Offender Typologies

Question 1

Who is a sex offender?

Answer 1

Anyone. Variety of offences and offence types, not just “kiddy fiddlers”. Many personality factors, many victims. Often networks of abusers.

Question 2

What are societal attitudes of sex offenders?

Answer 2

They are the devil. The offender breaks scoiety’s rules. Reinforces offender network. Normalisation of behaviour. Media coverage. General/mass perception. Fear. Ongoing misunderstanding.

Question 3

How does the media present sex offenders?

Answer 3

Stranger crime. Kidnap. Crazy male offender. Can happen anywhere. Is their intention to prevent it happening, to help, to educate? Or is it to sell papers?

Sarah’s Law/Megan’s Law - naming and shaping.

Question 4

What does a psychological risk assessment involve?

Answer 4

Static vs. Dynamic Factors.

Static - demographics, historical factors, past behaviour, range of offences.

Dynamic - accommodation, employment, relationship, alcohol misuse, deviant sexuality, cognitive distortion, emotional loneliness, poor empathy, poor plan.

Question 5

Why does childhood and parenting have something to do with sex offenders?

Answer 5

Early parenting shapes ability to form adult attachment (Bowlby, 1969; 1973)

Beliefs about the self are formed

Disrupted childhood inhibits developing skills for later on in life

Question 6

What is Proximity Maintenance? (Bowlby, 1969)

Answer 6

The desire to be near the people we are attached to.

Question 7

What is meant by Safe Haven? (Bowlby, 1969)

Answer 7

Returning to the attachment figure for comfort and to avoid fear of threat.

Question 8

What is a Secure Base? (Bowlby, 1969)

Answer 8

The attachment figure acts as a base of security from which the child can explore the surrounding environment.

Question 9

What is Separation Distress? (Bowlby, 1969)

Answer 9

Anxiety occurs in the absence of the attachment figure.

Question 10

What is emotional loneliness and why does it occur?

Answer 10

According to Marshall (1989), lack of intimacy leads to presence of emotional loneliness. Social isolation, lonely with few intimate relationships.

Question 11

What did Ward et al. (1997) find about offending and attachment?

Answer 11

Sex offenders and violent offenders are more similar than SOs and non-violent. They are less self-disclosing, less physical affection, less supportive, empathetic, poor conflict resolution skills.

Relationships are superficial

Insecure intimacy > insecure attachment > emotional loneliness

Question 12

What are the characteristics of Pre-occupied attachment style and which offence type has it been related to?

Answer 12

Rely on others, sex is intimacy leading to unfulfilment and emotional loneliness. Low self-esteem, unworthy approval of others.

Grooming, perceive relationship as mutual and romantic, less likely to use force.

Question 13

What are the characteristics of Fearful-avoidant attachment style and which offence type has it been related to?

Answer 13

Intimacy desires but fearful, mistrust and rejection. Relationships are superficial and impersonal
Sex = intimacy, fulfilment
Partner = object

Self-focused
Use of physical violence/coercion to achieve sexual gratification

Question 14

What are the characteristics of Dismissive-avoidant attachment style and which offence type has it been related to?

Answer 14

Close relationships = not important
Autonomous for protection
Interpersonal hostility
Negative view of others
Blame others for lack of intimacy

Aggressive acts to gender of preferred adult partner
More likely to be physically forceful

Question 15

What is secure attachment?

Answer 15

Positive view of self
Positive view of others
Confident
Comfortable in close relationships

Question 16

What is pre-occupied attachment?

Answer 16

Negative view of self
Positive view of others
Poor self image
Seeks approval and validation
As children, may have felt unworthy of love
Messages from childhood are affectionate but inconsistent and insensitive
High anxiety in relationships 
Prone to jealousy and anger

Question 17

What is Dismissive Attachment?

Answer 17

Positive view of self
Negative view of others
Emotionally distant
Relationships unimportant

Question 18

What is fearful attachment?

Answer 18

Negative view of self
Negative view of others
Distrust of others; fear of rejection
High anxiety in relationships, prone to jealousy, anger and mood swings

Question 19

According to Finkelhor, what are the 4 preconditions of abuse?

Answer 19

1. The thinking stage
2. Overcoming internal inhibitions or ‘giving permission’
3. Overcoming external inhibitions or ‘creating the opportunity’
4. Overcoming the victim’s resistance

Question 20

Describe stage 1 of the Finkel Model.

Answer 20

The thinking stage.

The offender wants to offend. Emotional need, satisfaction, traced back to childhood, developmental factors, exposure to sexual activity.

Role of fantasy/masturbation - words spoken by the offender during offending, sexual arousal and reinforcement of orgasm, fantasies need to change/become old.

