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Self-Esteem and Coping Strategies in Child Molesters
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
Abstract
This study assessed the social self-esteem and the coping styles of child molesters, nonsex offenders, and nonoffenders. Child molesters were found to have lower self-esteem than the other participants, and they more typically made use of emotion-focused (i.e., ineffective) coping strategies. A combination of low self-esteem and poor coping was found to predict being a child molester, although the causal pathway was somewhat obscure and appeared to involve a complex feedback loop. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and treatment implications.
... In parallel with these studies, which found a positive association between certain personality traits (schizoid, avoidant) and negative affective states (loneliness, anxiety, humiliation, anger) on the one hand, and the development of paraphilic sexual fantasies on the other, some researchers (e.g., Cortoni & Marshall, 2001;Feelgood et al., 2005;Looman, 1995;Marshall et al., 1999;Neidigh & Tomiko, 1991;Ward et al., 2006;Ward & Hudson, 2000) have hypothesized that sexuality (e.g., paraphilic sexual fantasies) serves to regulate negative affect in men who commit sexual aggression. This hypothesis is, for example, one of the premises of Ward et al.'s (2006) Self-Regulation Model (SRM). ...
... These authors suggest that individuals who engage in passive and active avoidance coping use paraphilic sexual fantasies to regulate their negative affective states. In addition, Marshall et al. (1999) suggested that the use of sexuality as an emotional self-regulation strategy among men who commit sexual aggression against women reflects deficient alternative coping strategies. ...
Several researchers have found that men who have committed sexual aggression have inadequate coping strategies (e.g., paraphilic sexual fantasies, substance abuse). However, very few researchers have empirically examined the factors potentially associated with the development of these strategies. In 2011, Maniglio hypothesized that the inadequate coping strategies of men who have committed sexual aggression are the result of childhood victimization, mediated by internalized psychological problems. The present study therefore empirically tested this hypothesis in a Canadian sample of 205 men who had committed sexual aggression against women, of whom 37 committed sexual murder. Structural equation modeling (SEM) resulted in the identification of several direct and indirect trajectories leading from childhood victimization (psy-chological, physical, sexual) to the development of inadequate coping strategies (paraphilic sexual fantasies, alcohol and drug use) mediated by internalized psychological problems (e.g., anxiety, depression, social isolation). The theoretical and clinical implications of these developmental trajectories are discussed.
... Lipids are extremely important in maintaining structural and physiological integrity of cellular and subcellular membranes. A strong indicator of reproductive potential in some turtle stocks, it also affects the taste of their flesh (Marshall et al., 1999). Results of the lipid content of the different parts of the turtle`s flesh showed that there was no significant difference between the fat content in the head and tail. ...
This study was undertaken to determine the proximate and mineral composition of Pelusios castaneus (West African-mud turtle) so as to contribute to the availability of data in Nigeria. A total of thirteen (13) male and female each of African mud turtle (Pelusios casteneus) were purchased in Benin City, Nigeria. Specimen were identified to species level, stunned and slaughtered; then each of the turtle were dissected into flanges and Microwave digestion system (Closed Vessels Acid Digestion – MARS System - CEM) procedure was used for the digestion of all the samples based on organic extraction technique before the proximate composition and the mineral contents of the flesh were determined using AOAC methods and standard technique. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 21) and statistically using ANOVA and DMRT. Result shows that there were significant variations in the different parameters studied; the highest and lowest moisture content values of 67.00% and 52.56% were observed in the male and female respectively. Highest crude protein and lipid values of 26.78% and 15.00%, were observed in the female respectively; while the highest ash content value of 11.33% was observed in the male. While the mean mineral concentrations in the flesh varied among the different elements studied, the overall potassium had the highest value of 4030.82mg while the least value was observed in magnesium (871.04mg). Though Pelusios castaneus has been culturally important to Nigerians, the finding shows that the flesh is a valuable source of mineral elements and proximate components required in diet. Domestication in Nigeria is therefore encouraged to make them commercially available to reduce the pressure on their harvest from the wild thus preventing their going into extinction.
... trudności w obszarze tworzenia relacji czy radzenia sobie poprzez aktywność seksualną), co znajduje potwierdzenia w licznych badaniach (np. Langton, Marshall, 2000;Marshall, Cripps, Anderson, Cortoni, 1999;Smallbone, Dadds, 2000;, 2000Ward i in., 1998). ...
Celem niniejszej książki uczyniono charakterystykę zagadnienia zaburzenia regulacji emocji u sprawców przestępstw seksualnych jako zjawiska pełniącego istotną rolę w procesie stawania się sprawcą oraz zjawiska istotnego z perspektywy profesjonalistów pracujących z osobami wykorzystującymi dzieci. W rozdziale pierwszym przedstawiono funkcjonujące w literaturze definicje przemocy seksualnej wobec dzieci, ujęte w perspektywie klinicznej, prawniczej oraz społecznej, opisano skalę zjawiska oraz przedstawiono teorie wyjaśniające mechanizm leżący u podłoża wykorzystania seksualnego dziecka. Rozdział drugi zawiera przegląd koncepcji regulacji emocji oraz ich analizę w kontekście sprawstwa przemocy seksualnej przeciwko dzieciom, a także przedstawia dotychczasowe badania udziału regulacji emocji w przestępstwie seksualnym. Rozdział trzeci porusza zagadnienie znaczenia i miejsca procesów regulacyjnych w oddziaływaniach terapeutycznych prowadzonych wobec tej populacji.
