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Bartels, R.M., and Gannon, T. A. (in press). Theories of rapists. In R.D. Morgan (Ed.) The SAGE

Encyclopedia of Criminal Psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

This is a pre-print version of the chapter that will be available as one chapter in the book

referenced above.

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RAPISTS, THEORIES OF

In Western societies, rape tends to be defined as the non-consensual penetration of the vagina or

anus. In the US, the legal definition of rape at the Federal level refers to the penetration of the

vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person.

However, at the state level, the source of penetration (e.g., penis, finger, or object), target of

penetration (e.g., vagina, anus, or mouth), and gender of the perpetrator/victim can vary across

jurisdictions. For example, in Washington State, the source of penetration includes a penis,

tongue, finger, or object, while in Georgia, it is confined to a male's penis. Similarly, the UK

restricts the legal definition of rape to penile penetration. Regardless of these variations, research

indicates that the occurrence of rape is high. For example, approximately one in six American

women have experienced rape or attempted rape during their lifetime. Also, a 2013 report

indicated that approximately 85,000 women are victims of rape in England and Wales every

year. Given that rape offenses often go unreported to the police, these figures may be higher. In

light of these figures, it is crucial to have an accurate theoretical understanding of rape so that

professionals are able to detect, assess, and clinically treat/manage perpetrators of rape. Since

most theoretical work in this area has focused on rape committed by men, this entry will describe

theories of male-perpetrated rape against adult females.

Rapist Typologies

One approach to understanding rapists is by categorizing them into subtypes according to a

particular characteristic (e.g., motivation). In an early typology, Nicholas Groth and colleagues

classified rapists into three subtypes: those motivated by anger, power, or sadistic sexual arousal.
Another well-known classification system is the Massachusetts Treatment Center typology by

Raymond Knight and Robert Prentky. In its most recent revision, rapists are categorized into five

main subtypes: sexually sadistic (where sexual and aggressive drives are fused); sexually

nonsadistic (a sexual preoccupation without the fusion of aggression); pervasively angry

(resulting from generalized anger); vindictively angry (resulting from anger directed at women);

and opportunistic (resulting from general antisociality). Such typologies are useful for describing

characteristics associated with different types of rapist. However, they do not provide a deeper

theoretical explanation for the commission of rape.

Single Factor Theories

Single-factor theories are those that focus on a single aspect that is thought to underpin the cause

of rape. One example is evolutionary theory, whereby rape is viewed as originating from man's

evolutionary history. One view is that rape is the product of a direct adaptation due to it

increasing the reproductive success of ancestral males. Another view is that rape is a by-product

of a different direct adaptation that maximized reproductive success (e.g., promiscuous sex). The

evolutionary view of rape should not be viewed as being deterministic because, according to

theorists, rape is only one sexual strategy used by males. However, it does not address other

important cultural and psychological factors. In contrast, feminist theorists propose that rape is

an expression of male patriarchal attitudes and values prominent within society. That is, rape is

viewed as a strategy for men to overpower and control women. Thus, instead of an evolutionary

adaptation or a distorted psychological characteristic, rape is seen as being the result of the

normal cultural-specific socialization of males. Feminist theories have been beneficial in drawing

attention to the socio-cultural factors that influence rape. However, they have less utility for risk
assessors and treatment providers as they do not address the individual psychological factors

associated with rapists. Socio-cognitive theories have attempted to address some of the

individual factors associated with rape. Specifically, they are based on the view that rapists hold

offense-supportive beliefs. These include the belief that: women are sex objects; women are

dangerous; men are entitled to whatever they want; that the male sex drive is uncontrollable; and

that the world is a dangerous place. These beliefs affect the way social information is interpreted,

which results in distorted cognitive products (e.g., attitudes, decisions). For example, a man who

believes women are sex objects (i.e., always receptive to sexual advances) may (mis)interpret

that a woman wearing a short skirt is interested in having sex. This misinterpretation may lead

the man to conclude that the woman will succumb to and, ultimately, enjoy his sexual advances.

