Differences in Sociodemographic Characteristics and Treatment Refusal Between Lone and Multiple Perpetrator Rapists.

Studies that compare lone and multiple perpetrator rape offenders often use police files. This study explores the differences between lone and multiple perpetrator rapists using a sample of 172 convicted sexual offenders. The first objective is to explore sociodemographic differences between the two groups of perpetrators. Differences are found in offenders' age, the use of drugs or alcohol, the release phase, sexual behavior, the use of a vehicle, the place and time of the assault, and victim characteristics. The second objective is to explore differences between the two groups regarding the number of perpetrators. No differences are found, except for the presence of a leader in groups of three or more perpetrators. Finally, no differences are found regarding treatment variables (responsibility assumption, treatment program participation, program dropout or expulsion, and reconviction rates) that support a different profile for the purpose of intervention.

Multiple-Perpetrator and Solo-Offender Sexual Assaults Between Strangers: Differences and Predictive Variables.

Multiple-perpetrator rape is an under-studied topic, but there has been a recent increase in studies on the differences between multiple-perpetrator sexual offenses and the ones perpetrated by solo offenders. This study aims to have a deeper understanding of the differences between multiple-perpetrator and solo-offender sexual assaults committed by strangers, from a sample of 400 sexual aggressions reported to the Spanish police in 2010. Differences were explored on variables related to characteristics of perpetrators, the assault (approach, control, maintenance, termination, and sexual behavior), and the victims. Data were obtained from police files on sexual assaults committed around the country. Significant differences found were similar to other studies conducted in other countries and proved that multiple perpetrator assaults committed by strangers are a different subtype. Additionally, four predictive variables of multiple-perpetrator rape were identified: older age (OR = 0.943, 95% CI = [0.92, 0.97]), alcohol or drug use (OR = 2.499, 95% CI = [1.50, 4.32]), non-Spanish nationals (OR = 1.980, 95% CI = [1.14, 3.45]), and use of violence to control the victim (OR = 2.465, 95% CI = [1.03, 5.90]). The cultural and leisure characteristics of Spanish society provide facilitating opportunities for multiple-perpetrator rapes and prevention strategies should be urgently addressed.

Sociodemographic and psycho social Differences Between Hate Crime Offenders and Other Non-Bias-Motivated Criminals: Implications for Prison Rehabilitation Programs.

Hate crimes have severe consequences for the victims and for all members of the victim's social category. Prison programs must address the criminogenic needs of the participants, especially in this kind of crime, in order to prevent recidivism. This study seeks to understand the role of prejudice and aggression in the execution of hate crimes, in order to design effective interventions for hate crime offenders. Sociodemographic, criminological, and psychosocial variables were assessed in a sample of 33 hate crime offenders sentenced to prison or community service and in a group of 38 non-bias-motivated criminals (n = 71). The individuals convicted of hate crimes have higher reactive and proactive aggression, subtle prejudice, homophobia, and social dominance orientation. The implications of these results for the Penitentiary Administration programs will be discussed.

Evaluación de la eficacia del programa de tratamiento con agresores de pareja (PRIA) en la comunidad / Efficacy of an intervention program for court-ordered intimate partner offenders

La violencia contra las mujeres es un grave problema social que ha suscitado importantes cambios legislativos en España en los últimos años. Entre las medidas adoptadas por el Gobierno para reducir el impacto de este problema se encuentran los programas de tratamiento con agresores de pareja. El tratamiento en prisión para agresores en el ámbito familiar tiene una larga trayectoria y su eficacia ya ha sido constatada por estudios recientes. Sin embargo, en el ámbito de la medidas penales alternativas se ha diseñado un nuevo programa de intervención para agresores de pareja (PRIA) que debía ser evaluado. El objetivo de esta investigación es la evaluación del programa de tratamiento con agresores de pareja en la comunidad. Para ello se ha contado con 770 usuarios condenados por un delito de violencia de género a una medida en la comunidad. Los usuarios han sido divididos en un grupo de tratamiento, evaluado antes y después de la intervención, y un grupo control, evaluado en momentos temporales similares al grupo anterior. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que los agresores que han pasado por el programa de tratamiento han sufrido un cambio terapéutico significativo. Estos resultados positivos también son confirmados por la comparación entre el grupo de tratamiento y el grupo control. Finalmente, se analizan las implicaciones de dichos resultados y las limitaciones del estudio (AU)

