It is recognized that a greater understanding of childhood adversities associated with sexual offending would have significant implications for the treatment of sexual offenders and the prevention of sexual offending. This study investigated the relationships between four types of sexual offending or paraphilias and three types of developmental risk factors including general, common, and specific risk factors. It was hypothesized that childhood sexual abuse, childhood physical abuse, childhood emotional abuse, childhood behavior problems, and family dysfunction would be general developmental risk factors for sexual offending. Childhood emotional abuse would be a common developmental risk factor for pedophilia, exhibitionism, rape, or multiple paraphilia. Lastly, a specific developmental risk factor for pedophilia would be childhood sexual abuse, childhood physical abuse would be a specific developmental risk factor for rape, and childhood behavior problems would be a specific developmental risk factor for multiple sexual offending. The study consisted of 97 offenders who formed 2 independent groups, a paraphilia group of 64 sex offenders and a comparison group of 33 nonsex, nonviolent, nondrug-related property offenders. The hypothesis that childhood sexual abuse, childhood physical abuse, childhood emotional abuse, childhood behavior problems, and family dysfunction were general developmental risk factors was confirmed. In addition, the role of childhood emotional abuse as an important developmental risk contributor and the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and pedophilia were of theoretical significance. References