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Psychopathy, Intelligence, and Recidivism in Child Molesters

Evidence of an Interaction Effect

University of Canterbury, smbeggs{at}gmail.com

Randolph C. Grace

University of Canterbury, randolph.grace{at}canterbury.ac.nz

The authors studied the relationships between psychopathy, intelligence, and offending in a sample of treated child molesters (N = 216). Regression analyses showed that psychopathy (as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist—Revised) was strongly related to both offense history and recidivism during follow-up. Intelligence (assessed using four-subtest short forms of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised and Third Versions) was not related to offending. However, there was a significant interaction between intelligence and psychopathy on recidivism: Offenders with relatively low intelligence and high psychopathy scores were more than 4 times as likely to have received a sexual reconviction as other offenders. Results are discussed in terms of implications for risk assessment.

Key Words: child sexual offenders • pedophilia • recidivism • intelligence • psychopathy

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