Violence against women is a serious social and public health problem that has promoted significant legislative changes in Spain during the last years. Batterer intervention programs are some of the measures adopted by the Government to reduce the impact of this problem. Domestic violence treatment programs have a long trajectory in the Spanish prisons and their effectiveness has been evaluated by several studies. However, in the community services a new court-ordered treatment for intimate partner offenders (PRIA) has been implemented recently. The main goal of this research is to evaluate the court-ordered treatment for intimate partner offenders in the community. The sample consists of 770 intimate partner offenders serving a sentence in the community. The subjects were divided in two groups: an experimental group, assessed pre and post intervention, and a control group, assessed in two temporal moments similar to the experimental group. Results show a significant therapeutic change among the intimate partner offenders after the treatment program. These changes are also confirmed by the comparison between the experimental and control group. Finally, the implications and limits of this study are analysed (AU)

Empatía en una muestra española de delincuentes sexuales / Study of empathy in a Spanish sex offender sample

La investigación internacional ha evidenciado la relevancia de la variable empatía en la agresión sexual. El objetivo de este estudio es explorar, en una muestra española de delincuentes, la relación déficit en empatía-agresión sexual para diferentes tipos de víctimas, así como los posibles beneficios del tratamiento psicológico en la mejora de esta variable. Para evaluar la empatía se tradujo y adaptó al castellano la Rape Empathy Measure y se aplicó a un grupo de 118 delincuentes no-sexuales y a otro de 73 violadores, 39 tratados y 34 no-tratados. Los principales resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto que los violadores no-tratados puntúan más bajo en empatía que los delincuentes no-sexuales; sin embargo, los violadores tratados superan en empatía tanto a los violadores no-tratados como a los delincuentes no-sexuales. Estos resultados son parcialmente coherentes con los de otras investigaciones precedentes. Para finalizar se comenta la conveniencia de evaluar en futuros estudios tanto la variable empatía como otras variables psicológicas conectadas con la agresión sexual

International research has emphasised that empathy is a relevant factor of sex offending. The main goal of this study is to explore, in a Spanish sex offender sample, the relationship between empathy deficits and sex crime for various types of victims. This study also analyses the positive effect that psychological treatment could have on empathy. For this purpose, 118 non-sex offenders were compared on an adapted version of Rape Empathy Measure to 39 treated rapists and 34 untreated rapists. Results show that the untreated rapists have lower empathy levels than non-sex offenders. Nevertheless, the treated rapists scored higher on empathy than the other two groups assessed, untreated rapists and non-sex offenders. Lastly, some suggestions are provided for future research in terms of the assessment of empathy and other factors related to sexual aggression

[Study of empathy in a Spanish sex offender sample]. / Empatía en una muestra española de delincuentes sexuales.

International research has emphasised that empathy is a relevant factor of sex offending. The main goal of this study is to explore, in a Spanish sex offender sample, the relationship between empathy deficits and sex crime for various types of victims. This study also analyses the positive effect that psychological treatment could have on empathy. For this purpose, 118 non-sex offenders were compared on an adapted version of Rape Empathy Measure to 39 treated rapists and 34 untreated rapists. Results show that the untreated rapists have lower empathy levels than non-sex offenders. Nevertheless, the treated rapists scored higher on empathy than the other two groups assessed, untreated rapists and non-sex offenders. Lastly, some suggestions are provided for future research in terms of the assessment of empathy and other factors related to sexual aggression.

