Exhibitionism: Findings From a Midwestern Police Contact Sample

• Published in: International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology 2008-06, Vol.52 (3), p.270-279
• Main Authors: Bader, Shannon M., Schoeneman-Morris, Katherine A., Scalora, Mario J., Casady, Thomas K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aggression; Assault; Child sexual abuse; Children; Correctional treatment programs; Correlation analysis; Crime Victims - statistics & numerical data; Exhibitionism; Exhibitionism - psychology; Female; Humans; Indecent exposure; Male; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Middle Aged; Midwestern United States - epidemiology; Offending; Offenses; Paraphilias; Perpetrators; Police; Rape; Recidivism; Recurrence; Risk exposure; Samples; Sex crimes; Sex offenders; Sex Offenses - psychology; Sexual Deviation; Studies; Substance Abuse; Symptoms; Victims
• ISSN: 0306-624X; 1552-6933
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X07307122

This study used a police sample to examine offense characteristics, recidivism rates, and other types of sexual offending among individuals suspected of exhibitionism. The sample consisted of 202 incidents of indecent exposure perpetrated by 106 identified individuals. Demographic information showed that one quarter of the sample had symptoms of a mental illness and one quarter had a history of substance abuse. More than 84% of the sample had other nonsexual criminal charges. Approximately 30% of the perpetrators were charged for more than one exposure incident. Masturbating during the offense, exposing to child victims, and speaking to the victim did not show any relationship to the occurrence of more sexually aggressive behaviors. However, individuals who had subsequent rape or molestation charges (16.9%) were more likely than those who did not to have had multiple exposure incidents and a history of physical assault charges.