Fixated pedophilic sexual attraction is considered to be a major determinant of risk among sex offenders, but there is little empirical evidence regarding its treatment. It was hypothesized that two prominent factors which have emerged in the literature as being present among some sexual offenders, namely, impersonal, narcissistic, and predatory patterns of offending against victims, and experiencing childhood sexual abuse, may be related to specifically to the strength of pedophilic interest. Such a relationship would provide a deeper understanding of the corollaries of pedophilic interest and would suggest targets for treatment. These factors were explored in a sample of 532 sexual offenders who attended the National Centre for Risk Assessment in Israel, and were found to be significantly related to the level of pedophilic interest in the sample. The implications for treatment of high-risk offenders are discussed.
AlankoK.SchmidtA. F.NeutzeJ.BergenE.SanttilaP.OsterheiderM. (2017).
Male sexual interest in and offending against children: The abused-abuser hypothesis. Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice,
17(2), 128–144.
2.
BarnettG.MannR. E. (2013).
Empathy deficits and sexual offending: A model of obstacles to empathy. Aggression and Violent Behavior,
18, 228–239.
3.
BartelsR. M.BeechA. R. (2016). Theories of deviant sexual fantasy. In BeechA. R.WardT. (Eds.), The Wiley handbook on the theories, assessment and treatment of sexual offending (pp. 165–186).
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
4.
BartelsR. M.MerdianH. L. (2016).
The implicit theories of child sexual exploitation material users: An initial conceptualization. Aggression and Violent Behavior,
26, 16–25.
5.
BaumeisterR. F. (2000).
Gender differences in erotic plasticity: The female sex drive as socially flexible and responsive. Psychological Bulletin,
126, 347–374.
6.
BurtonD. L. (2003).
Male adolescents: Sexual victimization and subsequent sexual abuse. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal,
20, 277–296.
7.
CaleJ.LeclercB.SmallboneS. (2014).
The sexual lives of sexual offenders: The link between childhood sexual victimization and non-criminal sexual lifestyles between types of offenders. Psychology, Crime & Law,
20, 37–60.
8.
DanniK. A.HampeG. D. (2000).
An analysis of predictors of child sex offender types using presentence investigation reports. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology,
44, 490–504.
9.
DayA.CaseyS.GeraceA. (2010).
Interventions to improve empathy awareness in sexual and violent offenders: Conceptual, empirical, and clinical issues. Aggression and Violent Behavior,
15, 201–208.
10.
FinkelhorD. (1984). Child sexual abuse: New theory and research.
Free Press.
11.
FinkelhorD.ArajiS. (1986).
Explanations of pedophilia: A four factor model. Journal of Sex Research,
22(2), 145–161.
12.
GoldS. N.SwingleJ. M.HillE. L.ElfantA. S. (1998).
Acts of childhood sexual abuse: An empirically derived typology. Journal of Family Violence,
13, 233–242.
13.
HansonR. K.BussiereM. T. (1998).
Predicting relapse: A meta-analysis of sexual offender recidivism studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
66, 348–362.
14.
HansonR. K.MortonK. E.HarrisA. J. (2003).
Sexual offender recidivism risk: What we know and what we need to know. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences,
989(1), 154–166.
HansonR. K.Morton-BourgonK. E. (2005).
The characteristics of persistent sexual offenders: A meta-analysis of recidivism studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
73, 1154–1163.
17.
HansonR. K.SlaterS. (1988).
Sexual victimization in the history of sexual abusers: A review. Annals of Sex Research,
1, 485–499.
18.
HelmusL.Ó CiardhaC.SetoM. C. (2015).
The Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests (SSPI): Construct, predictive, and incremental validity. Law and Human Behavior,
39, 35–43.
19.
HermannC. A.McPhailI. V.HelmusL. M.HansonR. K. (2017).
Emotional congruence with children is associated with sexual deviancy in sexual offenders against children. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology,
61, 1311–1334.
20.
HindmanJ.PetersJ. (2001).
Polygraph testing leads to better understanding adult and juvenile sex offenders. Federal Probation,
65, 8–15.
21.
HunterJ. A.FigueredoA. J.MalamuthN. M. (2010).
Developmental pathways into social and sexual deviance. Journal of Family Violence,
25, 141–148.
22.
Israel. (2006). Public Defense against Sexual Offences Act.
23.
JenningsW. G.ZgobaK. M.MaschiT.ReingleJ. M. (2014).
An empirical assessment of the overlap between sexual victimization and sex offending. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology,
58, 1466–1480.
24.
JespersenA. F.LalumièreM. L.SetoM. C. (2009).
Sexual abuse history among adult sex offenders and non-sex offenders: A meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect,
33, 179–192.
25.
KaufmanK. L.HolmbergJ. K.OrtsK. A.McCradyF. E.RotzienA. L.DaleidenE. L.HillikerD. R. (1998).
Factors influencing sexual offenders’ modus operandi: An examination of victim–offender relatedness and age. Child Maltreatment,
3, 349–361.
