Studies that identify the different profiles of sex offenders against children and adolescents have
been more explored in the literature, however, the investigation of their life trajectory remains
less observed in the Brazilian population, mainly from the perspective of Bioecological Theory
of Human Development. This study aimed to demonstrate possible relationships between
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and personal and situational factors in the bioecology
of the development of male sex offenders against children and adolescentes (n = 30), who were
serving time in prison units located in the mesoregions of the state of Pará. To this aim, a system
of categories was built based on the ACE-IQ Test instrument, which defines ACE as potentially
traumatic experiences that become a source of chronic stress, with negative outcomes for
development at later ages. The results were analyzed from two different stages: the first,
quantitative, where the descriptors of the occurrence, frequency and typology of ACE were
identified, and a second, quanti-qualitative, in which excerpts from the interviews with sex
offenders were inserted into the Software IRAMUTEQ to perform simple and multivariate
textual analysis. In this sample, 96.67% of sex offenders reported having experienced at least
one subcategory of ACE, while more than half (60%) revealed four or more, with an average
of 4.36. Physical abuse was the most reported ACE (70%), being mainly related to the figure
of the mother, while the death and/or divorce of parents (56.67%) and substance abuse in the
domestic context (53%, 33) were related to the father. About 40% of the participants reported
experiences involving sexual abuse, whose reports specified characteristics such as age and
bond with the possible perpetrator, while social violence appeared mainly in contexts of
ecological transition from childhood to adolescence. It was observed that experiences of death
and/or divorce of the parents, emotional neglect and domestic violence in the trajectory of sex
offenders in this sample can increase the risk of experiencing sexual abuse in childhood.
Participants with higher ACE scores abuse children more frequently and with less need of
alcohol or other drugs use. The results reveal the existence of a relationship between the
frequency and tipology of ACE and factors related to the commitment of sexual aggression,
demonstrating that this is a variable to be considered in the investigation with sex offenders,
since the effects of stress resulting from such experiences can manifest both in the short and
long term, influencing the future adoption of sexually abusive behaviors. It is suggested that
further studies may directly apply the ACE-IQ Test to larger samples, with the realization of a
post-test to provide greater reliability to the collected reports.
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