Empathy development is believed to be an important element in adolescent se
x offender treatment. Adolescence is a time of considerable self-absorption
among adolescent boys. This study investigates levels of empathy among ado
lescent offenders in comparison with their nonoffending counterparts. Parti
cipants were 23 male sex offenders and 23 male nonoffenders between the age
s of 13 and 18. Participants were administered Davis's Interpersonal Reacti
vity index as a measure of empathy. The sex offender group scored significa
ntly lower in empathy on the overall score. There was some variation on the
individual subscales. Implications for research and practice are discussed
.