... Studies have found that sex offenders who victimized children have low self-esteem (Shechory 2008), with resultant lack of empathy, social and emotional isolation, and severely limited ability to function intimately (Bumby and Hansen 1997;Marshall et al. 1999). 4. Psychopathic personal and emotional disturbances -according to some scholars, sex offenders who have victimized children typically have a problematic and psychopathic personality profile (Ward and Beech 2006;Kalichman 1991;Harris et al. 2007). 5. Deviant sexual fantasies -sexual fantasies are a characteristic of sex offenders and serve as one of the measures in their diagnostic process (Cohen 2010;Curone and Langevin 2002). ...
This study examines what may be learned from a semantic analysis of the discourse of criminal groups about elements of the cognitive map of the group’s members. The primary group examined comprised sex offenders who victimized children. The findings were compared with another criminal group – murderers. To examine their shared linguistic characteristics, a study was made of passages from 40 transcribed subject interviews, in which they tell their life stories. The function words from the passages were classified according to semantic fields, in order to identify what psychological and sociological insights can be gained from their use, a similar study was made of normative men’s stories. The semantic fields unique to the sex offenders are presented in this paper, and are compared with the fields used by the other two groups, together with a discussion of the significance of the words included therein.
This research aims to present additional knowledge about indi- viduals with a history of sexual offenses against children in Portugal. Although the international literature mentions the presence of cognitive distortions as a common element for child sexual offending, it is known that another cognitive path- way developed since childhood and adolescence will have a significant weight in the definition of disruptive sexual beha- viors. In this article, we focused on sexual attitudes and sex as a strategy for sexual coping and assayed to appreciate the relevance of these variables as predictors of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). This research mainly aims to analyze a hierarchical and predictive model of these variables and cog- nitive distortion in the CSA. With resources to Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), we conclude that these variables, when asso- ciated, have a predictive accuracy of 82.3% in a sample that included individuals with a history of sexual offenses against children (N = 59) and the general community (N = 82). New future approaches can benefit from integrating coping strate- gies and sexual attitudes into CSA, adapted to the Portuguese context.
This chapter first reviews theories that have suggested that a large part of sexual offenders, problems are attachment issues, particularly Marshall's work (which is outlined in Chapter 1). We then outline the background to Ward and Beech's theory of sexual offending (updated in Chapter 6). We subsequently consider how disturbances in the neurobiological/neurochemical processes at a young age lead to these problematic attachment styles in later life, and which can potentiate the probability of sexual offending in the light of a preliminary neurological model by Mitchell and Beech.
The Four Preconditions Model asserted that four preconditions needed to be met in order for child sexual abuse to occur: (1) an offender with a predisposition to sexually abuse a child; (2) the ability overcome any internal inhibitions against acting on that predisposition; (3) the ability to overcome external barriers, such as lack of access to the child or supervision of the child by others; and (4) the ability to overcome any resistance or reluctance on the part of the child. The offender predisposition was itself conceptualized as comprising three components, which were also to some extent preconditions: some emotional congruence to the act of sexual abuse with this particular child, the capacity for sexual arousal to this child and this activity, and some blockage of his ability to get his emotional and sexual needs met in another way that would not involve a criminal activity. This chapter tries to make an assessment of the current status of the model based on research evidence and clinical practice.
The material and approaches used in the manual within the context of the interventions are intended to provide structure to the therapeutic work and serve as aids for getting the content across. The following concepts (and abbreviations) will be used:
Several existing self-report measures of coping and the relevant research using these instruments are reviewed. Many of these coping measures suffer from a variety of psychometric weaknesses. A self-report instrument, the Multidimensional Coping Inventory (MCI), was constructed that identifies 3 types of coping styles: task-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented coping. Support for the multidimensional nature of the MCI is presented, along with support for the reliability of the MCI coping scales. Two studies are presented that assessed the validity of the MCI. The 1st study assessed the construct validity of the MCI by comparing it with the Ways of Coping Questionnaire. The 2nd study also assessed the criterion validity of the MCI by comparing it with measures of depression, anxiety, Type A behavior, neuroticism, and extraversion. Overall, the results suggest that the MCI is a valid and highly reliable multidimensional measure of coping styles.
Recent outcome data are reviewed and an attempt is made to compare treatment programs having either no relapse prevention (RP) features, only the internal management component of RP, or both internal management and the external supervisory components of RP. Presently available data are limited. Although treatment seems to produce effects, these benefits do not appear to be enhanced by the addition of elaborate internal management or by the provision of extensive RP aftercare procedures.