Consequently, he decides to continue forcing himself upon her, resulting in a rape offense. This

approach opened up many research avenues and has gained support by researchers. However, it

only focuses on a single component and so does not provide a full explanation of rape.

Multi-factor Theories

Multi-factor theories unite numerous single factor theories in an attempt to provide a more

complete understanding of rape. In the following section, the most influential multi-factor

theories of rape are described.

Confluence Model of Sexual Aggression

Neil Malamuth and his colleagues devised one of the first multi-factor theories of rape. The

theory proposes that rape results from the confluence (or interaction) of a number of risk factors
that motivate, disinhibit, and provide the opportunity for sexual aggression. These factors form a

constellation of traits and characteristics conceptualized as two pathways. One is the 'impersonal

sex' pathway, characterized by a preference for promiscuity and sexual conquest. Here, forced

sex is used as a strategy to facilitate this behavior. The other is the 'hostile masculinity' pathway,

which is characterized by the internalization of socio-cultural attitudes that promote masculinity

and breed hostility towards femininity (e.g., power, dominance, aggressiveness, honor-

defending, and competiveness). Thus, men high in 'hostile masculinity' are prone to controlling

and being aggressive towards women in both sexual and non-sexual circumstances. It is

theorized that the likelihood of rape is increased by the confluence (interaction) of the two

pathways. That is, men high on the risk factors associated with both pathways are at an increased

risk of committing rape. This theory has received a lot of support from researchers, and is

continually being tested and updated. However, much of the research has been with

student/community samples rather than incarcerated rapists.

Quadripartite Model of Sexual Aggression

Gordon Hall and Richard Hirschman proposed that there are four factors that motivate rape.

These include sexual arousal (i.e., towards coercive sex or towards consensual sex that is so

strong it compels the male to seek sex regardless of a woman's consent); cognitive distortions

(i.e., the distorted belief that women enjoy sex regardless of the level of coercion); affective

dyscontrol (i.e., anger); and personality problems (i.e., antisocial traits). The first three factors

are viewed as state dependent while the fourth is conceptualized as a being enduring or trait-like.

Each individual factor, as well their interaction with each other, increases the likelihood of rape.

However, it is theorized that, for each individual, one of the four factors will have a primary
influence. It is this ‘primary motivational precursor’ that is responsible for causing an individual

to become disinhibited and engage in an actual offense. Also, according to this theory, the four

primary precursors can be used to classify rapists into four subtypes. Thus, a strength of this

theory is that is takes into account the different types of rapists. However, unlike other theories,

the Quadripartite Model has received little testing/support from researchers.

Unified Theory of Sexual Coercion

In their Unified Theory, Raymond Knight and Judith Sims-Knight propose that early childhood

abuse (physical/verbal and sexual) interacts with three overarching factors that can lead to rape.

These factors include: (1) ‘Callous/Unemotional Traits’ (e.g., arrogant, deceitful personality and

emotional detachment); (2) ‘Antisocial Behavior/Aggression’ (e.g., impulsive acting out); and

(3) Sexual Fantasy (i.e., sexual preoccupation/compulsivity, and hypersexuality). More

specifically, the theory describes three-pathways to rape. In the first pathway, early

physical/verbal abuse leads to callousness and unemotionality, which disinhibits the sexual

drive/fantasies. This leads to the disinhibition of aggressive sexual fantasies, which leads to rape.

In the second pathway, sexual abuse directly disinhibits sexual drive/fantasies, which leads to

rape via aggressive sexual fantasies. Finally, in the third pathway, physical/verbal abuse and

callous/unemotionality both contribute to the development of antisocial and aggressive behavior

that, in turn, leads to rape both directly and indirectly (via aggressive sexual fantasies). The

strength of this theory is that it combines many factors that are statistically associated with rape.

