Dr Tess Patterson1, Mr Elliott Brown1, Dr Melissa Purnell1, Dr Nadine McKillop2, Dr Susan Rayment-McHugh2, Dr Lara Christensen2
1University Of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, 2University of Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Australia
Biography:
Dr Tess Patterson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, New Zealand. Her research focuses on harmful sexual behaviour, both in terms of those who perpetrate the harm and also in relation to those who are victims of the harm. She is also a practising Clinical Psychologist. She has specialised in providing assessment and treatment intervention for those who commit, or who have experienced, sexual harm.
Abstract:
Typologies are a way of classifying persons based on characteristics and motivation of offending and are essential to informing clinical treatment of people who commit acts of sexual harm. Several typologies have been established in relation to males who sexually offend but it is widely recognised that typologies developed for men are not valid for females who sexually offend. Given the paucity of research examining female typologies of sexual offending, and the importance these typologies have for informing treatment interventions, the present study addresses this gap by examining publicly available court sentencing notes of Females Who have Sexually Offended (FWSO) in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada (N = 62 FWSO cases) to formulate typologies. We consider a range of static, dynamic, and developmental factors including offender background, psychosocial factors such as experience of sexual abuse, adverse childhood experiences and mental health difficulties to further describe this heterogenous population. Using hierarchical cluster analysis four typologies of FWSO emerged: “Anti-social” motivated by revenge, malice or material gain; “Seeking love” motivated by seeking intimacy and love; “Seeking sexual gratification” motivated to fulfil their own sexual desires; and “Seeking to please others” motivated to please others or win others’ affection. As these typologies are based on detailed information including background factors such as trauma histories and factors unique to FWSO (e.g., co-offending), the typologies have clinical implications for identifying key assessment and treatment intervention targets for FWSO.