This article presents the results of research investigating the relation between interpersonal factors and personality disorders and intra-familial versus extra-familial child molesters. The sample contained 41 intra-familial and 43 extra-familial child molesters as well as a matched comparison group of 80 subjects. The analysis of the research results show that interpersonal factors, such as parental sensitivity, trust, and adult romantic attachment, discriminate between intra-familial and extra-familial child molesters. These findings structure the heterogeneous field of child molesters, as intra-familial child molesting seems to be related to relational attitude as well as personality disorders, whereas extra-familial child molesting is mainly related to personality disorders without showing significant deficits in the interpersonal factors that were measured. These results contribute to the explanation of this deviant sexual conduct and to the development and differentiation of the treatment of child molesters.
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
2.
Benjamin, L. S. (1993). Interpersonal diagnosis and treatment of personality disorders. New York: Guilford.
3.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.
4.
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Loss. New York: Basic Books.
5.
Bumby, K. M., & Hansen, D. J. (1997). Intimacy deficits, fear of intimacy, and loneliness among sexual offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 24(3), 315-331.
6.
Buschman, J., & Van Beek, D. (2003). A clinical model for the treatment of personality disordered sexual offenders: An example of theory knitting. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 15, 183-199.
7.
De Wolff, M. S., & van Ijzendoorn, M. H. (1997). Sensitivity and attachment: A meta-analysis on parental antecedents of infant attachment?Child Development, 68, 571-591.
8.
Edwards, E. (1997). Treatment for pedophiles; treatment for sex offenders. In M. James (Ed.), Pedophile policy and prevention (pp. 74-80). Australian Institute of Criminology Research and Public Policy Series No 12. Canberra ACT: Australian Institute of Criminology Research and Public Policy.
9.
Erikson, E. H. (1963). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.
10.
Firestone, P., Bradford, J. M., Greenberg, D. M., Larose, M. R., & Curry, S. (1998). Homicidal and nonhomicidal child molesters: Psychological, phallometric, and criminal features, Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 10(4), 305-323.
11.
Firestone, P., Bradford, J. M., McCoy, M., Greenberg, D. M., Curry, S., & Larose, M. R. (2000). Prediction of recidivism in extra-familial child molesters based on court-related assessments. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 12(3), 203-221.
12.
Freeman-Longo, R., & Knopp, F. (1992). State of the art treatment: Outcomes and issues. Annals of Sex Research, 5, 141-160.
13.
Hanson, R. K., & Bussière, M. T. (1998). Predictors of relapse: A meta-analysis of sexual offender studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 348-362.
14.
Hanson, R. K., Steffy, R. A., & Gouthier, R. (1993). Long-term recidivism of child molesters. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 646-652.
15.
Hart, S. D. (2003). Actuarial risk assessment: Commentary on Berlin et al. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 15(4), 383-388.
16.
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511-524.
17.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cut-off criteria for fit indices in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1-55.
18.
Jamieson, S., & Marshall, W. L. (2000). Attachment styles and violence in child molesters. The Journal of Sexual Aggression, 5(1), 88-98.
19.
Jones, E. E. (1996). Introduction to the special section on attachment and psychopathology: Part 1. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 5-7.
20.
Jöreskog, K., & Sörbom, D. (1993). Lisrel VIII: Structural equation modeling with the Simplis command language. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
21.
Lussier, P., Proulx, J., & McKibben, A. (2001). Personality characteristics and adaptive strategies to cope with high risk situations and lapses in sexual aggressors. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 45, 159-171.
22.
Lyons-Ruth, K. (1996). Attachment relationships among children with aggressive behaviour problems: The role of disorganized early attachment patterns. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 64-73.
23.
Marshall, W. L. (1989). Intimacy, loneliness and sexual offenders. Behavior Research Therapy, 27, 491-503.
24.
Marshall, W. L. (1993). The role of attachments, intimacy, and loneliness in the etiology and maintenance of sexual offending. Sexual and Marital Therapy, 8, 109-121.
25.
Marshall, W. L. (1994). Pauvreté des liens d’attachement et déficiences dans les rapports intimes chez les agresseurs sexuels [Insecure attachment styles and intimacy in a group of sexual aggressors]. Criminologie, 27, 55-69.
