Mental disorders in sexual offenders and their relevance for risk assessment
Daniel Turner
It has been hypothesized that mental disorders in sexual offenders are relevant in terms of risk assessment and psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatment. Although this association seems to be quite straightforward, precise data are scarce. The present plenary will first give an overview about the current state of research concerning the prevalence of mental disorders, including paraphilic disorders. Thereafter, the possible meaning of mental disorders in the etiology of sexual offending will be discussed. Closing the plenary the speaker will provide some insights concerning the predictive effect of mental disorders in recidivism risk assessment. Thereby, some so far unpublished data will be presented and their contribution to the current state of research will be discussed.
Daniel Turner (M.D., Ph.D.) is currently working as a medical resident at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the University Medical Center Mainz, Germany. Before that he was working at the Institute for Sex Research and Forensic Psychiatry at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. His current research interests involve the pharmacological treatment of sexual offenders, neuropsychological deficits in sexual offenders, and sexual behavior and sexual problems in adults with high-functional Autism Spectrum Disorders.