Clinical assessment of adult sexual offenders with learning disabilities

Abstract

Assessment and treatment of adults with learning disabilities who commit sexual offences presents a number of challenges. Much of the professional forensic and psychiatric literature on work with this group concentrates on the development of interventions based on theoretical models of sexual offending originating from the mainstream criminal justice system and have often been adapted and applied to people with learning disabilities. Currently, there is very little evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness or validity of the adaptation and application of mainstream models to this population. The efficacy of such adapted models used to describe sexual offending in people with learning disabilities clearly has an impact of any intervention informed by them. In particular, some researchers suggest that key factors such as cognitive distortions are evident in sexual offenders with learning disabilities; there is, however, no research relating to the prevalence of these or other key factors within the general population of people with learning disabilities. The present literature review highlights some of the clinical issues with a particular focus on the assessment of deviant sexual interest. Specifically, the literature is confused with inconsistencies relating to the definition of the group, the extent and nature of offending and a lack of standardized methodology for assessment and comparison. Consideration is given to the particular needs of this group and the implications for research and treatment.     

The decontamination of German history: Jürgen Habermas and the ‘Historikerstreit’ in West Germany

The ‘Historikerstreit’ in West Germany was opened by the non-historian Habermas who sought to expose what he saw as a ‘scandalous’ revision of aspects of the history of German fascism on the part of leading conservative historians like Nolte, Hillgruber and Stürmer. Habermas sees this revisionism in the wider context of the perceived need to foster a new German nationalism as a means of legitimation. The attempt to decontaminate German history would seem to derive from the need to resist the demands for political realignment in West Germany and to establish a strong pedigree of German anti-communism which takes in National Socialism and its membership of the Anti-Comintern Pact as well as West Germany's membership of NATO. Habermas's critique of conservative historians and the non-rational assumptions of their philosophy of history is essentially linked to his critique of Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida and Foucault and his identification of a common paralyzing influence on discourse.     

Application of a Maritime Framework to Space: Deep Space Conflict and Warfare Scenario

This article considers how Klein’s argument for the use of a maritime framework for space warfare is buoyed by the consideration of deep space conflict both in application to terrestrial wars and in its own right. It describes the greater alignment of Corbett’s work with this deep space medium than with the orbital medium considered by Klein. Through this analysis, it suggests that possible futures need to consider the deep space medium, making Corbett/Klein’s model superior to other possible approaches.     

Overkill? An Examination of Comparatively Excessive Death Sentences in North Carolina, 1990–2010

This study examines death/life capital sentences in one southern state, North Carolina, during the period 1990 to 2010 to determine the extent to which they are comparatively excessive/lenient. The study employs data derived from a variety of official sources on the population of capital trials in the state during this timeframe and follows the analytic techniques developed by David Baldus and his colleagues and by Paternoster and Kazyaka in their studies of comparative excessiveness in capital sentencing in California, Georgia, and South Carolina, respectively. The results show a substantial number of death sentences that meet the standard for excessiveness, but the data also show a nearly equal number of life sentences that may be deemed too lenient. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Personality disorder and violence in the national household population of Britain

Background: Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is strongly associated with violence but the effects of other personality disorder (PD) categories are uncertain. Purpose: To investigate associations between 10 DSM-IV PD categories and effects of co-occurring disorders on self-reported violence. Method: Cross-sectional survey of 8397 adults aged 16–74 years in households in Great Britain. Results: ASPD contributed strongly to the burden of violence in the British population. Paranoid and obsessive–compulsive PD made additional independent contributions, and narcissistic PD contributed to intimate partner violence. The prevalence of violence correlated with the number of PD categories. Comorbid alcohol dependence further increased the risk. Conclusions: Risk of violence increases with increasing severity of PD, measured by the number of PD categories, and with co-occurring alcohol dependence. Not all PD categories are associated with violence, and avoidant PD was protective. Identification of targets for future interventions may be obscured using a classification based solely on severity.     

An empirical examination of product counterfeiting crime impacting the U.S. military

Counterfeit parts in the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) supply chain threaten national security by compromising critical military operations and placing the lives of military service members at risk. With the goal of illustrating the nature of the risk as it relates to types of counterfeit parts, how they entered the supply chain, and were identified and processed through the criminal justice system, we assemble and analyze open-source information on criminal schemes involving counterfeits in the DOD supply chain. We utilize the Product Counterfeiting Database (PCD) to capture every indicted scheme linked to the DOD and describe characteristics of the schemes, offenders, and victims. These data provide empirical insights into the counterfeiting of parts and equipment in the DOD supply chain. We conclude with an overview of key issues to consider when weighing opportunities for product counterfeiting as well as implications for policy and practice.     

Sex Differences in Trajectories of Offending Among Puerto Rican Youth

Although sex is one of the strongest correlates of crime, contentions remain regarding the necessity of sex-specific theories of crime. The current study examines delinquent trajectories across sex among Puerto Rican youth socialized in two different cultural contexts (Bronx, United States and San Juan, Puerto Rico). Results indicate: similar substantive offending trajectories across males and females within each cultural context; that males exhibit a higher frequency of offending and higher levels of risk factors for delinquency; and there more similarities than differences in how risk/protective factors relate to patterns of offending across male versus female youth. Study limitations and implications for sex-specific criminological theories are also discussed.     

Trajectories of Physical Aggression Among Hispanic Urban Adolescents and Young Adults: An Application of Latent Trajectory Modeling from Ages 12 to 18

This study sought to identify trajectories of physical aggression among urban Hispanic youth, and to examine the effects of risk and protective factors at age 11 on trajectories of physical aggression over time (ages 12–18). Relying on data from 731 urban Hispanic adolescents from Project Northland Chicago (PNC), latent trajectory modeling was used to determine the number of trajectories, and multinomial logistic regression was used to identify the predictors associated with trajectory membership. The results suggested five trajectories of physical aggression (non-aggressive, low stable, escalators, early-rapid desistors, and high aggression/moderate desistors). After adjusting for several risk and protective factors, language preference (e.g. speaking Spanish at home) was identified as a protective factor, while indirect exposure to alcohol, sadness/depression, fewer negative alcohol-related attitudes, and threatening to fight were associated with increased risk for physical aggression. Study implications indicate that early, multilevel prevention efforts are necessary to deter the initiation and promote the desistance of physical aggression over time among urban Hispanic adolescents.     

Sex Similarities/Differences in Trajectories of Delinquency among urban Chicago Youth: The Role of Delinquent Peers

A growing body of literature has recently emerged examining sex-specific pathways of offending. Yet, despite significant gains, this area of research is still rather underexplored. With a particular focus on the role of delinquent peers, this current study investigates the sex similarities/differences in offending trajectories among a large sample of urban Chicago male and female youth (n?=?3,038) from 6th through 8th grade (e.g., ages 12–14). The results suggest that the pathways of offending appear to be more similar than different across sex, and that associating with delinquent peers is significantly related to baseline delinquency. Furthermore, delinquent peers significantly distinguished the moderate and high-rate trajectory groups from the non-delinquents for both males and females, yet once estimated in a more fully specified model, the role of delinquent peers appeared to be indirect (operating through its effect on baseline delinquency). Study limitations and implications for theory and policy are also discussed.