26.
Marshall, W. L., & Barbaree, H. E. (1988). The long-term evaluation of a behavioral treatment program for child molesters. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 26(6), 499-511.
27.
Marshall, W. L., Barbaree, H. E., & Eccles, A. (1991). Early onset and deviant sexuality in child molesters. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 6(3), 323-336.
28.
Marshall, W. L., Champagne, F., Brown, C., & Miller, S. (1997). Empathy, intimacy, loneliness, and self-esteem in nonfamilial child molesters: A brief report. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 6, 87-98.
29.
Marshall, W. L., Laws, D. R., & Barbaree, H. E. (1990). Handbook of sexual assault. Issues, theories and treatment of the offender. New York: Plenum.
30.
Marshall, W. L., & Mazzucco, A. (1995). Self-esteem and parental attachments in child molesters. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 7(4), 279-285.
31.
Marshall, W. L., & Serran, G. A. (2000). Current issues in the assessment and treatment of sexual offenders. Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, 7, 85-97.
32.
McCormack, J., Hudson, S. M., & Ward, T. (2002). Sexual offenders’ perceptions of their early interpersonal relationships: An attachment perspective. The Journal of Sex Research, 39(2), 85-93.
33.
Parker, G. (1983). Parental overprotection: A risk factor in psychosocial development. New York: Grune & Stratton.
34.
Parker, G., Tuplin, H., & Brown, L. B. (1979). A Parental Bonding Instrument. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 52, 1-10.
35.
Prentky, R. A. (1999). Child sexual molestation. In V. B. Van Hasselt & M. Hersen (Eds.), Handbook of psychological approaches with violent offenders: Contemporary strategies and issues (pp. 267-300). New York: Plenum.
36.
Quinsey, V. L., Rice, M. E., & Harris, G. T. (1995). Actuarial prediction of sexual recidivism. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 10, 85-105.
37.
Rempel, J. K., Holmes, J. G., & Zanna, M. P. (1985). Trust in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 95-112.
38.
Rosenthal, D. A., Gurney, R. M., & Moore, S. M. (1981). From trust to intimacy: A new inventory for examining Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 10, 525-536.
39.
Rotter, J. B. (1967). A new scale for the measurement of interpersonal trust. Journal of Personality, 35, 651-665.
40.
Saunders, E., Awad, G. A., & White, G. (1986). Male adolescent sexual offenders: The offender and the offence. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 31, 542-549.
41.
Sawle, G. A., & Kear-Colwell, J. (2001). Adult attachment style and pedophilia: A developmental perspective. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 45(1), 32-50.
42.
Schotte, C. K. W., De Doncker, D., Vankerckhoven, C., Vertommen, H., & Cosyns, P. (1998). Self-report assessment of the DSM-IV personality disorders. Measurement of trait and distress characteristics: The ADP-IV. Psychological Medicine, 28, 1179-1188.
43.
Seghorn, T. K., Prentky, R. A., & Boucher, R. J. (1987). Child abuse in the lives of sexually aggressive offenders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 26, 262-267.
44.
Shelvin, M., & Miles, J. (1997, September). The multiplicative effects of sample size reliability and model specification on the behaviour of GFI and RMSEA in confirmatory factor analysis. Paper presented at the International Conference on Applied Statistics, London.
45.
Smallbone, S. W., & Dadds, M. R. (1998). Childhood attachment and adult attachment in incarcerated adult male sex offenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 13(5), 555-573.
46.
Smallbone, S. W., & McCabe, B. (2003). Childhood attachment, childhood sexual abuse, and onset of masturbation among adult sexual offenders. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 15(1), 1-9.
47.
Verschueren, K., & Marcoen, A. (1993). Gehechtheidsstijl, intimiteit en vertrouwen in de jongvolwassenheid: Een reflectie van de ervaren ouderlijke sensitiviteit [Attachment styles, intimacy and trust in young adulthood: A reflection of the experienced parental sensitivity]. Psychologica Belgica, 33(1), 49-76.
48.
Ward, T., McCormack, J., & Hudson, S. M. (1997). Sexual offenders’ perceptions of their intimate relationships. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 9, 57-73.
