Biopsychosocial characteristics of accused child sex offenders in the intrafamilial and extrafamilial contexts

Abstract

Child sex offenders have been receiving increasing attention from human development researchers. The present study analyzed the data from 206 criminal prosecutions in courts specializing in crimes against children and adolescents, between 2012 and 2014. We employed a Biopsychosocial Characterization Form to record the data extracted from the court documents. For data analysis, we used descriptive statistics and the Logistic Regression Model, indicating the Odds Ratio (OR) and the likelihood of sexual abuse for each context. Child sexual abuse within the extrafamilial context predominated (53%), with acquaintances of the victims’ families being the most frequent offenders (81%). Within the intrafamilial context, parents and stepparents predominated (53%). We also discovered that accused offenders over the age of 30 displayed two times more likelihood of belonging to the victim’s intrafamilial context than those under the age of 30 (OR = 2.949). Further studies will be able to refine the preliminary findings of these analyses.