Study finds sexual offending runs in families

Research conducted by trust consultant and professor of Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry Seena Fazel has found that brothers and fathers of men convicted of sexual offences are up to five times ... Read more

Dr Seena Fazel

Professor Seena Fazel

Research conducted by trust consultant and professor of Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry Seena Fazel has found that brothers and fathers of men convicted of sexual offences are up to five times more likely to be convicted of sexual offences than men in the general population.

The study used statistical methods to analyse data on all 21,566 men convicted of sexual offences in Sweden between 1973 and 2009. Genetic factors were found to make a substantial contribution to this increased risk with the shared family environment having a relatively small influence.

You can find the research paper here:

https://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/04/05/ije.dyv029.abstract

You can read more about this in the links below:

https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2015-04-09-sex-offending-genes-more-important-family-environment

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11522366/Sex-offending-is-written-inDNA-of-some-men-Oxford-University-finds.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32221589

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/apr/09/risk-of-sex-offending-linked-to-genetic-factors-study-finds

 

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Published: 9 April 2015