Raymond Knight

Sexual violence includes a wide variety of behaviors, ranging from harassment to coercion, to rape, to sexual homicide. Although the criminal justice system distinguishes these forms of sexual violence, several studies have suggested that they represent different degrees of severity of an underlying continuum, named the Agonistic Continuum. Such model proposes that sub-categories of sexual violence share a core, unifying construct. The aim of the present study was to develop and test the psychometric properties of a new Agonistic scale. Classical test theory, exploratory factor analyses, taxometric analyses, and two-parameter item response theory analyses were conducted on a combined sample of MTurk workers and university students. Analyses revealed that the new 30-item Agonistic scale is psychometrically sound. These results have several implications, ranging from moving away from the arbitrary categorization of sexual violence to encompassing the last decade of research on harassment and coercion following the movement.

The earliest speculation aimed at understanding the heterogeneity of sexually aggressive behavior took the form of typological systems that attempted to group individuals who had sexually aggressed (ISAs) into distinct types. These speculative systems have over the years been joined by a vast array of studies that have generated hypothetical types using an array of cluster analytic procedures that have used a variety of input measures. Few systematic studies have clearly operationalized these proposed distinctions, reliably assigned individuals to the purported categories, and rigorously tested the validity of the resultant system. Moreover, until recently there were no explorations of whether proposed types represented distinctions in kind versus simply quantitative differences along continua. One program, originally called the Massachusetts Treatment Center (MTC) typology program, has attempted to integrate both deductive and inductive strategies, to generate reliable criteria for classification, to test their validity, and to use taxometrics to explore whether categorical or dimensional models are optimal for studying the heterogeneity among ISAs. This chapter documents the methodological challenges that have plagued the search for ISA typologies and summarizes the progress that this program has made in addressing these methodological stumbling blocks. The important guiding principles that have emerged from this program are discussed, their potential for improving assessment, treatment, and disposition is delineated, and recommendations are proposed about the directions of future research that flow from this program.

This study tested the possibility that the four facets of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised/Screening Version (PCL-R/SV) serve as bipolar constructs in predicting future criminal justice outcomes. Organizing scores on the four facets (Interpersonal, Affective, Lifestyle, and Antisocial) into three categories-that is, lowest 25% of cases (best category), highest 25% of cases (worst category), and middle 50% of cases (intermediate category)-we tested bipolarity by crossing the three categories with a dichotomized crime/violence outcome and calculating both promotive (best category vs. worst + intermediate categories) and risk (worst category vs. best + intermediate categories) effects in six samples. Bipolarity was defined as the simultaneous presence of promotive (low scores predicting a good outcome) and risk (high scores predicting a poor outcome) effects for each PCL-R/SV facet in each sample. Odds ratios and the Cochrane-Armitage linear trend test revealed evidence of bipolarity in one of six samples for the Interpersonal facet, three of six samples for the Affective facet, five of six samples for the Lifestyle facet, and all six samples for the Antisocial facet. An item response theory analysis was then conducted, the results of which supported the facet-level findings from the odds ratio and Cochrane-Armitage analyses at the individual item level. These results provide modest (Affective facet) to moderately strong (Lifestyle and Antisocial facets) evidence of bipolarity in three of the four facets of the PCL-R/SV by showing that low scores are just as effective in predicting good criminal justice outcomes as high scores are in predicting poor criminal justice outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

The current study explored the relations between patient characteristics and psychopathic traits in predicting treatment involvement. We rated treatment involvement using detailed archival clinical files of 218 individuals committed to the Massachusetts Treatment Center (MTC). Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) scores had been rated from a previous study on the same sample. Overall, PCL-R Facets 2 and 4 significantly predicted decreases in treatment involvement, suggesting the characteristics associated with these facets have the most disruptive effects on treatment involvement. Exploratory analyses were also conducted assessing the relations between the PCL-R facets and the individual treatment involvement components. Whereas Facet 2 significantly predicted lower levels in all three individual treatment involvement components, Facet 4 only significantly predicted lower levels in two, highlighting the differentiating effects of these facets. Identifying the components that have either positive or negative effects on treatment involvement can allow clinicians to tailor treatments to optimize treatment involvement and outcome.The current study explored the relations between patient characteristics and psychopathic traits in predicting treatment involvement. We rated treatment involvement using detailed archival clinical files of 218 individuals committed to the Massachusetts Treatment Center (MTC). Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) scores had been rated from a previous study on the same sample. Overall, PCL-R Facets 2 and 4 significantly predicted decreases in treatment involvement, suggesting the characteristics associated with these facets have the most disruptive effects on treatment involvement. Exploratory analyses were also conducted assessing the relations between the PCL-R facets and the individual treatment involvement components. Whereas Facet 2 significantly predicted lower levels in all three individual treatment involvement components, Facet 4 only significantly predicted lower levels in two, highlighting the differentiating effects of these facets. Identifying the components that have either positive or negative effects on treatment involvement can allow clinicians to tailor treatments to optimize treatment involvement and outcome.

