Field Measures of Psychopathy and Sexual Deviance as Predictors of Recidivism Among Sexual Offenders

Offenders with high levels of both psychopathy and deviant sexual interests are often described as being more prone to recidivate than other sexual offenders, and many forensic evaluators report considering this psychopathy and sexual deviance interaction when coming to conclusions about sex offender risk. However, empirical support for the interaction comes from studies using sexual deviance measures that are rarely used in the field. We examined the ability of Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) field scores and possible field measures of sexual deviance (e.g., paraphilia diagnosis, offense characteristics) to predict sexual recidivism among 687 offenders released after being evaluated for postrelease civil commitment (M follow-up = 10.5 years). PCL-R total scores and antisocial personality diagnoses were predictive of a combined category of violent or sexual recidivism, but not sexual recidivism. Paraphilia diagnoses and offense characteristics were not associated with an increased likelihood of reoffending. There was no evidence that those with high levels of both psychopathy and sexual deviance were more likely than others to reoffend. Although the psychopathy and sexual deviance interaction findings from prior studies are large and compelling, our findings highlight the need for research examining the best ways to translate those findings into routine practice. Public Significance Statement This study found that the types of offender and offense characteristics that field evaluators report using as indicators of sexual deviance were not predictive of postrelease sexual offending among a large sample of sexual offenders who underwent risk assessments before release from prison. In this field study, there was no evidence that offenders with high levels of both psychopathic traits and deviant sexual interests-the so called "deadly combination" of sex offender traits-were more likely to reoffend than other sexual offenders.