Developmental risk factors among sadistic rapists: a comprehensive review of existing literature

Recognising that sexual violence persists, this paper investigated developmental risk factors among sadistic rapists. These offenders were focused on because they commit brutal, sometimes fatal, acts of sexual violence and are difficult to apprehend without specialised knowledge, making them a salient target for early prevention and intervention strategies. This paper is underpinned by developmental criminology using Farrington's Integrated Cognitive Antisocial Potential (ICAP) theory and Ward & Beech's Integrated Theory of Sexual Offending (ITSO) to provide a multifaceted perspective on the aetiology of sadistic sexual offending and sadistic rapists. A comprehensive, integrative literature review was conducted to illustrate the prevalence of developmental risk factors among sadistic rapists, evaluate the current state of research on the topic, and inform developmental crime prevention measures. Research on this topic is limited; only 14 studies met the criteria for inclusion. These works were organised by methodology and thematically analysed, and their results were coded according to which of the five risk factor domains they related to (individual, family, school, peer, and community). Risk factors were most prevalent in the individual and family domains, with the development of sadistic rapists characterised by sadistic fantasies, deviant sexual behaviours, aggressive/antisocial conduct, unstable family structures, abuse, and neglect. The studies reviewed identified no risk factors in the community domain, and findings in the peer and school domains were limited. Recommendations for developmental crime prevention measures targeting these prevalent risk factors in the individual and family domains are offered, along with suggestions for an increase in longitudinal and comparative studies for future research.