NCJ Number
199078
Journal
Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2003 Pages: 11-26
Date Published
January 2003
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article examines the relationships among empathy, self-esteem, and psychopathy by comparing the responses of 27 incarcerated rapists and 27 incarcerated nonsexual offenders using the Rapist Empathy Measure.
Abstract
In recent years researchers and clinicians have begun to focus on the issue of empathy in sexual offenders. The authors suggest that studying generalized empathy may obscure real differences between sexual offenders and non-offenders or among different types of sexual offenders. In this study, the authors examined the issue of empathy in rapists using a modified version of a Child Molester Empathy Measure, a Rapist Empathy Measure. Study participants included 27 male subjects from an Introductory Psychology subject pool at Queen’s University, as well as a forensic sample of 27 nonsexual offenders and 27 rapists. Subjects’ responses to measures of self-esteem and psychopathy were determined using the Social Self-Esteem Inventory with a six-point Likert scale. The authors found that rapists demonstrated more empathy towards women who were victims of a sexual assault by other males than did the nonsexual offenders. However, rapists revealed significant empathy deficits towards their own victim(s). In terms of self-esteem and psychopathy, no differences were found between the rapists and non-sexual offenders. The authors conclude that rapists may suppress empathy towards their own victims, rather than experiencing a generalized empathy deficit. Appendix, references