Attachment Style, Intimacy Deficits, and Sexual Offending (From Handbook of Sex Offender Treatment, P 4-1 - 4-14, 2011, Barbara K. Schwartz, ed. - See NCJ-243091)

• NCJ Number: 243095
• Author(s): Tony Ward, Ph.D; Stephen M. Hudson, Ph.D.; Julie McCormack, B.Sc.
• Date Published: 2011
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: Civic Research Institute, Inc
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Literature Review; Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter argues that attachment theory can provide a useful theoretical framework for the investigation of intimacy deficits in sexual offenders.

Abstract

Intimacy is defined as an "enduring motive that reflects an individual's preference or readiness to experience closeness, warmth, and communication." A number of researchers have consistently found that sexual offenders are often socially isolated, lonely individuals who have few intimate relationships. This has led researchers to investigate intimacy in sexual offenders by isolating variables believed to be critical to the formation and maintenance of close adult relationships. Although preliminary research has provided some insights into the nature and extent of intimacy deficits in sexual offenders, overall it has lacked a theory that organizes and guides the research. There is evidence that attachment theory can provide a useful theoretical framework for the study of interpersonal deficits in sexual offenders. A theoretical model for attachment style and sexual offenders was developed by the authors of this chapter, based on Bartholomew's classification of attachment into four fundamental styles. The current chapter suggests that the three separate styles of insecure attachment (fearful, dismissive, and preoccupied) are determined by early interpersonal relationships and results in a failure to achieve intimacy within adult relationships. Three separate styles of insecure attachment are identified in the proposed model, each of which leads to a failure to achieve intimacy within adult relationships. As a result of their diverse interpersonal styles and intimacy deficits, such individuals are likely to offend sexually in different ways and against different types of individuals. An outline of the features of this model is followed by a review of research into attachment style in sex offenders. This review focuses on the early interpersonal relationships of sexual offenders, romantic attachment, offender characteristics and attachment style, and offenders' perceptions of their intimate relations. 57 references