A systematic review of the literature comparing male non-serial sexual killers and sexual aggressors: examining homogeneous and heterogeneous characteristics of these groups

ABSTRACT

This systematic review considers what is known about the characteristics of sexual killers and sexual aggressors. The aim was to identify which characteristics have consistently been shown to be similar (homogeneous) and which are different (heterogeneous) across these two groups. Ten studies, including approximately 300 sexual killers, were analysed. Only studies where the samples were directly compared and where sexual killers were male, predominantly non-serial and perpetrated against adult female victims were included. Results indicate that levels of loneliness and anger appear to be more prevalent in the sexual killer sample while mental health disorders, criminal history, family structure and history of sexual abuse as well as some crime scene behaviours seem to be similar across the two groups. The results of this review have also highlighted some methodological problems inherent to these types of studies and these issues are discussed from the perspective of improving research on these crimes.     

The emotional intelligence of adult sex offenders: ability based EI assessment

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that sex offenders are deficient in several areas of emotional functioning such as empathy, emotional perception, emotional management and interpersonal functioning. It is unclear, however, whether sex offenders display a general deficit in emotional functioning or whether their emotional deficits are specific to the circumstances in which offences occur. The present study aimed to provide a broad assessment of the emotional functioning of sex offenders by assessing their emotional intelligence (EI) using an abilities-based emotional intelligence test. Nineteen sex offenders, 18 non-sex offending prisoners and 19 controls were administered the Perception, Assimilation and Management branch subtests from the Mayer Salovey Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). The results indicated that the sex offenders were not significantly different than the control group, as assessed by these three branches of the MSCEIT. The results lend support to the suggestion that the emotional deficits displayed by sex offenders may be offence-specific. Implications for the use of the MSCEIT in sex offending populations and the role of EI in relapse prevention programmes are discussed.     

Book review

Aspects of Development and Underdevelopment. By Joan Robinson. Cambridge‐Cambridge University Press (Modern Cambridge Economics), 1979. Pp. x + 146. Hardback £7.95, paperback £2.50.

From Modernization to Modes of Production: a critique of the sociologies of development and underdevelopment. By John G. Taylor. London: Macmillan, 1979. Pp. xii + 335. Hardback £12, paperback £4.95.

Theories of Underdevelopment. By Ian Roxborough. London: Macmillan, 1979. Pp. xii + 175. Hardback £10, paperback £3.95.

Development Administration: Concepts, Goals, Methods. By George F. Gant. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1979. Pp. xii + 343. $21.50.

Developing Country Debt. Edited by Lawrence G. Franco and Marilyn J. Seiber. New York: Pergamon Press, 1979. Pp. xi + 309. £20.

The Lending Policy of the World Bank in the 1970s: Analysis and Evaluation. By Bettina S. Hürni. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1980. Pp. xvi + 173. $20.

The World Bank and the Poor. By Aart van de Laar. Boston, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1980. Pp. xii + 260. $15.

The New Authoritarianism in Latin America. Edited by David Collier. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979. Pp. v + 456. Hardback £15.10, paperback £3.65.

The Political Economy of Peru 1956–78: Economic development and the restructuring of capital. By E. V. K. FitzGerald. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979. Pp. xi + 360. £17.50.

Scarcity and Survival in Central America. By William H. Durham. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1979. Pp. xvii + 209. £14.50.

Peasants and Poverty: A Study of Haiti. By Mats Lundahl. London: Croom Helm, 1979. Pp. 699. £19.95.

The Rational Peasant: The Political Economy of Rural Society in Vietnam. By Samuel L. Popkin. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979. Pp. xxi + 306. £9.

The Economy of Kenya: the Kenyatta Era. By Arthur Hazlewood. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979. Pp. x + 231. Hardback £9, paperback £4.95.

Chinese Education in Transition: Prelude to the Cultural Revolution. By Julia Kwong. Montreal: McGill‐Queen's University Press, 1979. Pp. xi + 207 $13.95.

Hydropolitics of the Nile Valley. By John Waterbury. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1979. Pp. xii + 301. $20.

The Volta River Project: A Case Study in Politics and Technology. By David Hart. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1980. Pp. 142. £7.50.

Economic Development, Cities and Planning: The Case of Bombay. By Nigel Harris. Bombay: Oxford University Press, 1979. Pp. vi + 93. £5.15.

Sociological Analysis of the Working of Small Farmers Development Agency. By Mumtaz Ali Khan. Simla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 1978. Pp. x + 175. Rs. 32.

Planning for Basic Needs in Kenya: Performance, Policies and Prospects. By Dharam Ghai, Martin Godfrey and Franklyn Lisk. Geneva: International Labour Office, 1979. Pp. x + 167. £5.

Women in Rural Development: the People's Republic of China. By Elisabeth Croll. Geneva: International Labour Office, 1979. Pp. 61. Paperback, £3.75.     

From Cold War to Arab Spring: mapping the effects of paradigm shifts on the nature and dynamics of US democracy assistance to the Middle East and North Africa

Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has articulated and implemented explicit strategies of democracy promotion by providing assistance to governments, political parties, and other non-governmental groups and organizations all over the world. One particularly challenging region has been the Middle East and North Africa, where democratic development and democracy aid opportunities have been limited and constrained by a variety of factors related to social, economic, and political characteristics of the region and policy priorities of the United States. This article examines the impact of two major paradigm shifts – the end of the Cold War (1989) and the 9/11 episode (2001) – on the nature, purposes, and consequences of US democracy assistance to the Middle East. Examining democracy aid allocations, social, democratic and political factors in the region, and other variables, the analysis traces the shifts in aid strategies, purposes, and recipients generated by these paradigm shifts and assesses the impact of such assistance on the politics of the region. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for US democracy promotion policies and the impact of the Arab Spring events as a potential third break point.     

