PSYCHOSOCIAL PROFILE OF SWISS SEXUAL OFFENDERS

Background data on psychosocial characteristics of sexual offenders ar e sparse in Europe. From 67 experts' reports done between 1982 and 199 5 in Geneva, Switzerland, demographic, criminological and psychiatric characteristics were collected for three groups of sexual offenders: o ffenders against adults, offenders against non-relative miners (<18 yr ), and offenders against miners with incest. The results showed that t he offenders against adults were younger (p = 0.02), more frequently s ingle (p = 0.0007) and with a lower educational level (p = 0.05) than the offenders against miners. Incest offenders had no prior conviction compared with 50% of the other offenders. Violence was more often use d by offenders against adults (86%) than by offenders against miners ( 45%) (p = 0.005). About two-thirds of the sexual offenders had no psyc hiatric history, but a personality disorder (mainly borderline) was di agnosed in half of the offenders. A history of sexual abuse during chi ldhood was reported by a third of the offenders against miners and by 5% of the offenders against adults (p = 0.04). It is concluded that a low socio-economic status and social isolation characterized offenders against adults, whereas offenders against miners had a relatively nor mal psychosocial profile.