Among the multiple controversies surrounding hypersexuality is the important issue of whether it constitutes a univocal construct. Although an initial study supported its homogeneity, more resent research has identified two separate subcomponents-problematic sexuality and sexual drive. The present survey study addressed this issue in a sample that included both in-person tested college students (n = 69) and online respondents (n = 339). A factor analysis of scales attempting to capture the indicators of each subcomponent of hypersexuality yielded two correlated, but separate factors. Whereas Problematic Sexuality (PS) comprised scales measuring sexual compulsivity, using sex as a coping mechanism, and the negative consequences of sexual behavior, Sexual Drive (SD) was defined by frequent sexual activity, preoccupation with sexual fantasies, a predilection for impersonal sexual behavior, and facile sexual arousal. These two subcomponents of hypersexuality were found to covary with different types of impulsivity, further supporting their discrimination and providing external validation for their differentiation. Contrary to a priori hypotheses, however, PS correlated highly with Callous/Manipulative/Risk-Taking as well as with a predicted Affective Instability/Behavioral Disinhibition factor, suggesting that PS may constitute an equifinality of separate developmental trajectories for those high on both subtypes of hypersexuality.

We examined how the age of the victim influences the public's risk assessment and punishment attitudes for individuals who have sexually offended and whether actuarial feedback influences these ratings. (1) Risk ratings for child victim vignettes would be higher than ratings for adult victim vignettes. This effect would be driven by higher ratings for lower risk individuals. (2) Because of the increased stigma associated with individuals with child victim sexual abuse convictions, participants who rated this subgroup would be less likely than those who rated adult victim vignettes to revise their initial risk ratings. (3) Dispositional placements for the individuals in vignettes with child victims would be more punitive than for those with adult victims, both before and after feedback. Participants ( = 389, 18-77 years, 51.7% male, 73.0% White) read five vignettes of individuals incarcerated for a sexual offense at five different risk levels and with either child or adult victims. They made judgments about recidivism risk and postprison dispositions and then received actuarial feedback and made the ratings again. Risk ratings for child victim vignettes were higher than ratings for adult victim vignettes, particularly for cases of average risk and below (η² = .17). Participants were equally likely to revise initial risk ratings for child and adult victim vignettes (η² = .01). Dispositional placements for child victim vignettes were significantly more punitive than for adult victim vignettes both before and after feedback, especially for the lower risk individuals (η² = .07). Although judgments of risk and disposition toward individuals who sexually offend can be adjusted regardless of victim type, there is a more severe bias against individuals with child victims. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

This study examines the characteristics of youths convicted of sexual crimes (YSC) and youths convicted of non-sexual crimes (YNSC) to create an inclusive typology of clinical characteristics associated with sexual and general delinquency. The sample consisted of 391 justice-involved male youths aged 14-20. Participants completed either the Multidimensional Assessment of Sex and Aggression (MASA) or the Multidimensional Inventory of Development, Sex, and Aggression (MIDSA). Four profiles were identified based on a three-step latent profile analysis (LPA): Normal/Neurotic Delinquents, Macho Delinquents, Sexualised Delinquents, and Psychopathic Sexualised Delinquents. The youths in these profiles differed in the nature and intensity of their clinical characteristics and the incidence of their sexual and non-sexual delinquency. The distribution of YSCs and YNSCs across the four profiles shows that these are not completely distinct populations. Although two profiles in the typology comprised mainly YSCs, YNSCs were present in all profiles. This highlights the importance of rejecting the idea of one-size-fits-all treatment for these youth. The study also highlights the importance of basing treatment on the clinical characteristics and needs of justice-involved youth rather than on their index offence.