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Updated: May 20, 2026

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Published on: August 13, 2015
[Is there an association between intra-familiar sexual abuse and sexual offences in later life?]
Manuela Dudeck1, Kirstin Drenkhahn, Carsten Spitzer
1Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie der Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald am Helios Hanseklinikum Stralsund. manuela.dudeck@uni-greifswald.de
Objective:
12-35% of all sexual delinquents report victimization through early sexual abuse. To date, studies are based on small samples and mostly come from English-language countries.
Methods:
As part of an interdisciplinary study on the human rights situation in long-term imprisonment, we examined 1,055 prisoners from 11 countries in Europe with the posttraumatic stress diagnostic scale (PDS) concerning their traumas in relation to their offences.
Results:
Sexual delinquents who reported own prior sexual abuse within the family had a fourfold increase in committing sexual offences later in their life compared to other offenders.
Conclusions:
A detailed trauma history which includes sexual offences within the family is essential for adequate therapy and relapse prevention.
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