[Recidivism risk assessment in sex offenders]. / Predicción de riesgo de reincidencia en agresores sexuales.

Violent behaviour risk assessment is one of the most relevant research areas in current Psychology of Crime. Various scales for violence risk assessment have recently been developed from research about crime careers and risk factors. One of these instruments is the Sexual Violence Risk Assessment-20 (SVR-20), translated and adapted to Spanish by the Group of Advanced Studies in Violence of the University of Barcelona. The goal of this study is to verify the predictive capacity of the SVR-20 to predict sexual violence recidivism in a Spanish sample of sexual offender inmates. The method used was a retrospective study based in 163 sexual offender files and a 4-year time lag. The data were analysed with the logistic regression technique. Of the sample, 79.9% non-recidivist individuals were correctly classified, and 70.8% recidivist individuals. The ROC curve obtained for the model shows a very good discriminant capacity for the SVR-20, with a 0.83 AUC value. The main conclusion of this study is that the Spanish adaptation of SVR-20 is a good instrument to predict the risk of sexual violence.

Predicción de riesgo de reincidencia en agresores sexuales / Recidivism risk assessment in sex offenders

La evaluación del riesgo de conducta violenta es un campo emergente en la actual Psicología de la Delincuencia. A partir de la investigación sobre carreras criminales y predictores de riesgo, durante los últimos años se han desarrollado diferentes escalas de evaluación del riesgo de violencia. Uno de estos instrumentos es el Sexual Violence Risk Assessment-20 (SVR-20), traducido y adaptado al español en el Grupo de Estudios Avanzados en Violencia de la Universidad de Barcelona. El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar la capacidad del SVR-20 para predecir la reincidencia sexual en una muestra española de delincuentes sexuales. Para ello se ha aplicado el SVR-20 de forma retrospectiva a un grupo de 163 agresores sexuales ya excarcelados. La capacidad discriminativa del instrumento ha sido evaluada a través del modelo de regresión logística. Se obtuvo un porcentaje de clasificaciones correctas de los sujetos no reincidentes del 79,9% y de los sujetos reincidentes del 70,8%. La curva ROC obtenida muestra una buena capacidad discriminativa del SVR-20 con un valor de área bajo la curva (AUC) de 0.83. La principal conclusión de este estudio es que el SVR-20 es un instrumento de utilidad para mejorar los pronósticos de riesgo de violencia sexual

Violent behaviour risk assessment is one of the most relevant research areas in current Psychology of Crime. Various scales for violence risk assessment have recently been developed from research about crime careers and risk factors. One of these instruments is the Sexual Violence Risk Assessment-20 (SVR-20), translated and adapted to Spanish by the Group of Advanced Studies in Violence of the University of Barcelona. The goal of this study is to verify the predictive capacity of the SVR-20 to predict sexual violence recidivism in a Spanish sample of sexual offender inmates. The method used was a retrospective study based in 163 sexual offender files and a 4-year time lag. The data were analysed with the logistic regression technique. Of the sample, 79.9% non-recidivist individuals were correctly classified, and 70.8% recidivist individuals. The ROC curve obtained for the model shows a very good discriminant capacity for the SVR-20, with a 0.83 AUC value. The main conclusion of this study is that the Spanish adaptation of SVR-20 is a good instrument to predict the risk of sexual violence

Assessing aggressiveness quickly and efficiently: the Spanish adaptation of Aggression Questionnaire-refined version.

The assessment of aggressiveness and the prediction of aggression has become a relevant research and applied topic in Psychiatry and Psychology. There have been many attempts in order to get a fast and reliable tool to measure aggression. Buss and Durkee started the pathway, and recently Bryant and Smith developed a tool with an enormous potential, a fast-applicable, reliable and valid test. We herein report a Spanish adaptation of this test and we show that aggressiveness can be measured rapidly, and in a simple, valid and reliable way across different populations. We focus on the discriminant capacity of this test to detect aggressive individuals.