Self-Reported Sexual Aggression among Youths: Exploring the Possible Subtypes

Abstract

Sexual aggression and offense among youths have long been subjected to scientific inquiries. A sizable number of these inquiries have identified sexually aggressive youths to constitute a heterogeneous group with possible distinct subgroups varying across their targeted victims and risk factors. This study aims to contribute to the growing body of research geared toward identifying these subgroups. Using self-reported data collected from US middle and high school students, this study employs a latent class analysis (LCA) to identify the subgroups of sexually aggressive youths using a data-driven strategy. The LCA results indicate three latent classes (sub-groups) to be distinguishable both quantitatively and qualitatively in the study sample: general delinquents, emotionally disturbed, and low-risk youths. These subgroups are comparable with those identified in similar previous studies. However, the subgroups’ sizes in this study vary slightly from the sizes of the subgroups identified by earlier studies. The study concludes by presenting the reasons for the identified differences, policy implications, study limitations, and future research directions.

Keywords

• Sexual offense
• aggression
• juvenile sex offenders
• latent class analysis
• juvenile delinquency
• risk factors

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