Developmental Antecedents and Adult Adaptations of Rapist Subtypes

• NCJ Number: 108903
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 14 Issue: 4 Dated: (1987) Pages: 403-426
• Date Published: 1987
• Author(s): R A Knight; R A Prentky
• Length: 426 pages
• Grant Number(s): 82-IJ-CX-0058; MH 32309
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)

Annotation

A sample of 108 rapists determined to be sexually dangerous and committed to a facility designed for the treatment of sexual offenders were classified according to a taxonomic system into 1 of 4 types -- compensatory, exploitative, displaced anger, or sadistic.

Abstract

These types were compared on selected, theoretically relevant measures of developmental antecedents and adult adaptation drawn from a careful review of each patient's clinical file. Although some differences among types emerged that corroborated expectations, other results directly disconfirmed speculations in the clinical literature. These results indicate that the variables comprising this taxonomic system tap important distinctions for this population, and when combined with the results of other studies, they provide an empirical base for revising and restructuring the system. (Publisher abstract)