It has also been tested (and supported) using adult and juvenile rapists, as well as community

males. However, it is still open to further development (e.g., by including other factors that are

identified by further research).

 Theories of Sexual Offending

In addition to theories designed to specifically explain rape, other theorists have proposed

multifactor theories for sexual offending more generally. An example is the Integrated Theory of

Sexual Offending developed by Tony Ward and Anthony Beech. According to this theory,

certain biological factors (e.g., genetic predisposition, brain development) and environmental

factors (e.g., socio-cultural and personal circumstances) can lead to changes in the

neuropsychological functioning responsible for one’s emotions, memory, and motivation. These

changes result in the development of risk factors (e.g., emotional dysregulation, deviant sexual

arousal, offense-supportive beliefs), which increase the likelihood of sexual offending behavior.

This theory takes into account the multitude of causal factors related to sexual offending,

thereby, providing a general explanatory framework that can be applied to rape. However, due its

generality, the specific factors associated with rape are not discussed in any depth, which may

reduce its ability to fully explain rape per se.

Future Directions

Since the early 2000s, a different approach to understanding has received increased attention.

This approach adopts a developmental life-course perspective. Longitudinal research has

demonstrated that rape is typically characterized by high levels of discontinuity. In other words,

it is more often a short-lived and opportunistic form of offending. Therefore, rather than

concentrating primarily on the onset of rape, life-course theorists focus more on the development
of rape. This involves identifying and explaining the factors that influence both the commission

of rape (risk factors) and the desistance from rape (protective factors) at different developmental

stages of an individual’s life. Life-course theorists argue that this approach will help to explain

the onset, maintenance, and termination of rape more fully, which will be useful for

professionals who work with rapists (e.g., clinicians, policy-makers, police officers).

In summary, many scholars from various disciplines have contributed to a comprehensive

theoretical understanding of rape. As described above, a number of factors have been identified

as playing an important role in the onset and continuation of rape. These include

biological/evolutionary predispositions; the socio-cultural context; the mindset of the individual

(influenced by early, often abusive, experiences as well as prominent societal attitudes) that leads

to faulty processing of interpersonal information; affective problems that disinhibit aggressive

sexual and non-sexual behavior (e.g., anger, hostility, callousness); sex-related factors (i.e., sex

drive, fantasies); and personality-related issues (e.g., antisocial traits). While existing insights

have brought the forensic field closer to understanding rapists and the different subtypes, rape is

a complex phenomenon and there is still a lot more to understand and explain. Fortunately, as

technology and research methods continue to advance, the ability to uncover new insights

increases. As such, the theoretical understanding of rape will continue to advance, which will

enable forensic professionals to better assess and treat rapists, as well as potentially prevent rape

from ever occurring.

Ross M. Bartels and Theresa A. Gannon

See also Rapists, Typologies of; Sexual Offenders; Sexual Offending; Criminal Risk
 Assessment, Sexual Offending; Sexual Offenders: Treatment Approaches; Forensic Psychology,

Research Methods in

FURTHER READINGS

Gannon, T. A., Collie, R. M., Ward, T., & Thakker, J. (2008). Rape: Psychopathology, theory

and treatment. Clinical psychology review, 28, 982-1008. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2008.02.005

Lussier, P., & Cale, J. (2016). Understanding the origins and the development of rape and sexual

aggression against women: Four generations of research and theorizing. Aggression and

Violent Behavior. Early online version. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2016.07.008

Ward, T., & Beech, A. (2006). An integrated theory of sexual offending. Aggression and Violent

Behavior, 11, 44-63. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2005.05.002

Ward, T., Polaschek, D., & Beech, A. R. (2006). Theories of sexual offending. Chicester, UK:

John Wiley & Sons.

WEBSITES

Victims of Sexual Violence: Statistics (USA):

https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

An Overview of Sexual Offending in England & Wales, Joint publication:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crim

e-stats/an-overview-of-sexual-offending-in-england---wales/december-2012/index.html

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