Seasonal Variation of Carcass Decomposition and Gravesoil Chemistry in a Cold (Dfa) Climate

It is well known that temperature significantly affects corpse decomposition. Yet relatively few taphonomy studies investigate the effects of seasonality on decomposition. Here, we propose the use of the Köppen‐Geiger climate classification system and describe the decomposition of swine (Sus scrofa domesticus) carcasses during the summer and winter near Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. Decomposition was scored, and gravesoil chemistry (total carbon, total nitrogen, ninhydrin‐reactive nitrogen, ammonium, nitrate, and soil pH) was assessed. Gross carcass decomposition in summer was three to seven times greater than in winter. Initial significant changes in gravesoil chemistry occurred following approximately 320 accumulated degree days, regardless of season. Furthermore, significant (p < 0.05) correlations were observed between ammonium and pH (positive correlation) and between nitrate and pH (negative correlation). We hope that future decomposition studies employ the Köppen‐Geiger climate classification system to understand the seasonality of corpse decomposition, to validate taphonomic methods, and to facilitate cross‐climate comparisons of carcass decomposition.     

Compounded Risk: The Implications for Delinquency of Coming from a Poor Family that Lives in a Poor Community

The relationship between poverty and juvenile involvement in delinquency remains central to the study of adolescent development, but firm conclusions on this relationship have been elusive. The purpose of this study is to address an important limitation of prior research that often has been overlooked. This involves the standard practice of examining the poverty-delinquency relationship with an exclusive focus on the family's level of poverty. This study considers that the effects of family poverty on delinquency may significantly depend upon the level of poverty in the community in which the family lives. Specifically, drawing from a number of poverty-oriented theories of delinquency, we examine the hypothesis that community poverty amplifies the effects of family poverty, such that family poverty's effect becomes greater when community poverty also is high. Using data from a national sample of adolescents that are supplemented with U.S. census data, we find partial support for the idea that family poverty is consequential for delinquency, and that this is especially true for poor families that also live in poor communities.

The difference between drug money and a "lifetime's savings"

In many countries, monies suspected of being associated with drug trafficking can be seized by the authorities. One of the ways of investigating this association is through the analysis of seized banknotes for traces of controlled drugs. We report three studies which may assist the expert in assessing whether banknotes contaminated with diamorphine are part of the general population of notes in circulation or whether they show unusual contamination patterns which require explanation. Study 1 is based on three plausible contamination scenarios as they may occur during the various stages of an illicit drug transaction and seizure. It shows that notes which have been in direct contact with visible traces of diamorphine show significantly higher contamination to those in more indirect contact with the drug. Study 2 investigates the transfer of diamorphine from one highly contaminated note to other notes in a bundle over a period of 10 weeks with and without agitation. It was found that the total amount of drug transferred was smaller than 6% and no more than 4 out of a bundle of 10 previously clean notes became lightly contaminated. Based on extensive background data, study 3 proposes a probabilistic model to assess whether an observed proportion of diamorphine bearing banknotes is likely to have been contaminated by chance. The model predicts that there is only a 0.3% chance that a bundle of 100 notes from the general banknote population contains more than six contaminated specimens. Jointly, the three studies give useful indications for the spread of contamination throughout a sample and the amounts of heroin which may be expected given plausible contamination scenarios.     

An initial evaluation of stable isotopic characterisation of post-blast plastic debris from improvised explosive devices

A number of two-way radios, similar to those which have been employed to initiate Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), were acquired from a commercial supplier and grouped into four pairs. Samples of plastic material were collected from five distinct regions of each radio and analysed by Infrared and Raman spectroscopy to identify the nature of the material. One radio of each pair was then subjected to detonation with a commercially available plastic explosive. The combination of radio and explosive was considered to be representative of the components of an IED. Following detonation, fragments were recovered and, where possible, identified as specific sampling points of the radio.A combination of δ²H and δ¹³C stable isotopic analysis of material from each of the five sampling points was found to provide a pattern which was characteristic of a given radio and provided a means to associate pairs of radios. When few fragments were recovered, no positive association could be made between the fragments and the paired, undamaged radio. This was attributed, in part, to manufacturing variation in the radios. However, when three or more post-blast fragments were recovered it was possible to associate these with the paired, undamaged radio with a high degree of certainty.     

Development of impulsivity and risk‐seeking: Implications for the dimensionality and stability of self‐control*

In Gottfredson and Hirschi's self‐control theory, introduced in 1990, they contend that self‐control is a unidimensional construct that develops early in childhood and remains stable throughout the life span. According to findings reported in recent research, however, these arguments are now being challenged, with scholars pointing to ways in which self‐control may be multidimensional in nature and may change beyond the period of alleged stabilization. In this study, we draw on Steinberg's dual systems model, introduced in 2008, to consider this issue further. We examine that model's two key elements of low self‐control—risk‐seeking and impulsivity—to determine whether they are empirically distinguishable from one another and have differing developmental trajectories from childhood to early adulthood. We also consider the consequences of changes in risk‐seeking and impulsivity for within‐individual changes in crime. We examine these issues with data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) for individuals from 10 to 30 years old. The results of our analyses show support for a multidimensional and dynamic conception of self‐control—from age 10 to age 30, risk‐seeking and impulsivity are empirically distinct and develop in divergent ways that are consistent with the dual systems model. Changes in risk‐seeking and impulsivity also affect changes in crime, but their effects vary with age and changes in the other element. We discuss these findings and their implications for self‐control and the development of life‐course criminology.