Demographic characteristics of convicted child sexual abusers in South of Sweden, between 2013 and 2018: a pilot study

This study evaluates variables concerning demographic characteristics for all adult male offenders convicted of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) aged 0–17 in Malmö, Sweden between 2013 and 2018. All convictions (n = 18) based on court documents from the District Court, the Court of Appeals and information from the Swedish Tax Agency were reviewed. A total of 30 victims were identified. Frequency analyses show that the most common features were that of a single offender, averaging 25 years old, with a non-Swedish background and a high school degree. The predominately extrafamilial CSA (i.e. committed by an acquaintance to the family) occurred in a private setting and consisted of penetrative acts. Girls averaging 13 years old were abused multiple times, under fear and pressure. Although assumptions based on these results are preliminary, they provide a clearer image of the typical circumstances under which CSA occurred within this time frame and geographical location. This study is a first attempt to construct an overview of demographic characteristics of CSA. As more data are gathered from this region, more sophisticated analyses can be conducted, providing stronger generalizations. Information of this kind may be important for research, classification of offender profiling and in case linking

Callous-unemotional traits as a cross-disorders construct

Item does not contain fulltextPURPOSE: Callous-unemotional (CU) traits are currently viewed as the defining signs and symptoms of juvenile psychopathy. It is unclear, however, whether CU traits have validity only in the context of conduct disorder (CD) as proposed by Frick and Moffitt (A proposal to the DSM-V childhood disorders and the ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders work groups to include a specifier to the diagnosis of conduct disorder based on the presence of callous-unemotional traits, American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC, 2010), or also outside CD, either in combination with other forms of psychopathology or as a stand-alone construct. METHODS: The current review systematically studied the existent literature on CU traits in juveniles to examine their validity inside and outside CD according to the framework regarding the validity of a psychiatric diagnosis provided by Robins and Guze (Am J Psychiatry 126:983-987, 1970). RESULTS: Inside youth with conduct problems, and CD specifically, it seems that CU traits meet the Robins and Guze criteria. As many of the reviewed studies included youth with ODD and ADHD as well, there are indications the same might be true for ODD and ADHD, although probably to a lesser extent. In other disorders, CU traits may be present as well, but their role is not firmly established. As stand-alone construct, data are lacking or are scarce on all of the above-mentioned criteria. CONCLUSIONS: CU traits are a useful specifier in CD, and possibly also in disruptive behaviour disorders (DBDs) more generally. High CU traits outside DBDs exist but it is as yet unknown if there is a clinical need for defining CU traits as a stand-alone construct