Title: The Etiology of Sexual Offending Behavior and Sex Offender Typology: An Overview
Headings: 
Section 3: Common Characteristics of Sex Offenders
45 Minutes
TOPIC: COMMON CHARACTERISTICS  OF SEX OFFENDERS
Introduction
The Myth of the “Sex Offender Profile”
Use  Slide #2: Who is the Typical Sex Offender?
Enlarge Slide 2
Common Characteristics of Sex Offenders
Use  Slide #4: Commonly Identified Characteristics
Enlarge Slide 4
Characteristics Associated with Sexual Recidivism
Summary: Interpreting Variability Among Characteristics

Content: Some sex offenders have mental  health difficulties, such as depression, anxiety, or other disorders, just  as many people in the general public do. But that certainly doesn’t  cause them to commit a sex offense. What about gender? As you saw, although we know that females do commit  sex offenses, the vast majority of sex offenders that come to the attention  of the authorities are male. 5
The bottom line is that none of these variables really shed any light on  who is more likely to be a sex offender (with the possible exception of gender). People who commit sex offenses come from all walks of life, and in many instances,  they often “look” very much like you or me. Common Characteristics of Sex Offenders
At this point, given the known heterogeneity of sex offenders, some of you  may be wondering whether sex offenders share any common characteristics  that can be helpful for understanding their behaviors. The answer is a qualified “yes.” Researchers  have examined multiple factors, traits, and characteristics of large samples  of sex offenders, and they have found several issues that seem to be common,  at least to broad groups of these offenders. It is important to remember that not all of these issues are present in  every sex offender.