The Recidivism Rate of Juvenile Sex Offenders between Uses...

The Recidivism Rate of Juvenile Sex Offenders between Uses of Legal Sentencing as Adults or Utilizing Psychological Treatment It is typically thought that sex offenders are the type of individual that needs to be tried in our courts and then sentenced because there is really no hope for an individual that harms the most innocent of our society. But there just may be an exception to this way of thinking. Juveniles who at one point themselves may have been victims, and as they have grown into adolescence not knowing why they are thinking the way they are, turn around and abuse others. Then what happens is that these adolescents once found out, are then tried in our courts as adults because in the mind of the court they are committing an†¦show more content†¦The victims of this type of offender are for the most part male. (Gunby) Another type of offender that researchers are beginning to study, that is the offender with high levels of psychopathic traits. There is what the study referred to as â€Å"modest† information on this type of offender compared to their adult counterpart. But from what they have studied thus far is that juvenile sex offenders with high levels of psychopathic traits had more severe antisocial histories, and had higher rates of general and violent recidivism. They were also more likely to use weapons or threats during the sexual offense, and were more likely to recidivate when released from prison. (Lawing) The reasons that an adolescent may become a sex offender are as varied as the types of offenders. Causes Juvenile sexual offenders more frequently experienced internalizing problems, had poor self esteem, social isolation and more frequently experienced sexual abuse in their early childhoods than non-sexual offenders. In addition, juvenile sexual abusers also exhibited more problems in their peer relationships. There is other research that has shown substantial evidence for a relationship between juvenile sexually abusive behavior and family dysfunction, and violence. Typically speaking abusers grew up in dysfunctional families characterized by inconsistent care, known parental criminal behavior and substance use. They