26.
KhanO.FerriterM.HubandN.PowneyM. J.DennisJ. A.DugganC. (2015).
Pharmacological interventions for those who have sexually offended or are at risk of offending. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews,
2, CD007989. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD007989
27.
KloessJ. A.Seymour-SmithS.Hamilton-GiachritsisC. E.LongM. L.ShipleyD.BeechA. R. (2015).
A qualitative analysis of offenders’ modus operandi in sexually exploitative interactions with children online. Sexual Abuse,
29, 563–591.
28.
KnightR. A.PrentkyR. A. (1990). Classifying sexual offenders. In MarshallW. L.LawsD. R.BarbareeH. E. (Eds.), Handbook of sexual assault (pp. 23–52).
Springer.
29.
LeibowitzG. (2012).
Correlates of modus operandi (coercion and force) among male sexually victimized adolescent sexual abusers: An exploratory study. Journal of Forensic Social Work,
2, 94–107.
30.
LevensonJ. S.GradyM. D. (2016).
The influence of childhood trauma on sexual violence and sexual deviance in adulthood. Traumatology,
22, 94–103.
31.
LevensonJ. S.WillisG. M.PrescottD. (2018). Incorporating principles of trauma-informed care into evidence-based sex offending treatment. In JeglicE. L.CalkinsC. (Eds.), New frontiers in offender treatment (pp. 171–188).
Springer.
32.
MalamuthN. M.BrownL. M. (1994).
Sexually aggressive men’s perceptions of women’s communications: Testing three explanations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
67, 699–712.
33.
MannR. E.BarnettG. D. (2013).
Victim empathy intervention with sexual offenders: Rehabilitation, punishment, or correctional quackery?Sexual Abuse,
25, 282–301.
34.
MannR. E.HansonR. K.ThorntonD. (2010).
Assessing risk for sexual recidivism: Some proposals on the nature of psychologically meaningful risk factors. Sexual Abuse,
22, 191–217.
35.
MarshallW. L.LawsD. R. (2003).
A brief history of behavioral and cognitive behavioral approaches to sexual offender treatment: Part 2. The modern era. Sexual Abuse,
15, 93–120.
36.
MarshallW. L.MarshallL. E.SerranG. A.O’BrienM. D. (2011). Rehabilitating sexual offenders: A strength-based approach.
American Psychological Association.
37.
MarzianoV.WardT.BeechA. R.PattisonP. (2006).
Identification of five fundamental implicit theories underlying cognitive distortions in child abusers: A preliminary study. Psychology, Crime & Law,
12, 97–105.
McPhailI. V.HermannC. A.NunesK. L. (2013).
Emotional congruence with children and sexual offending against children: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
81, 737–749.
40.
MoneyJ. (1986). Lovemaps: Clinical concepts of sexual/erotic health and pathology, paraphilia, and gender transposition of childhood, adolescence, and maturity.
Prometheus.
41.
NunesK. L.HermannC. A.MalcomJ. R.LavoieK. (2013).
Childhood sexual victimization, pedophilic interest, and sexual recidivism. Child Abuse & Neglect,
37, 703–711.
42.
Ó CiardhaC.WardT. (2013).
Theories of cognitive distortions in sexual offending: What the current research tells us.Trauma, Violence, & Abuse,
14, 5–21.
43.
PapaliaN.LuebbersS.OgloffJ. R. (2018).
Child sexual abuse and the propensity to engage in criminal behaviour: A critical review and examination of moderating factors. Aggression and Violent Behavior,
43, 71–89.
44.
PlummerM.CossinsA. (2018).
The cycle of abuse: When victims become offenders.Trauma, Violence, & Abuse,
19(3), 286–304.
45.
RicciR. J.ClaytonC. A. (2016).
EMDR with sex offenders: Using offense drivers to guide conceptualization and treatment. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research,
10, 104–118.
46.
RobertielloG.TerryK. J. (2007).
Can we profile sex offenders? A review of sex offender typologies. Aggression and Violent Behavior,
12, 508–518.
47.
RudmanL. A.MescherK. (2012).
Of animals and objects: Men’s implicit dehumanization of women and likelihood of sexual aggression. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,
38, 734–746.
48.
SetoM. C.HarrisG. T.RiceM. E.BarbareeH. E. (2004).
The Screening Scale For Pedophilic Interests predicts recidivism among adult sex offenders with child victims. Archives of Sexual Behavior,
33, 455–466.
49.
VachonD. D.LynamD. R.JohnsonJ. A. (2014).
The (non) relation between empathy and aggression: Surprising results from a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin,
140, 751–773.
50.
WardT.HudsonS. M. (1998).
A self-regulation model of the sexual offense process. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment,
10, 141–157.
WardT.WillisG. M. (2016). Responsivity dynamic risk factors and offender rehabilitation: A comparison of the Good Lives Model and the Risk-Need Model. In LawsD. R.O’DonohueW. (Eds.), Treatment of sex offenders (pp. 175–190).
Springer.
