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Publication

The neuropsychology of child sexual offending

Journal Contribution - e-publication

Subtitle:a systematic review
Relatively little research has examined the neuropsychological functioning of child sex offenders. While research has demonstrated that child sex offenders present with neuropsychological deficits, there is a lack of empirically supported insight into the nature of these deficits. Consequently, important questions concerning the neuropsychological functioning of child sex offenders remain unanswered. Firstly, it is not known conclusively which neuropsychological functions are impaired in child sex offenders. Secondly, the existence of unique neuropsychological profiles in subgroups of child sex offenders has not been established. Thirdly, it is unclear whether the identified neuropsychological deficits are specific to child sex offenders, rather than shared by other offender groups. To address these issues, we conducted a systematic review in which studies examining the neuropsychological functioning of child sex offenders were targeted. The results showed that paedophilic and nonpaedophilic child sex offenders present with specific sets of ‘core’ neuropsychological deficits, of which some are shared among subgroups of child sex offenders and with nonsexual offenders. Based on these findings, we propose a preliminary model for the neuropsychological characteristics of paedophilic and nonpaedophilic child sex offenders.
Journal: Aggression and violent behavior
ISSN: 1359-1789
Volume: 54
Pages: 1 - 14
Publication year:2020
Keywords:A1 Journal article
BOF-keylabel:yes
BOF-publication weight:3
CSS-citation score:2
Authors:International
Authors from:Higher Education
Accessibility:Open