Theory-based Assessment, Treatment, And Prevention Of Sexual Aggression

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Sexual aggression is a pervasive societal problem with devastating and sometimes permanent effects on its victims. Approximately one in four adults has been either a victim or perpetrator of sexually aggressive behavior. Until now, a disproportionate amount of attention has been paid to victim-based methods of prevention with a corresponding lack of emphasis on the perpetrators of sexual aggression, whose rate of recidivism is quite high. As psychologists and mental health professionals turn their attention to the assessment and treatment of sexual offenders, the need for practical, scientifically based information on sexual aggression has become clear. In this book, Gordon Hall offers suggestions based on state-of-the science theory and research. Using the Quadripartite Model of sexual aggression to provide a framework for causes and possible solutions, it breaks new ground by proposing preventive intervention with potential perpetrators. It is a valuable resource for anyone involved in mental health, criminology, and the judicial system.

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Theory-Based Assessment, Treatment, and Prevention of Sexual Aggression This page intentionally left blank Theory-Based Assessment, Treatment, and Prevention of Sexual Aggression GORDON C. NAGAYAMA HALL New York Oxford OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1996 Oxford University Press Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bombay Calcutta Cape Town Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madras Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi Paris Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Copyright © 1996 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hall, Gordon C. Nagayama. Theory-based assessment, treatment, and prevention of sexual aggression / Gordon C. Nagayama Hall. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-509039-X 1. Sex crimes. 2. Sex offenders. I. Title. [DNLM: 1. Sex Offenses —prevention & control. 2. Aggressionpsychology. 3. Models, Psychological. WM 611 H176t 1996] RC560.S47H35 1996 616.85'83-dc20 DNLM/DLC 95-14353 for Library of Congress 987654321 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper To Uni, Zomi, and Nathan This page intentionally left blank Preface Sexual aggression is a pervasive social problem, with devastating and sometimes permanent effects on victims. Unlike other problems of aggression, however, there has been a disproportionate amount of attention paid to victim-based methods of preventing sexual aggression. Perhaps the lack of emphasis on perpetrators of sexual aggression reflects society's denial of responsibility for sexually aggressive behavior. Sexually aggressive behavior is interpreted by some perpetrators as simply an assertion of the masculine role. Thus, a societal emphasis on perpetrators would constitute an admission, particularly on the part of males, of a shared responsibility for the existence of sexually aggressive behavior. The emphasis in this book is on perpetrators and potential perpetrators of sexually aggressive behavior. Insofar as the vast majority of sexual aggressors are male, the focus of this book is on male perpetrators. In the introduction, I make a case for an emphasis on perpetrators in addressing the problem of sexual aggression. The literature on the assessment and treatment of sexually aggressive behavior has reached a leve