NCJ Number
181227
Journal
Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2000 Pages: 17-26
Date Published
January 2000
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Data from 30 child molesters, 24 nonsexual offenders, and 29 nonoffenders in Canada were used to examine the parent-child attachments, typical coping styles, and victimization by child sexual abuse in these three groups.
Abstract
The offenders were all incarcerated in maximum-security or medium-security Canadian penitentiaries. The non-offenders came from the community. Study instruments included the Childhood Attachment Questionnaire, the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, the Sexual Abuse Questionnaire, and the Marlow-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. All participants reported greater security in their attachments to their mothers than to their fathers and that the insecure patterns of childhood attachments were related to ineffective adult coping. The only difference observed in characteristic coping was that child molesters were more likely than others to engage in emotion-focused strategies. Child molesters reported having experienced high levels of childhood sexual abuse; these experiences appeared to have been more distressing to them than such experiences were to other participants. Tables and 42 references (Author abstract modified)