THE SEXUAL PSYCHOPATH: THE SAMPLE OF LEGAL PROCEDURE
We interviewed 277 men who were adjudged, in California, to be sexual psychopaths. In addition to this interview, we were able to obtain the probation records for 42 per cent of these men, reports of the court psychiatrists (for 53 per cent), reports made by therapists and social workers during and at the conclusion of the 90-day observation period (for 77 per cent), and reports from other institutions where the man had been incarcerated (for 7 per cent). All in all, one or more of the above-mentioned official reports was obtained for four fifths of the sexual psychopaths whom we interviewed.
Categorizing these men according to the sex-offense groups we have been using, we found a sufficient number of individuals for statistical analysis in six groups. These six groups are: offenders vs. children (63 cases), aggressors vs. adults (21), incest offenders vs. children (28), homosexual offenders vs. children (30), homosexual offenders vs. minors (36), and exhibitionists (31). This totals 207 of our 277 sexual psychopaths; the others are scattered in small numbers throughout the other sex-offender groups.
To compare with these sexual psychopaths we have a sample of 283 other sex offenders, also from California institutions, who were convicted for the same six types of offenses but who were never adjudged sexual psychopaths. Unfortunately, only a few of them had been examined: consequently we do not know how many of the 283 might have been found to be sexual psychopaths. This fact can be expected to favor similarities and minimize differences in comparisons between sexual psychopaths and other sex offenders.
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