NCJ Number
223718
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal Volume: 32 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2008 Pages: 549-560
Date Published
May 2008
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study identifiedsthe distinct developmental experiences associated with child sexual abuse and rape.
Abstract
The study found that compared to rapists, child sexual abusers reported more frequent experiences of child sexual abuse, early exposure to pornography, an earlier onset of masturbation, and sexual activities with animals. In contrast to child sexual abusers, rapists reported more frequent experiences of physical abuse, parental violence, emotional abuse, and cruelty to animals. Both child sexual abusers and rapists reported frequent exposure to violent media during their childhood. Most offenders described having insecure parental attachment bonds; three-fourths of rapists reported avoidant parental attachments and over half of child sexual abusers reported anxious parental attachments. Findings from this study support the role of specific developmental experiences as etiological factors in differential sexual offending. Child sexual abusers’ developmental histories were characterized by heightened sexuality; whereas rapists’ childhood histories were more indicative of violence. These findings were said to have implications for the treatment of sexual abusers and the prevention of sexual abuse. The study's findings also suggest that sexual offenders have been socialized to satisfy human needs of intimacy and sexuality through maladaptive means, which implies that a risk management approach may not be sufficient treatment. Instead, the focus of treatment should be to equip offenders with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to achieve these needs in an acceptable manner. Data were derived from 280 sexual offenders, half rapists and half child sexual abusers, incarcerated at various prisons in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Their developmental experiences were recorded from a behavioral checklist, a parental-bonding survey, and a sexual history questionnaire. Offender classification was obtained from official records and verified through polygraph examinations. Tables, references