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Offender and Offense Characteristics of Sexual Sadists: A Comparative Study

NCJ Number
155745
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 40 Issue: 3 Dated: (May 1995) Pages: 450-455
Author(s)
T Gratzer; J M W Bradford
Date Published
1995
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study compares the offender and offense characteristics of 30 sexually sadistic criminals studied by Dietz et al. with those of 29 sexually sadistic criminals and 28 nonsadistic sexual offenders from the Royal Ottawa Hospital.
Abstract
"Sexual sadism" refers to a continuum of behaviors, ranging from emotional coercion to physical aggression. It involves the wish to control another person "by domination, denigration, or infliction of pain for the purpose of producing mental and sexual pleasure." The authors examined whether the characteristics noted by Dietz et al. would be found among a less violent group of sadistic offenders and also to what extent these characteristics were specific to sexual sadism. Findings suggest some offender and offense characteristics are specific to sexual sadism and that others appear to be common to sexually aggressive offenders more generally. In addition, there were a number of characteristics found exclusively among the most violent offenders described by Dietz et al. The authors explain these results in terms of a biopsychosocial understanding of sexual sadistic offenders. 4 tables and 11 references

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