YOUTHS WHO SEXUALLY HARM:

A MULTIVARIATE MODEL OF PERPETRATOR CHARACTERISTICS

Almond, L., Canter, D., and Salfati, C. G

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the variations in perpetrator characteristics that exist among youths who sexually harm. Three conceptually distinct sets of background characteristics are hypothesized from the literature relating to whether the perpetrator was Abused, Delinquent or Impaired. Forty-one perpetrator characteristics were drawn from an extensive and detailed review of the files of 300 youths who had sexually harmed. The pattern of co-occurrence of the presence or absence of these characteristics was revealed by a multi-dimensional scaling procedure, Smallest Space Analysis (SSA).  The results provide empirical support for three distinct background themes, 215 (71%) of the youths could be assigned to one dominant background theme (Abused, Delinquent or Impaired). The findings have implications for the ways in which practitioners differentiate between young people who sexually harm.