ABSTRACT
What value is there in identifying the types and prevalence of psychiatric disorder in adolescent sexual offenders? McElroy et al. (1999) suggest the following: (1) a better understanding of the relationship between sexual violence and mental illness might enable the development of more effective legal, correctional and public health policies regarding persons who commit sexual crimes; (2) psychopharmacologic treatment of appropriate psychiatric disorders in affected sexual offenders, administered in conjunction with correctional and psychosocial treatment programmes might increase the likelihood of successful rehabilitation and thereby reduce recidivism, public victimisation and the use of more costly correctional services; and (3) risk factors and preventive strategies for sexual violence might be identified and developed.
