Cognitive competence of sex offenders and their sexual experience in the childhood

The article presents a research that was conducted in a group of 56 men from 7 penal institutions in Poland convicted by a court of law for sexual activity with a juvenile. The purpose of this study was to assess their current cognitive competences and sexual experiences in their childhood. On the basis of the conducted study it can be stated that among the researched group of sexual offenders, the vast majority of men - 75% has low cognitive competence. They function on the edge of intellectual standard and disability or they are intellectually disabled in a light degree. Sexual experience was also analysed in the researched group of men, basing mainly on the sources of their knowledge about sexuality before the age of 12. The study revealed that the proceeding line of sexual development among some of the offenders was characterized by lack of harmony, disordered proportion of normative and non-normative experiences, and high intensity of sexual activity. The dependencies between cognitive functioning, sexual experience, and sexual offences are complex and require wide discussion. It is especially crucial to give support to the parents in the process of their children's sexual education, as well as to put further efforts in the quality of sexual education at schools. On the other hand, it is also significant for the therapeutic programs in the penitentiaries to take into account occurrences of possible intellectual deficits among sex offenders.

The article presents a research that was conducted in a group of 56 men from 7 penal institutions in Poland convicted by a court of law for sexual activity with a juvenile. The purpose of this study was to assess their current cognitive competences and sexual experiences in their childhood. On the basis of the conducted study it can be stated that among the researched group of sexual offenders, the vast majority of men - 75% has low cognitive competence. They function on the edge of intellectual standard and disability or they are intellectually disabled in a light degree. Sexual experience was also analysed in the researched group of men, basing mainly on the sources of their knowledge about sexuality before the age of 12. The study revealed that the proceeding line of sexual development among some of the offenders was characterized by lack of harmony, disordered proportion of normative and non-normative experiences, and high intensity of sexual activity. The dependencies between cognitive functioning, sexual experience, and sexual offences are complex and require wide discussion. It is especially crucial to give support to the parents in the process of their children's sexual education, as well as to put further efforts in the quality of sexual education at schools. On the other hand, it is also significant for the therapeutic programs in the penitentiaries to take into account occurrences of possible intellectual deficits among sex offenders.