The purpose of this study was to compare sexual offenders and non-sexual offenders on the coping strategies they employ in attempting to deal with both life stress and the temptation to sexually molest a child. To this end, 20 known sexual offenders and 20 no offenders responded to the Coping Strategies Inventory to measure their coping strategies for dealing with stress. A revised version of this instrument was used to measure their coping strategies for dealing with the temptation to molest a child. Results indicate that in attempting to deal with life stress, sexual offenders make more use of self-denigration strategies. However, self-denigration has been associated with increased dysphonic and negative effect, which may result in offenders being at higher risk to molest. When attempting to control the urge to act out sexually with children, sexual offenders made more use of self-denigration and avoidance strategies, however, these strategies may not be helpful in exercising self-control as self-denigration has been associated with relapse in other self-control attempts and avoidance may prevent the development of more adaptive responses. © 1991 American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors & Therapists.
Structural mutations in ion channel proteins may not always cause disease by directly interfering with function of the channel at the cell membrane. Several examples are known in which a molecular defect restricts or impedes the ability of the ion channel protein to assemble or traffic in the cell. After an overview of protein trafficking by Dennis Brown (Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, MA, USA), William Skach (University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA) discussed defects in processing and trafficking of the cystic fibrosis gene, CFTR. Next, Carel Van Os (University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands) described how defects in the post-translational processing of water channels cause the autosomal form of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. The third lecture given jointly by Daniella Rotin (University of Toronto) and Olivier Staub (University of Lausanne) explained how defining the Liddle's disease defect revealed an important interplay between the epithelial sodium channel and Nedd4, a cytosolic protein–protein interaction critical for channel regulation. Because of the clear importance of understanding defects in protein trafficking, the last two lectures in this session expounded on more general biological themes relating to ion channel assembly and targeting. Dennis Ausiello (Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School) described his work on the interactions between ion channels and the cytoskeleton, whereas Michael Kaplan (Yale University) presented his research on the importance of PDZ domains in potassium channel targeting.
Thirty-two nonfamilial child molesters were compared with 32 comparable nonoffenders on measures of empathy, intimacy, loneliness, and self-esteem. Relative to the nonoffenders, the child molesters were found to be deficient in empathy, intimacy and self-esteem. Among the offenders, the correlations between scores on most of the measures had higher values than among the nonoffenders. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and treatment implications.
Thirty-two child molesters received self-esteem enhancement procedures as part of an overall treatment program. The effects of the self-esteem procedures were evaluated in terms of changes on the Social Self-esteem Inventory. It was found that the procedures significantly enhanced self-esteem. These changes were significantly related to reductions in loneliness and increases in intimacy but were unrelated to improvements in victim empathy despite the fact that victim empathy and self-esteem scores were significantly correlated at pretreatment. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for theory and treatment.
The nature of sexual offending is considered and it is concluded that offenders are more like other people than they are different. It is concluded that they are neither monsters nor victims and should, as a consequence, be treated like all other clients. Treatment implications are considered and it is suggested that we shift our focus away from a preoccupation with procedures and instead give attention to process features of treatment. Various therapist styles are discussed and it is proposed that a style that enhances the offender's self-esteem may be best. The value of this approach is outlined and tentative data are offered suggesting its value. Considerations for future developments are noted.
Seventy six items describing self-esteem in social situations were rated by 265 subjects, and subsequently subjected to an iterative item-total correlation and analysis in order to maximize factorial purity. Factor analysis of the remaining 30-item scale revealed a single general factor that accounted for 39.7% of the total variance. A new group of 128 subjects completed the 30-items twice, and a retest reliability over 4-weeks indicated that the scale was highly reliable (r = 0.88). Normative data, based on the original 265 subjects, is provided in the appendices along with a description of the scale.
Compared 20 sexual offenders (SOs) and 20 non-offenders on the coping strategies they employ in attempting to deal with both life stress and the temptation to sexually molest a child. Ss responded to a coping strategies inventory. Results indicate that in attempting to deal with life stress, SOs make more use of self-denigration strategies; however, self-denigration has been associated with increased dysphoria and negative affect, which may result in offenders being at higher risk to molest. When attempting to control the urge to act out sexually with children, SOs made more use of self-denigration and avoidance strategies; however, these strategies may not be helpful in exercising self-control as self-denigration has been associated with relapse in other self-control attempts and avoidance may prevent the development of more adaptive responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The nature of sexual offending is considered and it is concluded that offenders are more like other people than they are different. It is concluded that they are neither monsters nor victims and should, as a consequence, be treated like all other clients. Treatment implications are considered and it is suggested that we shift our focus away from a preoccupation with procedures and instead give attention to process features of treatment. Various therapist styles are discussed and it is proposed that a style that enhances the offender's self-esteem may be best. The value of this approach is outlined and tentative data are offered suggesting its value. Considerations for future developments are noted.