Rape is a serious physical assault that has devastating long-term physical and emotional effects. The extensiveness and seriousness of this problem demands a concerted, effective social response. Substantial evidence indicates that sexual aggression is determined by a multiplicity of variables and is committed by a heterogeneous group of offenders. The present research proposal is designed to address three critical issues about the assessment of sexual aggression. First, the investigators propose to continue validation research on an easily administered and processed inventory, the Multidimensional Assessment of Sex and Aggression (MASA), for which both computerized and paper-and-pencil administration forms exist. This inventory has been designed to assess the critical domains that discriminate among sex offenders, and it has already demonstrated some evidence of reliability and validity. The investigators propose to improve the MASA by expanding its assessment of both the developmental antecedents of aggression and of domains critical to the evaluation of child molesters. Second, the investigators propose to use the MASA to revise and simplify our rapist typology (the Massachusetts Treatment Center Typology for Rapists [MTC-R3], which is currently the only empirically validated, reliable typology for rapists. Third, the investigators propose to continue the development of a version of the MASA for juvenile sex offenders and to use this instrument to develop a valid typology for this population.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH054263-03
Application #
2890693
Study Section
Violence and Traumatic Stress Review Committee (VTS)
Program Officer
Bourdon, Karen H
Project Start
1997-07-15
Project End
2001-06-30
Budget Start
1999-07-01
Budget End
2001-06-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1999
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Brandeis University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
616845814
City
Waltham
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02454
Krstic, Sonja; Neumann, Craig S; Roy, Sandeep et al. (2018) Using latent variable- and person-centered approaches to examine the role of psychopathic traits in sex offenders. Personal Disord 9:207-216
Krstic, Sonja; Knight, Raymond A; Robertson, Carrie A (2016) Developmental Antecedents of the Facets of Psychopathy: The Role of Multiple Abuse Experiences. J Pers Disord 30:677-693
Robertson, Carrie A; Knight, Raymond A (2014) Relating sexual sadism and psychopathy to one another, non-sexual violence, and sexual crime behaviors. Aggress Behav 40:12-23
Hamdi, Nayla R; Knight, Raymond A (2012) The relationships of perpetrator and victim substance use to the sexual aggression of rapists and child molesters. Sex Abuse 24:307-27
Knight, Raymond A; Ronis, Scott T; Zakireh, Barry (2009) Bootstrapping persistence risk indicators for juveniles who sexually offend. Behav Sci Law 27:878-909
Knight, Raymond A; Sims-Knight, Judith E (2003) The developmental antecedents of sexual coercion against women: testing alternative hypotheses with structural equation modeling. Ann N Y Acad Sci 989:72-85; discussion 144-53