An Analysis of Psychological Theories with Regard to Sexual Offenders Essay

An Analysis of Psychological Theories with Regard to Sexual Offenders - Essay Example Through the utilization of criminology the ability to illustrate the impact sexual offenders place in society has been predetermined as well, although the statistics change on a yearly basis. However the use of criminology and the many theories from the heart of this identity of the study of crime have developed ways in which to gauge the characteristics, background, and the environment in which the offender might have developed from and also how it might contribute to their sexual offenses against others (Lynch 2002). In this generation, researchers have found various treatment programs which often work well in the attempt to rehabilitate the offender and reintegrate them back into their former communities. However the research will show that this process can be extensive at times and there are many theorizations associated with this type of crime and its occurrence. There have been many theorizations utilized to try and depict the reasons why some people focus on criminal actions that are relative to rape and other forceful sexual encounters as well. Some of these theories are rational theory, female delinquent theory, Structural functionist theory, and many, many others. Some have offered better insight as to why these types of crimes occur and others have just lead to more questions as to the occurrence of this type of crime. With regard to rational theory, many criminal theorists state that sexual offenders are always given the choice whether to commit an act of rape of sexual violence or not, in other words they have the ability to rationalize this type of decision (Barbaree et al 1990). The idea of rational theory developed from the concept of economic theory in the mid 20th century with some of the early founding thinkers being Homans, Blau, and Coleman (Sobel 1994). As was stated, this theory views an act of crime in a way that deciphers the choices and decisions that criminal offenders make subsequent to the criminal act itself. It is seemingly closely connected to the 'Theory of Will' in that it gives the idea that any sexual offender has the mental capacity to make their own decisions between right and wrong and by choosing to bring harm to someone else they are detailing that they are fully aware of the consequences of their actions (Barbaree et al 1990). The main difference between the 'Theory of Free Will' and the theory of 'Rational Choice' is the fact that although the 'Free Will theory' shows that possible offenders do make their own choices in regards to committing a serious crime such as a sexual offence they do not rationalize their decisions and are very impulsive in their actions indicating that their reasoning might not be that of a wholly correct mentally functioning human being that has the ability to weigh right from wrong. Rational choice theory shows that there is no question in