Epidemiology of French Sexual Offenders. A Cross-sectional Study

Impulsivity will be assessed using the UPPS-P ( Impulsive Behavior Scale) scale. Participants are asked to consider acts/incidents during the last 6 months when rating their behavior and attitudes on a 4-point scale, in which 1-Agree strongly, 2-Agree some, 3-Disagree some, 4-Disagree strongly. This is a 59-item scale measuring 5 impulsivity components: negative urgency, positive urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, and sensation seeking.Scores are presented for each of five subscales, plus a total impulsivity score.In addition to the raw scores, the mean is calculated for the items on each subscale, from 1 to 4, where 1 indicates that the respondent did not endorse impulsive answers, and 4 indicates a high level of self-reported impulsivity.

Cognition will be assessed using The Patient Competency Rating Scale (PCRS). The PCRS consists of 30 items, each scored on a scale of 1 to 5, making the total score range from 30 to 150. The higher scores indicate greater competency in the list of skills on the test.

Emotional status will be assessed using theTAS-20 (Toronto Alexithymia Scale) scale. The TAS-20 is a self-report scale that is comprised of 20 items. Items are rated using a 5-point Likert scale whereby 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree. There are 5 items that are negatively keyed (items 4, 5, 10, 18 and 19). The total alexithymia score is the sum of responses to all 20 items.The TAS-20 uses cutoff scoring: equal to or less than 51 = non-alexithymia, equal to or greater than 61 = alexithymia. Scores of 52 to 60 = possible alexithymia.

Diagnosis will be assessed using the PCL-R scale (Psychopathy Checklist Revised). The scale includes 2 factors. Factor 1 is a measure of Emotional Detachment (e.g., superficial charm, manipulativeness, shallow affectivity, absence of guilt or empathy). Factor 2 is a measure of Antisocial Behavior (deviance from an early age, aggression, impulsivity, irresponsibility, proneness to boredom). There is also a total score. A total score of 10-19 diagnoses an individual as midly psychopathic. A score of 20-29 diagnoses them as moderately psychopathic. a score of 30-40 diagnoses them as severely psychopathic.

Cognitive distorsions will be assessed using the bumby RAPE (BRS) and MOLEST (BMS) scales. The MOLEST scale is composed of 38 items and the RAPE scale is composed of 36 items scored on a 4-point Likert scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The BMS consists of38 items with a range of total scores being a minimum of 38 and a maximum of 152, and the BRS consists of 36 items with a total score ranging from 36 to 144.

pedophilic interests will be assessed using the Revised Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests (SSPI-2). The SSPI-2 score ranges from zero to five, with higher scores indicating sexual interest in children.

Motivation will be assessed using the URICA (University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale) scale. This is is a 32 item self-report measure that includes 4 subscales measuring the stages of change: Precontemplation, Contemplation, Action, and Maintenance. Responses are given on a 5 point Likert scale ranging from (1=strong disagreement to 5=strong agreement), An overall readiness to change score is calculated using a weighted average of the four sub-scores, where 14 is the maximum possible score. A higher score corresponds to increased readiness to change

Self-esteem will be assessed using the Rosenberg scale. The scale ranges from 0-30. Scores between 15 and 25 are within normal range; scores below 15 suggest low self-esteem.