NCJ Number
188754
Journal
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2000 Pages: 503-515
Date Published
December 2000
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on parental sensitivity, trust, intimacy, and adult romantic attachment in a group of sexual offenders (exhibitionists, child molesters, and child rapists) and a matched normal control group.
Abstract
Eighty-four adult men (33 exhibitionists, 29 child molesters, and 22 child rapists), who attended an education training program as an alternative sanction, composed the experimental group. The experimental group was matched with a control group (n=80) on the variables of age, marital status, employment, and level of education; however, for four sexual delinquents, no control subjects were found. Instruments were administered to the two groups to measure parental sensitivity (warmth by mother and father and overprotection by the father); trust and intimacy (trust in themselves, in others, and in the world in general); and adult romantic attachment. The findings suggest that subjects who experienced insufficient warmth from their mother during childhood and adolescence, who have insufficient trust in themselves and others, and who are insecurely attached in adult romantic relations run a higher risk of behaving as sexual delinquents in adulthood. There was no significant relationship between the various categories of sexual offenders, except for the variable of adult romantic attachment. Parental sensitivity, trust, and the adult romantic attachment style contributed independently to the explanation of sexual delinquent behavior. Implications for the prevention and treatment of sexual delinquent behavior are discussed. 1 figure and 45 references