Why do men rape women? What causes an adult to sexually molest a child? Understanding why sexual deviance occurs, how it develops, and how it changes over time is essential in preventing sexual predation and designing intervention programs for relapse prevention.

Sexual Deviance: Issues and Controversies addresses the biological, developmental, cultural, and learning factors in the genesis of sexual deviancy and links those theories to interventions with sex offenders. Edited by renowned sexual behavior experts Tony Ward, D. Richard Laws, and Stephen M. Hudson, this exceptional volume is divided into two sections. The first section covers explanations for sexual deviance, including ethical issues and classification systems for sexually deviant disorders. The second section addresses responses to sexual deviance, including traditional and modern intervention approaches.

An eminent group of scholars, researchers, and clinicians examine

• The "whys" behind sexual deviance
• Controversies surrounding offender rehabilitation
• The relationship between theory and practice
• All paraphilias including molestation and sexual assault
• Cutting edge developments in etiology, rehabilitation, and practice

Sexual Deviance: Issues and Controversies provides a comprehensive view of the psychological, biological, cultural, and situational factors that predispose sex offenders. Some of the world?s leading authorities in the area of understanding and treating sex offenders discuss, debate, and review the ideas and values underpinning research and treatment of sexual deviance.

Tailored for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in courses on abnormal psychology, psychopathology, forensic psychology, and criminology, Sexual Deviance: Issues and Controversies is also essential reading for psychologists, criminal justice professionals, and policy makers.