Claims have been made that sexual offenders are deficient in interpersonal problem-solving skills. This study examined whether incarcerated sexual offenders (N=30) differed in means-ends thinking when compared to a nonoffender control group (N=30). Overall, there were no differences between the two groups on problem-solving skills as measured by the Means-Ends Problem-Solving procedure. On one dependent variable, involving a task that asked the individual to conceptualize a means of reconciliation in a heterosexual relationship, sexual offenders generated fewer means for solving problems than nonoffender controls.
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