Individuals under voluntary treatment with sexual interest in minors: what risk do they pose?
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Individuals under voluntary treatment with sexual interest in minors: what risk do they pose? / von Franque, Fritjof; Bergner-Koether, Ralf; Schmidt, Stefanie; Pellowski, Jan Stefan; Peters, Jan H.; Hajak, Göran; Briken, Peer.
In: FRONT PSYCHIATRY, Vol. 14, 1277225, 23.11.2023, p. 1277225.Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Individuals under voluntary treatment with sexual interest in minors: what risk do they pose?
AU - von Franque, Fritjof
AU - Bergner-Koether, Ralf
AU - Schmidt, Stefanie
AU - Pellowski, Jan Stefan
AU - Peters, Jan H.
AU - Hajak, Göran
AU - Briken, Peer
PY - 2023/11/23
Y1 - 2023/11/23
N2 - Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) and the production, use, and distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) are key threats to children's mental health. From the perspective of indicated prevention, it can be assumed that some persons with a sexual interest in children commit such unreported crimes. Accordingly, the German Network kein Täter werden (meaning do not offend) has implemented a confidential treatment service for persons with a sexual interest in minors who voluntarily seek therapy, might or might not have offended but have not yet been detected or have fulfilled all legal requirements (here referred to as non-forensic individuals). However, this offer has been questioned for investing resources in a group which critics consider as low risk. The following study addresses the question of recidivism risks for CSA or viewing CSAM among non-forensic individuals. We found significantly higher rates of CSA/CSAM in our participants' history compared to a German study on a representative sample of males. Regarding CSAM, the recidivism rate of 39% was found to be 11 times higher than the expected recidivism rate based on previous publications. Regarding CSA, the recidivism rate of 14% was not significantly different from the expected rate reported for subjects with a conviction for a sexual contact offense. Among various risk instruments, only the CPORT with CASIC rating was able to predict CSA (AUC = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.55, 0.82) and CSAM (AUC = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.53, 0.73) among individuals with a history of CSAM, but with poor discrimination. We conclude that a large proportion of our sample poses a substantial risk and therefore treatment resources are well invested. However, further studies are needed to improve risk assessment among non-forensic clients.
AB - Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) and the production, use, and distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) are key threats to children's mental health. From the perspective of indicated prevention, it can be assumed that some persons with a sexual interest in children commit such unreported crimes. Accordingly, the German Network kein Täter werden (meaning do not offend) has implemented a confidential treatment service for persons with a sexual interest in minors who voluntarily seek therapy, might or might not have offended but have not yet been detected or have fulfilled all legal requirements (here referred to as non-forensic individuals). However, this offer has been questioned for investing resources in a group which critics consider as low risk. The following study addresses the question of recidivism risks for CSA or viewing CSAM among non-forensic individuals. We found significantly higher rates of CSA/CSAM in our participants' history compared to a German study on a representative sample of males. Regarding CSAM, the recidivism rate of 39% was found to be 11 times higher than the expected recidivism rate based on previous publications. Regarding CSA, the recidivism rate of 14% was not significantly different from the expected rate reported for subjects with a conviction for a sexual contact offense. Among various risk instruments, only the CPORT with CASIC rating was able to predict CSA (AUC = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.55, 0.82) and CSAM (AUC = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.53, 0.73) among individuals with a history of CSAM, but with poor discrimination. We conclude that a large proportion of our sample poses a substantial risk and therefore treatment resources are well invested. However, further studies are needed to improve risk assessment among non-forensic clients.
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1277225
DO - 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1277225
M3 - SCORING: Journal article
C2 - 38076694
VL - 14
SP - 1277225
JO - FRONT PSYCHIATRY
JF - FRONT PSYCHIATRY
SN - 1664-0640
M1 - 1277225
ER -