The conceptualization of dynamic risk factors in child sex offenders: An agency model

The current preoccupation of criminal justice practitioners and policy makers with the prediction of reoffending has resulted in a conceptualization of risk as simply clusters of factors that correlate with recidivism. The reliance on these phenomena as explanations for the causes of sexual offending and as guides for treatment is a mistake, and in our view, the conceptualization of dynamic risk needs to be reexamined. This article begins with a discussion of the factors that increase and decrease risk of sexual offending; the focus is then widened to include agency, motivation, and values. These normative features are integrated with risk-related factors within the action-based Agency Model of Risk (AMR). This dynamic, interactional model highlights the importance of the relationship between the agent and context, with both proposed to contribute to the patterns of behavior resulting in an offense. The AMR is applied to a number of dynamic risk domains for sexual offenders, and its utility in explaining behavior and informing treatment discussed.