Planning stage.

Denial. Common statements = ‘it came out of the blue, it’s out of character, i don’t know what came over me, i only ever fantasise about loving sex with my wife, i never masturbate’

These are ‘cognitive distortions’ - twisted thinking.

Question 21

Describe Stage 2 of Finkelhor’s model?

Answer 21

Giving permission.

Cognitive distortions to avoid cognitive dissonance.

‘It’s illegal, but not in some countries, it’s illegal not immoral, i can’t control myself, its alcohol, children need to be taught about sex, women mean yes when they say no, everyone does it but they don’t get caught’

Avoid responsibility, deny victim, allow offending to continue, avoid intervention.

Place blame on victim - women out alone at night want to be raped, children are seductive, women like it rough

Convince themselves they won’t get caught - safety of networking

Question 22

Describe stage 3 of Finkelhor’s model.

Answer 22

Creating the opportunity.

Unique to offender. Similarities in offence type/same perpetrator often uses same modus operandi

Choice of method is the best way to create opportunity

Targetting, grooming etc

Spending time in isolated spot, taking particular jobs, knowing the victim (especially rape)

Staging the scene

Question 23

Describe stage 4 of Finkelhor’s model.

Answer 23

Overcoming victim resistance

Often denied ‘victim didn’t resist’

Often effective methods of reducing opportunity for resistance, direct vioelence, weapon use, intimidation, drug use, fear and grooming, justification of ‘loving relationship’

Behaviour occurs, resistance stops, in ongoing abuse, sexual contact may increase in severity and frequency

Verbal dialogue during offending is particularly powerful in revealing motivation

Question 24

What are some cognitive factors of sex offenders? (Social learning model)

Answer 24

1. Justifying wrongful conduct
2. Misperceiving consequences
3. Devaluing and attributing blame to victim

Question 25

What are some statements from sex-offenders that coincide with the cognitive factors according to social learning model?

Answer 25

1. Justifying wrongful act
   It was sex education
   My offence occurred as a result of my wife’s lack of understanding, my drinking, my drug use
   But I never had intercourse with the child…
   I was only fooling around
2. Misperceiving consequences
   The child didn’t suffer
   I don’t care
3. Devaluing and attributing blame to victim
   She was a whore anyway
   Most women want to be raped

Question 26

What are some implicit theories of SO’s (Ward & Keenan, 1999)?

Answer 26

• Children as sexual beings
• Entitlement
• Nature of harm
• Dangerous world
• Uncontrollable

Question 27

What is the purpose of intervention?

Answer 27

Not to change an individual's sexuality
Not to brainwash
Not to cure
Understanding
Prevention
Risk assessment and risk management
Analyse the nature of behaviour
Modify practice and strategies for working with these offenders

Question 28

What is the Good Lives Model? (Ward, 2004)

Answer 28

Positive psychology approach

Move away from looking at ‘risk factors’ in offender rehab

Focus on criminogenic needs of offender and how the offender changes behaviour to meet human needs

Treatment focuses on promoting good lives alongside minimising harm and risk

Promote strengths, abilities, preferences, interests, concerns, values

Human beings naturally disposed to seek primary human goods

Goods are intrinsically valuable in themselves

Involve fulfilment of human potentialities and increase in state of well-being

Treatment - give people necessary capabilities to live more fulfilling lives rather than just reduce risk factors or focus on psychological deficits

Question 29

What is aggression?

Answer 29

Usually involves any behaviour (physical, verbal) that has the goal of harming another living being that is motivated to avoid such behaviour.

Intended to exclude accidents, massochism

Question 30

How many violent crimes were committed last year (Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2016)?

Answer 30

826,000.

However, sometimes victimisation is repeated and part of a process rather than a single episode (domestic abuse)

Question 31

Are all violent offenders alike?

Answer 31

No. What about violence committed in the context of drugs or alcohol? Gang membership? Intimate relationships? Ill-treatment of young children? Paranoid psychosis? Dementia? Psychopathy? Terrorism? Mugging?

Question 32

What is the difference between hostile (reactive) and instrumental aggression?

Answer 32

Hostile aggression is regarded as a reaction, typically involving anger to events seen as provocative or threatening.

Instrumental aggression is regarded as a means to an end, more likely to be described as cold-blooded.

Some episodes appear to show elements of both instrumental and reactive! Can involve multiple factors and motives.

More useful to think about impulsive and premeditated.

Question 33

Trait or state?

Answer 33

There is a substantial degree of stability (trait) in aggressiveness over time (individuals who tend to be most aggressive at age 8 are likely to show same pattern at age 18)
But not even these people are aggressive all the time, in every situation
We have to account for why people are aggressive at some times but not others, why are some people more aggressive than others.

