INTRODUCTION: Prospective studies on victims of sexual abuse and retrospective studies on offender populations have indicated a connection between experiences of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and delinquency in adulthood. METHOD: Using a representative sample of violent and sex offenders from the Canton of Zurich (Switzerland; N=354), the aim of this study was to identify the characteristics of offenders who have experienced CSA. Two multivariable models for CSA were generated. RESULTS: CSA was documented for 13% of the sex offenders and 5.8% of the violent offenders. Child molesters displayed the highest prevalence rate with 18.9%. Multivariable analyses identified Swiss nationality, having stayed in a foster home and violence in the nuclear family as the strongest risk factors for CSA. In a second model, only offender characteristics from adulthood were taken into account as predictors: child molesters, offenders who prostituted themselves and repeat violent and sex offenders had a significantly higher risk of belonging to the group of offenders who had experienced CSA. DISCUSSION: The results suggest that the experience of CSA leads to an elevated and chronic risk for committing child abuse.
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", language="de", issn="0028-2804", doi="10.1007/s00115-010-3007-7", url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00115-010-3007-7" }