal Justice Education. 2011 ; 22: 578-592
22. Knight R. A.. Validation of a typology for rapists. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 1999 ; 14: 297-323
23. Knight R. A., Carter D. L., Prentky R. A.. A system for the classification of child molesters: Reliability and application. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 1989 ; 4: 3-23
24. KnightR. A.ThorntonD. (2007). Evaluating and improving risk assessment schemes for sexual recidivism: A long-term follow-up of convicted sexual offenders (Final Rep. No. NCJ 217618). Retrieved from http://nij.ncjrs.gov/ publications
25. LeBlanc M., Frechette M. Male criminal activity from childhood through youth: Multilevel and developmental perspectives. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag ; 1989 :
26. Leon C. Sex fiends, perverts, and pedophiles: Understanding sex crime policy in America. New York: New York University Press ; 2011 :
27. Lieb R., Quinsey V., Berliner L.. Sexual predators and social policy. Crime & Justice. 1998 ; 23: 43-114 (Pubitemid 128160217)
28. Loeber R. Delinquency and crime: Current theories. Hawkins J., ed. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press ; 1996: 1-27.
29. Lussier P.. The criminal activity of sexual offenders in adulthood: Revisiting the specialization debate. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 2005 ; 17: 269-292 (Pubitemid 40931931)
30. Lussier P., Proulx J., LeBlanc M.. Criminal propensity, deviant sexual interests and criminal activity of sexual aggressors against women: A comparison of models. Criminology. 2005 ; 43: 247-279
31. Magers M., Jennings W., Tewksbury R., Miller J. M.. An exploration of the sex offender specialization and violence nexus. Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice. 2009 ; 6: 133-144
32. Mazerolle P., Piquero A., Brame R.. Violent onset offenders: Do initial experiences shape criminal career dimensions?. International Criminal Justice Review. 2010 ; 20: 132-146
33. Miethe T., Olson J., Mitchell O.. Specialization and persistence in the arrest histories of sex offenders: A comparative analysis of alternative measures and offence types. Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency. 2006 ; 43: 204-229 (Pubitemid 43953775)
34. Mihm F.. A re-examination of the validity of our sex psychopath statutes in the light of recent appeal cases and experience. Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science. 1954 ; 44: 716-736
35. Moffitt T.. Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review. 1993 ; 100: 674-701
36. Piquero A., Farrington D., Blumstein A. Key issues in criminal career research: New analysis of the Cambridge study in delinquent development. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press ; 2007 :
37. Piquero A., Jennings W., Barnes J.. Violence in criminal careers: A review of the literature from a developmental life-course perspective. Aggression and Violent Behavior. 2012 ; 17: 171-179
38. Piquero A., Paternoster R., Mazerolle P., Brame R., Dean C.. Onset age and offense specialization. Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency. 1999 ; 36: 275-299 (Pubitemid 29354766)
39. Prentky R., Knight R. Sexual aggression: Issues in etiology, assessment and treatment. Nagayama Hall G. Hirschman R. Graham J. Zaragoza M., ed. Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis ; 1993: 43-62.
40. Quinsey V., Harris G., Rice M., Cormier C. Violent offenders: Appraising and managing risk. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association ; 1998 :
41. Sample L., Bray T.. Are sex offenders different? An examination of rearrest patterns. Criminal Justice Policy Review. 2006 ; 17: 83-102 (Pubitemid 43361042)
42. Sampson R., Laub J. Crime in the making: Pathways and turning points through life. London, England: Harvard University Press ; 1993 :
43. Smallbone S., Marshall W., Wortley R. Preventing child sexual abuse: Evidence, policy and practice. Cullompton, Devon, England: Willan Publishing ; 2008 :
44. Smallbone S., Wortley R.. Onset, persistence, and versatility of offending among adult males convicted of sexual offences against children. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 2004 ; 16: 285-298 (Pubitemid 40655385)
45. Stermac L., Hall K. S.. Escalation in sexual offending: Fact or fiction?. Annals of Sex Research. 1989 ; 2: 153-162
46. Zimring F., Piquero A., Jennings W.. Sexual delinquency in Racine: Does early sex offending predict later sex offending in youth and young adulthood?. Criminology and Public Policy. 2007 ; 6: 507-534