SELF-REPORT IN MALE JUVENILE SEX OFFENDERS AND SELF-CONSCIOUS EMOTIONS

Canan Tuz, Fisun Sözen, Ergun Oksuz*, Zeliha Özbakir, Zehra Dagli and Ersin Ogus

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This study investigated sexual violence against women and whether or not the perpetrators were witnesses to domestic violence and/or domestic sexual violence and if there was a difference regarding the feelings of shame and guilt from other men among male university students. Methods: A random sample of 175 male students was selected among a total of 3,535 male students at a university in Ankara. A research questionnaire was composed of sociodemographic, as well as the Sexual Experiences Survey-Perpetration Version (SES-PV) and the Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ-2). Results: During some time in their lives, 19.9% of the participants witnessed domestic violence, and 3.5% of them witnessed domestic sexual violence. According to their self-reports in the study, the rate of being a sexually violent perpetrator among male university students was 13.5%. Alcohol (21.3% vs. 68.4%, p = 0.000) and substance abuse (1.6% vs. 15.8%, p = 0.002) were found to be high in the sexually violent perpetrators. the PFQ-2 Guilt subdomain scores were found to be higher in the sexually violent perpetrators (p = 0.018). Conclusion: To be able to interfere with adolescent males who were sexually violent perpetrators in the past can significantly reduce the rate of sexual assault. This requires an understanding of the emotional reactions of the sexually violent perpetrator, which can help in determining adequate knowledge and qualities that may lead to the recurrence of the crime.

Keywords: Offenders, Sexual violence, Adolescent, Shame, Guilt.