Dual pathways to criminality and adolescent sexual offendin

The topic of adolescent sexual offending has progressively become the focus of research due to recognition of the complexity of this behavior and subsequent risk to society. Approximately half of adult sex offenders begin offending in adolescence, and without intervention it is estimated that an adolescent offender may commit many sexual crimes in a lifetime. In an effort to preempt this behavior, it is vital to comprehend the contributory risk factors and criminal trajectory of sexual offenders. The intent of this work is to develop an integrative way of conceptualizing the heterogeneity of adolescent sexual offending within the context of a developmental view of delinquency. This work will also explore the fact that adolescent sexual offenders are overwhelmingly male within the cultural milieu of patriarchy. A typology of violence could provide a link between the heterogeneity and versatility of sexual offenders and delinquents. Because an optimal way of classifying adolescent sex offenders remains unclear, understanding how sexual offending unfolds as a subset of delinquency could be a viable means to guide future research utilizing comparison groups of violent and nonviolent adolescent sexual offenders and delinquents.