A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship between Social Skills and Sexual Offenders

A meta‐analysis examined eleven studies examining the relationship between social skills (communication competence) and whether the person was a sexual offender (rapist, molester, incest offender, pedophile, exhibitionist). After the removal of one study due to methodological reasons, the remaining ten studies provide a homogeneous set of effects demonstrating that sexual offenders possess fewer social skills than nonoffenders (r = .334). Results of the meta‐analysis offer insight into the role communication skills plays in understanding the nature of sexual offenders.