Rapists' offense processes - A preliminary descriptive model

Models of the offense process set out to provide a description of the cogni tive, behavioral, motivational, and contextual factors associated with a pa rticular type of offense. They model the temporal relationships between the variables of interest and focus explicitly on the proxima[ causes or the h ow of offending. In this study, qualitative analysis was used to develop a descriptive model of the offense process for 24 adult rapists. Sentenced of fenders provided detailed retrospective descriptions of their thoughts, emo tions, and behavior prior to and during their most recent rape. These descr iptions were analyzed using a grounded-theory approach. The resulting preli minary model contained the following six phases: background factors to the offense goal formation, approach behavior; offense preparation, the offense , and postoffense behavior These stages are discussed along with the model' s theoretical, research, and clinical implications. The model is consistent with existing multivariate theories of rape and has clear taxonomic potent ial.