Sex offending and social anxiety: A systematic review

• Eight of the studies were rated inconclusive on the quality tool to show a statistical association between social anxiety and sex offending.
• The statistical association of the remaining ten studies were rated as: strong (1), moderate (4) and weak (5).
• Fourteen studies found a significant difference between groups on social anxiety, only five were rated acceptable quality.
• Methodological inconsistencies and lack of definitional clarity of sex offender subgroups makes comparison challenging.

For innovative up-to-date research in an area to be developed, it is important to systematically, and critically evaluate the previous research. Sexual violence against children is one of the most serious crimes, with detrimental psychological and physical consequences on the victims. Contemporary theories of the development and maintenance of sexual offending against children incorporate intimacy deficits and social skill deficits. However, there is a dearth of research addressing the clinical needs of males who commit sexual offenses against children. This systematic review critically evaluates previous research on the association between social anxiety and sexual offending against children. To identify studies relevant databases were searched and selected journals hand searched. Studies were evaluated for eligibility, data extracted and study quality assessed, with a second rater to establish inter-rater reliability. The results indicate eight of the eighteen studies reviewed reported an inconclusive statistical association with child sex offenders and social anxiety. Of the remaining ten studies, one study had a strong statistical association, four studies had a moderate statistical association and five studies had weak statistical association. Overall, the findings indicate methodological inconsistencies and lack of definitional clarity of subgroups of sex offenders, therefore comparison between studies is challenging. Further research in this area with definitional clarity of subgroups is required to inform evidence-based practice for this offender group.