Anger Profiles and Characteristics of Incarcerated Sex Offenders

Theisen, Jessica L. (2003) Anger Profiles and Characteristics of Incarcerated Sex Offenders. Master's Thesis, Department of Criminal Justice, Central Connecticut State University.

Abstract

The present research investigated whether there was a positive relationship between incarcerated sex offenders and anger. It was hypothesized that the sex offender population would exhibit higher levels of anger than the incarcerated non-sex offender. A sample of 29 incarcerated sex offenders, currently in treatment, were administered the State Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI; Speilberger, 1988) and the Anger Disorders Scale (ADS; DiGiuseppe & Tafrate, 2003). Their results were compared to 35 incarcerated non-sex offender inmates from a previous study of the Anger Disorders Scale. Results showed that incarcerated non-sex offenders scored higher in nine areas on the STAXI and ADS, whereas the incarcerated sex offenders scored higher in only two areas on the STAXI. The implications of this study suggest that much more research in this area is required.