Question 34

What does the social learning theory (Bandura, 1977; 1986) say about why some people are aggressive more frequently than others?

Answer 34

Observational learning - seeing the behaviour of others, especially significant models

Enactive learning - performing a behaviour and experiencing consequences

Individual builds knowledge, expectations and evaluations of different styles and their effects
Behaviour that gets results is more likely to be repeated.

Draws attention to examples of aggression within family, neighbourhood or memory
What gets results is individuals specific social environment

Question 35

What are schemas?

Answer 35

Aggression arises primarily from how people make sense of their social world. Making sense becomes organised into knowledge structures (schemas) that include:
memories
beliefs

Schemas become strengthened through use; this makes them more likely to be used, across wide range of situations. They become automatic

Question 36

What is the General Aggression Model (Anderson & Bushman, 2002)?

Answer 36

Well-used/rehearsed knowledge structures, resistant to change
Influence even when not fully activated, hostile view of peoples actions, see self as victim
Rehearsal in fantasy
Bias to negative interpretations of others, events, negative arousal. Confrontation more likely
Negative arousal (anger) can exacerbate impulsivity, reliance on biases and lack of consideration of alternative interpretations, consequences, other peoples view or feelings.

Emphasises importance of situational factors converging with personal factors in episodes of aggressive behaviour.

Question 37

How does attachment affect aggression?

Answer 37

Anything but secure can affect them.

Question 38

How does gang culture affect aggression?

Answer 38

Central issue of respect. The norm is to retaliate, violent initiation rituals

Also in cultures of honour

Same with prison

Question 39

Can stress affect violent offenders?

Answer 39

The lives of homicide offenders tend to be characterised by chronically high levels of stress (Humphrey & Palmer, 1987) compared to non-violent offenders

Stress is clearly contributory factor

Stress implicated in intimate partner violence (Lila et al 2013)

Question 40

How do life events impact on violent offenders?

Answer 40

Individuals are affected and often altered by negative things that happen to them (e.g. break up, loss of job)

Personal sensitivities to certain kind of events (break up to some one with anxious attachment style)

Threat to or loss of roles, identity, self

Narrowing of thinking understress to core negative themes, rehearsed by negative events or circumstances more likely, including loss of social support

Individuals sometimes contribute to negative events that befall them anyway (bad temper can get a person sacked from a job)

SO! Above can impact on person’s knowledge, beliefs, sense of self and hence increase the likelihood of aggression. An area that needs much more research.

Question 41

What does McAdam’s theory of the personal narrative suggest?

Answer 41

Modern adults create an internalised life story or myth, in order to provide lives with unity and purpose and meaning. A story with characters and themes and a plot. Acts to shape future behaviour.

Roles include: victim, revenger, professional

Question 42

Is self-esteem important for violent offenders?

Answer 42

Yes. Unstable self-esteem - individual pre occupied with and sensitive to events seen as relevant to feelings of self worth.
Unstable self-esteem associated with anger and aggression (Kernis, 1989) and greater reactivity to events.
Kernis et al (2000) self esteem likely to be unstable when parents were critical, controlled through guilt or withdrawal or love.

Question 43

What areas should interventions for violent individuals target?

Answer 43

At the core of many anger management programmes is Novaco’s (1975) model of anger.

External events - frustration, annoyance, insult, assault

leads to…

Cognitive Processes - appraisal, inner speech

leads to…

ANGER: arousal and cognitive labelling

leads to…

Behavioural reaction - verbal and physical antagonism, passive aggression, withdrawal, avoidance

Question 44

Provide an overview of the effectiveness of interventions on violent offenders.

Answer 44

CBT- mainstream but effectiveness is inconsistent (Hough, 2010)

Therapeutic communities - resource intensive, highly selective

Good Lives Model - research evidence difficult to interpret

Question 45

What are the implications of research on violent offenders?

Answer 45

Need to pay more attention to contextual/relationship factors, e.g. in prison/hospital to encourage exploration of new perspectives

Must focus on developing stable sense of self

Need to understand how people can change

Question 46

What is the Aggression Replacement Training Programme?

Answer 46

(Goldstein & Glick, 1987), perhaps the most widely available programme for generally violent offenders. Argues that aggressive acts derive from multiple causes. Proposed that internal influences on an individual’s aggressive behaviour can be traced to three factors:

1. a general short fall in personal, interpersonal and social-cognitive skills.
2. overuse of aggressive and impulsive behaviours coupled with a low-level of anger control.
3. immature, egocentric concrete style of moral reasoning.

ART programme aims to tackle these three factors. Draws on social learning theory to encourage social skills. Developed through role play, discussion and performance feedback.