Sexual offenders are classified in terms of the act they have committed, diagnosis of sexual preference disorder (paraphilic disorder), and the potential motives behind the act. The typology that is often used in forensic-sexological practice is the division into preferential and non-preferential perpetrators, i.e. perpetrators showing or not showing a sexual preference disorder.

The aim of the study was to assess whether psychosocial and personality variables significantly differ between the group of preferential and non-preferential sexual offenders.

The study involved 120 persons, including 60 preferential and 60 non-preferential sexual offenders. The participants were presented with selected, standardized psychological tools to personality traits, self-esteem, life satisfaction, capacity to understand emotions, attachment style.

The study involved 120 persons, including 60 preferential and 60 non-preferential sexual offenders. The participants were presented with selected, standardized psychological tools to personality traits, self-esteem, life satisfaction, capacity to understand emotions, attachment style.

Differences between the both study groups and the male standardization sample suggest worse psychosocial functioning of sexual offenders. A critical analysis of the methodological limitations of this study have been presented.

Scientific work was financed from the budget for science in the years 2017-2021, as a research project DI 16/003046 under the programme „Diamond Grant”.

Normative and pathological personality traits have rarely been integrated into a joint large-scale structural analysis with psychiatric disorders, although a recent study suggested they entail a common individual differences continuum.

We explored the joint factor structure of 11 psychiatric disorders, five personality-disorder trait domains (DSM-5 Section III), and five normative personality trait domains (the ‘Big Five’) in a population-based sample of 2796 Norwegian twins, aged 19‒46.

Three factors could be interpreted: (i) a general risk factor for all psychopathology, (ii) a risk factor specific to internalizing disorders and traits, and (iii) a risk factor specific to externalizing disorders and traits. Heritability estimates for the three risk factor scores were 48% (95% CI 41‒54%), 35% (CI 28‒42%), and 37% (CI 31‒44%), respectively. All 11 disorders had uniform loadings on the general factor (congruence coefficient of 0.991 with uniformity). Ignoring sign and excluding the openness trait, this uniformity of factor loadings held for all the personality trait domains and all disorders (congruence 0.983).

Based on our findings, future research should investigate joint etiologic and transdiagnostic models for normative and pathological personality and other psychopathology.