Explaining Child Sexual Abuse: Integration and Elaboration

Ward, Tony; Sorbello, Laura

doi:10.4135/9781483328751.n1

Cited by 22 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…As shown in the study by Marshall and Mazzucco (1995), low self-esteem among child molesters was predicted by maternal rejection, indicating an empirical link between childhood adversities, low self-esteem, and risk of sexual crimes. Attachment style and self-esteem play important roles in several of the main theories of child sexual abuse (see Marshall & Barbaree, 1990;Ward, Keenan, & Hudson, 2000;Ward & Sorbello, 2003). As low self-esteem has been found to be predictive of recidivism (Gendreau, Grant, & Leipciger, 1979), also sexual recidivism (Thornton, Beech, & Marshall, 2004), an alternative focus of therapeutic attention with Eric could be one of trying to strengthen his self-esteem.…”

Section: Cognitive Distortions As Seen From An Attributional Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Making Sense, Making Good, or Making Meaning? Cognitive Distortions as Targets of Change in Offender Treatment

Friestad

2011

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol

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Most structured sex-offender programs are based on a cognitive-behavioural model of behaviour change. Within this overarching theoretical paradigm, extensive use of cognitive distortions is seen as a central core symptom among sex offenders. However, the literature on cognitive distortions lacks a clear and consistent definition of the term. It is unclear whether cognitive distortions are consciously employed excuses or unconscious processes serving to protect the offender from feelings of guilt or shame. In this article, the dominant cognitive-behavioural interpretation of cognitive distortions is contrasted with two alternative interpretations. One is based on an attributional perspective and the notion of attributional biases. The other explanation is based on a narrative approach focusing on the action elements of cognitive distortions, that is, as something people do rather than something they have. Clinical implications of these alternative conceptualizations are discussed and illustrated throughout by a case example.

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Section: Cognitive Distortions As Seen From An Attributional Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Making Sense, Making Good, or Making Meaning? Cognitive Distortions as Targets of Change in Offender Treatment

Friestad

2011

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol

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“…(3) emotional dysregulation-where problematic early social encounters result in difficulties identifying and modulating negative emotional states and the use of maladaptive coping strategies; and (4) antisocial cognitions-where underlying causal schemata used to infer mental states and interpret and predict behavior are faulty, resulting in offense-supportive belief systems in relation to their actions and their victim(s) that justify and maintain behavior (Ward, Polaschek, & Beech, 2006). A sexual offense will necessarily involve the interaction between combinations of the four clinical phenomena, with the most dominant pathway representing the core primary deficit (Ward & Sorbello, 2003). A fifth pathway, multiple dysfunctional mechanisms, contains individuals who have developed distorted sexual scripts coinciding with dysfunctions in all of the other primary psychological mechanisms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological Profiles of Internet Sexual Offenders

et al. 2009

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A sample of 505 Internet sex offenders and 526 contact sex offenders were compared on a range of psychological measures relating to offense-supportive beliefs, empathic concern, interpersonal functioning, and emotional management. Internet offenders could be successfully discriminated from contact offenders on 7 out of 15 measures. Contact offenders were found to have significantly more victim empathy distortions and cognitive distortions than Internet offenders. Internet offenders were found to have significantly higher identification with fictional characters than contact offenders. Further analysis indicated that an increase in scores on scales of fantasy, underassertiveness, and motor impulsivity were predictive of an Internet offense type. An increase in scores of scales of locus of control, perspective taking, empathic concern, overassertiveness, victim empathy distortions, cognitive distortions, and cognitive impulsivity were found to be predictive of a contact offense type. These findings are discussed in the context of the etiology of sexual offending.

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“…Proximal factors operate to inhibit the individual"s ability to control or self-regulate internal states such as deviant sexual arousal or negative thoughts and feelings. Proximal factors function as "micro-explanations" that attempt to discern the "how" of events (Ward & Hudson, 1998a;Ward & Sorbello, 2003).…”

Section: Levels Of Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Preliminary Descriptive Model of Expertise Related Competence in Child Sexual Offending

Bourke¹

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<p>Child sexual offending is a great area of concern to the public and researchers alike. The damaging effects of Child Sexual Abuse are numerous and frequently enduring. Research in sexual offending has tended to focus on therapeutic interventions and effectiveness as well as the aetiological aspects of offending. Much of this research has focused on offender deficits associated with sexual crimes that are the target of intervention programs. There has been little attention paid to the view that sexual offenders appear to learn from their previous offending and in some cases acquire a considerable degree of offence related competency. In other words, some sexual offenders appear to develop high levels of expertise. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there are 'expert' offenders within the child sexual offending arena who display greater competence in utilising grooming techniques, selecting targets, interpreting and evaluating social and environmental cues, and who possess extensive offence scripts. In this exploratory study, 47 male child sexual offenders were interviewed in New Zealand prison based Sexual Offender Rehabilitation Units about their offences as well as their lives prior to and post offending. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using Grounded Theory to generate a model of offence specific decision making. Results indicated that child sex offenders vary on the above dimensions and effectively span the range from 'novice' to 'expert' offenders with respect to the quality of their decision making and their domain relevant knowledge structures. By using the general principles of expertise as a conceptual framework, a developmental model of expertise in child sex offenders in New Zealand was constructed. The implications of the constructed model for theory and treatment are discussed and suggestions are made for the direction of future research.</p>

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Explaining Child Sexual Abuse: Integration and Elaboration

Cited by 22 publications

References 0 publications

Making Sense, Making Good, or Making Meaning? Cognitive Distortions as Targets of Change in Offender Treatment

Making Sense, Making Good, or Making Meaning? Cognitive Distortions as Targets of Change in Offender Treatment

Psychological Profiles of Internet Sexual Offenders

A Preliminary Descriptive Model of Expertise Related Competence in Child Sexual Offending

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