Dr. Nicholas Groth is generally regarded as one of the modern pioneers in attempting to understand the psychological aspect(s) of sexual violence. He started his career as a psychologist at the Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexually Dangerous Persons in Bridgewater, Massachusetts in 1966 (a position he held until 1976).
This is a medium security facility that separately (from the Old Colony Correctional Center and the Bridgewater State Hospital which houses the criminally insane) houses criminally sentenced male inmates who have been identified as sex offenders and those who have been committed civilly as potential offenders i.e. sexual predators who have not yet committed an offense.
Part of Groth’s work involved interviewing these inmates, sometimes conducting relatively lengthy and in-depth interviews and psychological assessments. In 1979 he published the findings of his work with incarcerated offenders in, “Men Who Rape: The Psychology of the Offender”; co-written with H. Jean Birnbaum, a clinical psychologist who worked with Groth at Bridgewater State Hospital in Massachusetts (and later with Dr. James Gilligan, a renowned psychiatrist, who became Medical Director at the hospital, and who developed and implemented therapeutic models aimed at addressing the root psychological causes of violence among inmates. Programs which significantly reduced rates of suicide, self-harm, and violence in the institution).
Groth created three typologies of rapists:
1. Power Rapists
2. Anger Rapists
3. Sadistic Rapists
Groth believed that sexual violence was not primarily about sexual desires and urges (at the time this was the prevailing view), but about the need for power and control, along with the dispensing of anger i.e., sexual violence in some cases was an outlet for frustration and unresolved anger etc.
Most of those he studied were categorized as Power Rapists, who had a need to dominate and control those they victimized, with any sexual gratification being a secondary motive. An offender would use threats of physical force, and if necessary actual physical force, to subdue those they targeted, but this wasn’t excessive.
Groth believed that this need for power came from feelings and beliefs of inadequacy and powerlessness experienced in other parts of their lives, and using sexual violence was a means to compensate for this e.g., an offender might be in a low paid, unfulfilling job, with a supervisor or manager who talks down to them, and generally makes them feel worthless etc. They then commit their offenses in an attempt to rebalance their view of themselves, so that they can have a positive self-image etc.
The second type of rapists that Groth defined were those who were primarily motivated by anger (Anger Rapists). These offenders had unresolved personal grievances, which resulted in rage and hostility, that was then directed towards a victim, who was used as an outlet for this anger.
This may have resulted from having a strict mother/female figure in their lives who emasculated and humiliated them as a child, and they engage in sexual violence to dispense these unresolved grievances etc. Sometimes, these would be one off offenses with the assailant feeling shame and disgust for their actions afterwards. The level of force used in these assaults was far more than necessary and could lead to serious physical harm and injury. One of the criticisms of Groth’s typologies was that there could be overlap between the categories e.g., a degree of anger may be present in all rapes and sexual assaults etc.
Groth’s third category was that of Sadistic Rapists. This was the least populated group but consisted of those who committed the most dangerous and serious rapes/sexual assaults, as the offender derived pleasure from the victim’s suffering i.e., the use of violence led to sexual gratification.
These types of assaults were often meticulously planned, and involved rituals, torture and humiliation etc., in order to heighten sexual arousal. These types of offenders had a tendency to escalate their offenses sometimes resulting in sexual homicides i.e., killing those they victimized as part of the assault. Those who engage in such sadistic acts will be looked at in more detail in the next component/section of this course.
This classification system was pioneering at the time – despite some of the criticisms leveled at it - as it produced a framework for understanding sexual violence, and the motivations for it. The recognition of rape as an act primarily motivated by power or anger (rather than lust) shifted public and professional perspectives concerning sexual violence. His work also aided law enforcement agencies, helping those investigating sex crimes to understand them. One such agency which built on Groth’s typologies was the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation).