Emotional Congruence With Children Is Associated With Sexual Deviancy in Sexual Offenders Against Children

Abstract

Emotional congruence with children is a psychologically meaningful risk factor for sexual offending against children. The present study examines the correlates of emotional congruence with children in a sample of 424 adult male sexual offenders who started a period of community supervision in Canada, Alaska, and Iowa between 2001 and 2005. Consistent with previous work, we found sexual offenders against children high in emotional congruence with children were more likely to be sexually deviant, have poor sexual self-regulation, experience social loneliness, and have more distorted cognitions about sex with children. Overall, our findings are most consistent with a sexual deviancy model, with some support for a blockage model.

Keywords

emotional congruence with children sexual offenders against children sexual deviance blockage psychological immaturity

Emotional congruence with children is a psychologically meaningful risk factor for sexual offending against children and is important in the assessment, management, and treatment of sexual offenders (Hanson & Morton-Bourgon, 2005; Mann, Hanson, & Thornton, 2010; McPhail, Hermann, & Nunes, 2013). Emotional congruence with children is typically defined as an exaggerated emotional and cognitive affiliation with children, and is evidenced by indicators such as enjoying spending leisure time with children, engaging in children’s activities, possessing children’s recreational equipment, feeling childlike, and perceiving relationships with children as intimate and reciprocal (Fernandez, Harris, Hanson, & Sparks, 2014; Knight, Carter, & Prentky, 1989; McPhail et al., 2013; Wilson, 1999). Unlike most risk factors that are applicable to both sexual offenders with adult and/or child victims, emotional congruence with children is unique in that it only appears to be meaningful for sexual offenders against children (Hanson, Harris, Scott, & Helmus, 2007). Although emotional congruence with children is an established risk factor for sexual offending against children, it is noteworthy that little is known about how this risk factor relates to other risk factors to contribute to child sexual abuse.

Much of the research conducted to date has examined emotional congruence with children in isolation. For example, research has focused on defining and measuring this construct (e.g., Wilson, 1999), examining group differences between types of sexual offenders against children and/or nonsexual offenders (e.g., intrafamilial vs. extrafamilial sexual offenders against children, sexual offenders against children vs. nonoffenders; e.g., Fisher, Beech, & Browne, 1999; McPhail et al., 2013), and examining the relationship between emotional congruence with children and sexual recidivism (e.g., Hanson & Morton-Bourgon, 2005; McPhail et al., 2013). The next step in understanding the role emotional congruence with children plays in child sexual abuse is to explore the relationships between this construct and other risk factors for sexual offending against children. As a means of exploring these relationships, McPhail, Hermann, and Fernandez (2014) developed three conceptual models from theory and research on sexual offending that encompass sets of risk relevant constructs that may be associated with emotional congruence with children; these models were labelled blockage, sexual deviance, and psychological immaturity. Each conceptual model is discussed briefly below.

Blockage

The blockage model assumes that sexual offenders against children want, but are blocked from, intimate relationships with adults (Finkelhor, 1984; Fisher & Howells, 1993; Marshall, 1989; Marshall & Marshall, 2010). In this model, sexual offenders against children, although relatively prosocial, are believed to lack social skills and interpersonal competence to attract and maintain intimate relationships, and consequently feel lonely and rejected. An important barrier to intimacy is a generalized fear or distrust of adult women, which results in perceptions of women as domineering, cold, and dangerous (i.e., hostility toward women). Children, in contrast, are perceived as welcoming, warm, and affectionate (Howells, 1979). Furthermore, individuals high in blockage should be relatively compliant with authority figures. Given this inhibited, fearful profile, emotional congruence with children is believed to be associated with lower lifestyle impulsivity than among other sexual offenders against children. As a result, this model suggests sexual offenders against children develop and exhibit emotional congruence with children and substitute children for social and sexual partners.

To date little research has explored the relationships between emotional congruence with children and the constructs outlined in the blockage model, and of the research that has explored these relationships, the evidence has been mixed (Beech, 1998; Mandeville-Norden & Beech, 2009; McPhail et al., 2014¹; Seto & Fernandez, 2011; Underhill, Wakeling, Mann, & Webster, 2008). Two studies have explored these relationships indirectly using cluster analysis (Beech, 1998; Mandeville-Norden & Beech, 2009). Beech (1998) used cluster analysis with a sample of sexual offenders against children on a battery of psychological measures and found that the group highest in emotional congruence with children also had the most problematic levels of social inadequacy (i.e., low self-esteem, loneliness, under-assertiveness, and personal distress [inability to handle negative emotions]), immaturity, and beliefs supportive of sexual offending against children. Using the same methodology, Mandeville-Norden and Beech (2009) also found the group of sexual offenders against children highest in emotional congruence with children had problematic levels of social inadequacy (self-esteem, emotional loneliness, under-assertiveness, and personal distress), beliefs supportive of sexual offending against children, and were unlikely to take responsibility for their actions. In contrast, Underhill and colleagues (2008) directly assessed the relationship between emotional congruence with children and intimacy deficits in a sample of sexual offenders against children and found no relationship between these constructs. Most recently, McPhail et al. (2014) found that emotional congruence with children was positively associated with social rejection and loneliness, but not a lack of intimate partners or toward hostility toward women. These findings suggest more research is needed to understand the relationships between emotional congruence with children and the risk relevant constructs outlined in the blockage model.

Sexual Deviancy

The premise underlying the sexual deviance model is that emotional congruence with children and sexual interest in children co-occur resulting in sexual offenders against children trying to develop sexual, friendship, and romantic relationships with children (Groth, 1979; Groth & Birnbaum, 1978; Groth, Hobson, & Gary, 1982). Many sexual offenders with pedophilic interests are interested not only in having sexual relationships with children but also in creating and maintaining friendship and romantic relationships with them. Evidence of this can often be found in the promotional materials of pro-pedophilic organizations, such as the North American Man Boy Love Association, that emphasize the positive “love” relationships that can occur between adults and children (e.g., www.nambla.org/whatis). Materials such as these suggest sexual interest in children and emotional congruence with children are closely associated.

This association is also described in the interpersonal type of sexual offenders against children outlined by Knight and colleagues (1989). Knight et al. suggested that some sexual offenders against children (interpersonal offenders) have regular sexual and nonsexual contact with children to develop, what they perceive to be, mutually satisfying relationships. Furthermore, it is suggested that these offenders rarely offend impulsively and are expected to evidence beliefs that support child sexual abuse. Groth (1978) also noted that sexual offenders who are pedophilic might also experience a preoccupation with sexual thoughts about children, and that an inability to self-regulate may contribute to these offenders sexualizing preexisting relationships with children (Ward, Hudson, Marshall, & Siegert, 1995). Given this literature, emotional congruence with children may also be associated with higher levels of offence supportive beliefs, the absence of impulsivity, and problematic sexual self-regulation.

Of the three models, the sexual deviancy model has the most empirical support. Several studies have found positive relationships between emotional congruence with children and sexual deviance (Knight, 1989; McPhail et al., 2014; Seto & Fernandez, 2011) and with beliefs that support sexual offending against children (Beech, 1998; Johnston & Johnston, 1997; Mandeville-Norden & Beech, 2009; McPhail et al., 2014). For example, McPhail et al. (2014) found that emotional congruence with children was positively associated with problematic sexual preoccupation, sexualized coping, deviant sexual interests, and beliefs supportive of sexual offending against children. As well, both Beech (1998) and Mandeville-Norden and Beech (2009) found the groups of sexual offenders against children highest in emotional congruence with children also endorsed beliefs supportive of sexual offending against children. Thus, empirically, there is an association between emotional congruence with children and risk relevant constructs outlined in the sexual deviancy model.

Psychological Immaturity

The psychological immaturity model suggests that some sexual offenders against children have simply failed to advance psychologically, such that their emotional and intellectual development is comparable to those of children. Consequently, they more easily form social attachments to children than adults (Finkelhor, 1984; Finkelhor & Araji, 1986; Fitch, 1962; Hammer & Glueck, 1957; Mohr, Turner, & Jerry, 1964). For these offenders, it is hypothesized that the sexual interaction is a consequence of routine social interactions with children who are perceived as peers. Although theoretically plausible, there has been little research on this model. Sexual offenders against children have, on average, intelligence below population norms (Cantor, Blanchard, Robichaud, & Christensen, 2005); however, the extent of the difference would not be sufficient to render their functioning “childlike” (mean IQs in the 93-95 range). We are unaware of any research directly examining the link between intelligence and emotional congruence with children.

McPhail and colleagues (2014) explored the relationships between emotional congruence with children and the risk relevant constructs outlined in the psychological immaturity model, but found little evidence in support of this model. Instead, the strongest correlates of emotional congruence with children were deviant sexual interests, problematic sexual self-regulation (sexual preoccupation and sexualized coping), beliefs supportive of sexual offending against children (indicators of the sexual deviance model), and experiencing social rejection and loneliness (indicators of the blockage model). It is noteworthy that McPhail and colleagues’ study contained few variables representative of the psychological immaturity model (e.g., developmental delay), and as a result it was not a thorough test of this model.

Replication and Expansion

In science in general, and in psychology in particular, there have been increased calls for replication as a foundation for knowledge development (e.g., Koole & Lakens, 2012; Nosek, Spies, & Motyl, 2012). Given the risks created by selective publication of “significant” results, post hoc data mining, and the use of small, nonrepresentative samples, replication is essential before findings are used in applied decision making. As noted above, the three conceptual models outlined above were empirically tested in McPhail et al. (2014). Although that study was an important first step in examining the correlates of emotional congruence with children, it was limited by several factors including a relatively small sample size (N = 221), a restricted set of variables, and limited generalizability as the sample consisted only of federally incarcerated offenders in Canada (i.e., serving sentences equal to or longer than 2 years). Given that only 11% of sexual offenders in Canada are given a federal sentence (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2008), these findings may not generalize to other groups of sexual offenders. Consequently, it is important to replicate and extend the results of McPhail et al. with a larger, more representative sample and, importantly, with more information regarding the correlates of each of the models described above.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between emotional congruence with children and correlates related to three conceptual models: blockage, sexual deviancy, and psychological immaturity. This study used a large, representative sample of sexual offenders against children (e.g., sexual offenders on some form of community supervision) and included a number of potential correlates of emotional congruence with children that have not previously been examined by McPhail et al. (2014).

Hypotheses

Hypothesis 1: The blockage model hypothesizes that emotional congruence with children should be associated with a sense of loneliness or social rejection, a lack of stable intimate relationships with adult women, and relatively low levels of sexual deviance. Furthermore, individuals high in blockage should be relatively compliant with authority figures (indicated by cooperation with supervision and fewer breaches of conditional release). Given this inhibited, fearful profile, emotional congruence with children should be associated with lower lifestyle impulsivity than among other sexual offenders against children. We also considered hostility toward women to be within the blockage model because a perception of women as deceitful, untrustworthy, and unworthy of respect would be a barrier to satisfying intimate relationships.

Hypothesis 2: If the relationship between emotional congruence with children and sexual offending against children is best explained by the sexual deviance model, emotional congruence with children should be associated with sexual preoccupation, using sex for coping, sexual interest in children, cognitions supportive of adult–child sex, and certain offence history variables. There has been considerable research indicating relatively high rates of pedophilic interests among sexual offenders against children whose sexual offending started young, persisted over time, and involved young victims, male victims, and having many victims (Seto, 2008; Seto & Lalumière, 2001).

Hypothesis 3: The psychological immaturity model hypothesizes that emotional congruence with children will be associated with offender age (young), being developmentally delayed, having poor cognitive problem-solving ability, low social competence, and impulsivity. It is worth noting that there is some overlap between the blockage and psychological immaturity models, such that low social competence is expected to be positively associated with emotional congruence with children in both models.

Method

Participants

Participants were 424 adult male sexual offenders who started a period of community supervision in Canada, Alaska, or Iowa between 2001 and 2005. The Canadian participants were a subset of consecutive cases from all jurisdictions (10 provinces, three territories, and the Correctional Service of Canada). All of the participants were recruited as part of the Dynamic Supervision Project (see Hanson et al., 2007; Hanson, Helmus, & Harris, 2015). Community supervision officers were asked to submit assessments for consecutive, new sexual offenders on their caseload. This sample should, therefore, be considered a fairly routine (i.e., unselected) sample of sexual offenders. Given that no screening criteria were applied (other than having a sex offence) and officers were explicitly instructed to include all new cases on their caseload, risk levels, and representation of subgroups (e.g., mentally disordered, developmentally delayed, Aboriginal, noncontact offenders) are expected to be similar to the overall population of convicted sexual offenders against children in Canada. Unfortunately, exposure to treatment was not recorded for this sample, but based on our knowledge of correctional practices at the time these data were collected, treatment participation would have been limited and mostly low-intensity (Hanson et al., 2007).

For inclusion in the present study, all participants had at least one child victim younger than 14 years old. This victim age threshold was based on empirical analyses used for the development of the emotional congruence with children item on STABLE-2007 (see measure description below). In these analyses, emotional congruence was unrelated to sexual recidivism (or mildly protective) for sexual offenders with adult or older teen victims. From the larger study, 335 cases were removed because they had no score for emotional congruence with children, 373 were removed because they had no child victim, and 5 female offenders were also removed.

Of the 285 offenders with information available on their sentence, 50% (n = 142) had been sentenced solely to community supervision (e.g., probation), whereas 45% (n = 128) were on a form of community supervision (e.g., parole/probation) after serving a sentence in a provincial jail (i.e., sentences of less than 2 years), and 5% of the sample (n = 15) were on community supervision after serving a federal sentence (i.e., a sentence greater than 2 years). These are roughly representative of the sentencing pattern for all sexual offences in Canada for this time period (51% noncustodial; 37% provincial; 11% federal; Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2008).

Table 1 presents additional descriptive information. Approximately 19% of the sample was Aboriginal, and 30% had been separated from their biological parents before the age of 16. In terms of offence severity, 8% caused physical injury against at least one of their victims, and less than 1% caused life-threatening injuries. For most offenders, however, the most serious act involved contact with no physical injury (86%). On average, participants were 41 years old (SD = 14) when they started their period of community supervision. Psychological conditions were recorded by community supervision officers. Based on file information, 7% of the offenders had been previously diagnosed as developmentally delayed, and 11% had a history of hospitalization for a mental disorder. The rater reliability of these variables was high: Based on secondary file review by researchers, there was 100% agreement for the presence of a developmental delay diagnosis, and kappa = .92 for psychiatric hospitalization (n = 88 offenders, pairs of seven different raters).

Table 1.

Descriptive Characteristics of Sample (N = 424).

	n with available information	n (%)	M (SD)
Aboriginal	416	78 (18.8%)
Developmentally delayed	414	29 (7.0%)
Major mental illness	414	47 (11.4%)
Separated from biological parents before age 16	423	125 (29.6%)
Most serious victim injury	423
Noncontact only		22 (5.2%)
Physical contact		365 (86.3%)
Victim injury		33 (7.8%)
Life-threatening injuries		3 (0.7%)
Age at beginning of community supervision	424		41.1 (14.3)
Static-99R total score	424		2.2 (2.4)
Static-2002R total score	316		3.4 (2.7)

The average scores for this sample on the Static-99R (M = 2.2, SD = 2.4) and Static-2002R (M = 3.4, SD = 2.7) risk tools matched the norms for these measures (Phenix, Helmus, & Hanson, 2015), suggesting a risk level for this sample that was equivalent to that of unselected, routine samples of convicted sexual offenders from Canada, California, and Sweden (Hanson, Lloyd, Helmus, & Thornton, 2012). The median number of victims was 1 (M = 2.2, SD = 2.0; 53% of the sample had one victim).

Measures

Offence details, victim characteristics, Static-99, and STABLE-2000 were scored by the trained community supervision officers based on detailed file reviews and interviews with the offenders. Static-2002 was scored by trained research assistants. Static-99R, Static-2002R, STABLE-2007, and the Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests (SSPI) were calculated based on the assessment information submitted by the officers.

Static-99R

Static-99R (Hanson & Thornton, 2000; Helmus, Thornton, Hanson, & Babchishin, 2012) is an empirically derived actuarial risk assessment tool designed to predict sexual recidivism in adult male sexual offenders (see also www.static99.org). It has 10 items scored using the information commonly available in offenders’ institutional files. Total scores for Static-99R range from −3 to 12. A recent meta-analysis found that Static-99R has moderate predictive accuracy for sexual recidivism (mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] = .70, k = 22, N = 8,055; Helmus, Hanson, Thornton, Babchishin, & Harris, 2012). File reviews (n = 88) found high reliability of Static-99 scores between the community supervision officers and expert ratings (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = .91; see Hanson et al., 2007). Static-99R was computed via syntax from Static-99 scores and age at release.

Static-2002R

Similar to Static-99R, Static-2002R (Hanson & Thornton, 2003; Helmus, Thornton, et al., 2012) is an empirical actuarial risk assessment tool for adult male sexual offenders (see also www.static99.org). The measure has 14 static items scored using the information commonly available in offenders’ institutional files. The items are grouped into five main subscales: Age at Release, Persistence of Sex Offending, Sexual Deviance, Relationship to Victims, and General Criminality. Total scores for Static-2002R range from −2 to 14. Static-2002R also has moderate predictive accuracy for sexual recidivism (mean AUC = .70, k = 7, N = 2,609; Babchishin, Hanson, & Helmus, 2012). Static-2002 scores were coded by research assistants after data collection was complete. Interrater reliability was exceptionally high (ICC = .98), likely reflecting the fact that several of the items were scored directly from Static-99 assessment data, restricting the number of coding judgments required (see Helmus & Hanson, 2007). Static-2002R scores were computed via syntax from Static-2002 scores and age at release.

STABLE-2000

STABLE-2000 (Hanson et al., 2007) is a measure designed to assess sexual recidivism risk using dynamic (i.e., potentially changeable) risk factors from file—and interview—based information. The scale includes 16 items grouped into six domains: significant social influences (one item), intimacy deficits (five items), sexual self-regulation (three items), cognitions supportive of sexual assault (three items), cooperation with supervision (one item), and general self-regulation (three items). The total score can range from 0 to 12 and has moderate predictive validity for sexual recidivism (AUC = .65, n = 616; Hanson et al., 2015). File reviews (n = 88) found high reliability of STABLE-2000 total scores between the community supervision officers and expert ratings (ICC = .87; see Hanson et al., 2007).

STABLE-2007

Based on the data received in the Dynamic Supervision Project, STABLE-2000 was revised, creating STABLE-2007 (Hanson et al., 2007). The three cognition items in STABLE-2000 were removed and emotional identification with children was modified such that it is only applied to offenders with at least one victim below 14 years. Coding rules for two other items were also changed (deviant sexual interests, capacity for relationship stability). In addition, the total score for STABLE-2000 was obtained based on weighting the items within each domain and summing the domain scores. In STABLE-2007, the total score is a simple sum of all items. STABLE-2007 total scores range from 0 to 26 for offenders with a victim below 14 years, and from 0 to 24 for other offenders. STABLE-2007 has moderate predictive validity for sexual recidivism (AUC = .67, n = 615; Hanson et al., 2015). STABLE-2007 scores were completed based on syntax adjustments to the STABLE-2000 scores; consequently, interrater reliability information is not available for this sample, but should be similar to STABLE-2000.

SSPI

The SSPI was used as a measure of sexual interest in children based on offence history. The SSPI (Seto & Lalumière, 2001) was designed to assess sexual interest in children among individuals who have committed a sexual offence against a child (child defined as less than 14 years old). It consists of four items assessing previous sexual offence victim characteristics, and total scores can range from 0 to 5. The SSPI is related to phallometrically assessed sexual interest in children (r = .27, n = 145; Seto, Harris, Rice, & Barbaree, 2004) and to sexual recidivism (AUC = .69, n = 130, Seto et al., 2004; AUC = .62, n = 365, Helmus, Ó Ciardha, & Seto, 2015). For 35 offenders, there was insufficient information to score one item (any victims 11 years old or younger). Consequently, a SSPI total score was calculated for offenders with complete information on all items. In addition, approximated SSPI scores were calculated for the full sample, assuming a score of 0 for missing information. SSPI scores were computed via syntax using available variables in the data set; consequently, interrater reliability information is not available.

Emotional congruence with children

Participants were classified as evidencing high or low emotional congruence with children using the Emotional Identification With Children item of STABLE-2007. Indicators of the presence of emotional identification with children include the following: the offender having immature relationships with adults and/or no adult friends, viewing children as having unique qualities of understanding or communication, interest in childlike activities, having children as friends, and generally feeling more comfortable with children relative to adults (Fernandez et al., 2014). Participants can receive a score ranging from 0 to 2, with higher scores indicative of more emotional congruence with children. In the present study, participants were classified as evidencing low emotional congruence with children if they received a score of 0 and high emotional congruence with children if they received a score of 1 or 2. Although this dichotomization eliminates the distinction between a score of 1 and 2, there were too few offenders scoring a 2 for adequate statistical power (only 8% of the sample) and preliminary analyses did not suggest meaningful differences between scores of 1 or 2 in the risk factors examined in this study.

The original Emotional Identification With Children scores were coded by trained community supervision officers for offenders on their caseloads. To assess rater reliability of the item, four expert trainers reviewed the files and scoring of 30 offenders with victims less than 14 years old. The interrater reliability for the trichotomous scores was good (ICC = .75), and adequate for the dichotomous none/any classification used in the present study (κ = .70; 87% agreement). Similarly, Fernandez (2008) found adequate interrater reliability for trichotomous scoring of the Emotional Identification with Children item of STABLE-2007 (ICC = .70). The Emotional Identification With Children item has also demonstrated a small positive correlation with the Emotional Congruence scale of the Children and Sex Questionnaire (CSQ) total score (Beckett, 1987; r = .23, n = 12) and alarge positive significant relationship with the Child Identification Scale–Revised (CIS-R; Wilson, 1999; r = .57, p < .05, n = 12) in past research, suggesting adequate convergent validity (McPhail, 2010).

Statistical Analyses

The AUC was used to examine group differences between offenders high and low in emotional congruence with children (Ruscio, 2008). An AUC is statistically significant if the 95% confidence interval does not include .50. For the variables examined in this study, AUCs greater than .50 represent offenders high in emotional congruence with children evidencing more of the risk factor relative to offenders low in emotional congruence with children. AUCs less than .50 represent offenders low in emotional congruence with children evidencing more of the risk factor relative to offenders high in emotional congruence with children. As a rough heuristic, an AUC of .56 corresponds to a small effect size, while .64 reflects a moderate effect, and .71 reflects a large effect size, as these values correspond to Cohen’s ds of .20, .50, and .80, when certain assumptions are satisfied (see Rice & Harris, 2005). Conversely, AUC values of .44, .36, and .29 would represent small, moderate, and large effects in the other direction (i.e., high emotional congruence with children offenders evidencing less of the risk factors). To ensure accuracy, all AUC analyses were run independently by the first and third author.

Results

Of the 424 participants, 248 were classified as low emotional congruence with children and 176 were classified as high emotional congruence with children. Table 1 presents descriptive information for both groups. Table 2 presents the effect sizes (AUC) and confidence intervals for the difference between groups. Results are discussed according to the three models proposed.

Table 2.

Differences Between Low and High Emotional Congruence With Children Sexual Offenders Against Children (N = 424).

	Low emotional congruencewith children		High emotional congruencewith children		AUC	95% CI
	%	n	%	n	AUC	LL	UL
Blockage model
Ever lived with lover for at least 2 years					.578*	.523	.634
Yes	70.2%	174	54.5%	96
No	29.8%	74	45.5%	80
Significant social influences					.553	.497	.609
0 (no problem)	61.7%	153	52.3%	92
1 (some concern/slight problem)	26.2%	65	29.5%	52
2 (present/definite concern)	12.1%	30	18.2%	32
Capacity for relationship stability (STABLE-2007)					.604*	.549	.658
0 (no problem)	25.8%	64	15.3%	27
1 (some concern/slight problem)	48.0%	119	40.9%	72
2 (present/definite concern)	26.2%	65	43.8%	77
Lovers/intimate partners (STABLE-2000)					.559*	.504	.613
0 (no problem)	29.4%	73	17.0%	30
1 (some concern/slight problem)	16.1%	40	19.9%	35
2 (present/definite concern)	54.4%	135	63.1%	111
Social rejection/loneliness					.614*	.560	.669
0 (no problem)	41.1%	102	25.6%	45
1 (some concern/slight problem)	43.5%	108	42.6%	75
2 (present/definite concern)	15.3%	38	31.8%	56
Hostility toward women					.595*	.540	.651
0 (no problem)	80.2%	199	61.4%	108
1 (some concern/slight problem)	16.5%	41	31.3%	55
2 (present/definite concern)	3.2%	8	7.4%	13
Lack of concern for others					.589*	.533	.644
0 (no problem)	65.3%	162	49.4%	87
1 (some concern/slight problem)	28.6%	71	36.4%	64
2 (present/definite concern)	6.0%	15	14.2%	25
Impulsive acts					.586*	.530	.642
0 (no problem)	65.3%	162	52.8%	93
1 (some concern/slight problem)	27.8%	69	24.4%	43
2 (present/definite concern)	6.9%	17	22.7%	40
Sexual entitlement attitudes (STABLE-2000)					.583*	.528	.638
0 (no problem)	65.3%	162	49.4%	87
1 (some concern/slight problem)	29.0%	72	40.3%	71
2 (present/definite concern)	5.6%	14	10.2%	18
Rape attitudes (STABLE-2000)					.531	.475	.587
0 (no problem)	76.6%	190	69.9%	123
1 (some concern/slight problem)	20.6%	51	28.4%	50
2 (present/definite concern)	2.8%	7	1.7%	3
Cooperation with supervision					.536	.480	.593
0 (no problem)	73.4%	182	67.6%	119
1 (some concern/slight problem)	20.6%	51	19.3%	34
2 (present/definite concern)	6.0%	15	13.1%	23
Breach of conditional release (Static-2002R)					.499	.434	.564
No	67.0%	126	67.2%	86
Yes	33.0%	62	32.8%	42
Sexual deviance model
Total number of victims (all ages; M and SD)	1.95 (1.57)	248	2.48 (2.40)	176	.550	.494	.606
Number of child victims (under 14; M and SD)	1.46 (0.86)	248	2.00 (1.69)	176	.571*	.515	.628
Number of unrelated child victims (M and SD)	0.68 (0.83)	248	1.14 (1.41)	176	.586*	.530	.641
Any unrelated child victims					.560*	.505	.615
No	48.4%	120	36.4%	64
Yes	51.6%	128	63.6%	112
Any stranger victims					.490	.434	.546
No	82.7%	205	84.7%	149
Yes	17.3%	43	15.3%	27
Any male victims					.569*	.513	.625
No	85.9%	213	72.2%	127
Yes	14.1%	35	27.8%	49
Prior sex offences (Static-99R)					.566*	.510	.622
0 (none)	73.8%	183	60.8%	107
1 (1-2 charges or 1 conviction)	14.5%	36	21.0%	37
2 (3-5 charges or 2-3 convictions)	8.5%	21	13.1%	23
3 (6+ charges or 4+ convictions)	3.2%	8	5.1%	9
Prior sex sentencing occasions (Static-2002R)					.598*	.533	.663
0 (none)	80.3%	151	61.7%	79
1 (1 sentencing occasion)	17.0%	32	28.1%	36
2 (2-3 sentencing occasions)	2.7%	5	7.8%	10
3 (4+ occasions)	0.0%	0	2.3%	3
Juvenile arrest for sex offence (Static-2002R)					.517	.452	.582
No	99.5%	187	96.1%	123
Yes	0.5%	1	3.9%	5
High rate of sexual offending (Static-2002R)					.547	.481	.612
No	96.8%	182	87.5%	112
Yes	3.2%	6	12.5%	16
Noncontact sex offences					.521	.465	.577
No	91.1%	226	86.9%	153
Yes	8.9%	22	13.1%	23
Two or more victims below 12 years, one unrelated (Static-2002R)					.607*	.542	.671
No	86.2%	162	64.8%	83
Yes	13.8%	26	35.2%	45
Sex preoccupation/sex drive					.624*	.570	.678
0 (no problem)	61.7%	153	39.2%	69
1 (some concern/slight problem)	30.2%	75	42.0%	74
2 (present/definite concern)	8.1%	20	18.8%	33
Sex as coping					.625*	.571	.680
0 (no problem)	72.2%	179	47.7%	84
1 (some concern/slight problem)	17.7%	44	31.3%	55
2 (present/definite concern)	10.1%	25	21.0%	37
Deviant sexual interest (STABLE-2007)					.578*	.522	.633
0 (no problem)	7.7%	19	7.4%	13
1 (some concern/slight problem)	57.3%	142	40.9%	72
2 (present/definite concern)	35.1%	87	51.7%	91
Deviant sexual interest (STABLE-2000)					.682*	.630	.734
0 (no problem)	63.3%	157	30.1%	53
1 (some concern/slight problem)	24.2%	60	37.5%	66
2 (present/definite concern)	12.5%	31	32.4%	57
Child molester attitudes (STABLE-2000)					.719*	.669	.770
0 (no problem)	69.0%	171	27.8%	49
1 (some concern/slight problem)	27.8%	69	55.7%	98
2 (present/definite concern)	3.2%	8	16.5%	29
SSPI	1.64 (1.14)	225	2.29 (1.51)	164	.615*	.558	.672
SSPI Apx.	1.62 (1.16)	248	2.23 (1.51)	176	.609*	.554	.664
Psychological immaturity model
Age at release (M and SD)	41.18 (14.04)	248	41.03 (14.68)	176	.493	.436	.549
Developmentally delayed					.525	.468	.582
No	95.1%	231	90.1%	154
Yes	4.9%	12	9.9%	17
History of mental illness					.473	.417	.529
No	86.4%	209	91.9%	158
Yes	13.6%	33	8.1%	14
Poor cognitive problem solving					.595*	.539	.650
0 (no problem)	46.0%	114	33.5%	59
1 (some concern/slight problem)	41.1%	102	38.6%	68
2 (present/definite concern)	12.9%	32	27.8%	49
Social rejection/loneliness					.614*	.560	.669
0 (no problem)	41.1%	102	25.6%	45
1 (some concern/slight problem)	43.5%	108	42.6%	75
2 (present/definite concern)	15.3%	38	31.8%	56
Impulsive acts					.586*	.530	.642
0 (no problem)	65.3%	162	52.8%	93
1 (some concern/slight problem)	27.8%	69	24.4%	43
2 (present/definite concern)	6.9%	17	22.7%	40

Note. The offence characteristic variables were primarily obtained from Static-99R and Static-2002R. The dynamic risk factor variables were obtained from STABLE-2000 and STABLE-2007. The version of the scale from which the variable was obtained is only noted if the variable is unique to only one version of the relevant scale. SSPI Apx. is an approximated SSPI score that was computed by substituting missing data on one SSPI item (any victims 11 years old or younger; n = 35) with a score of 0. AUC = area under the receiver operating characteristic curve; CI = confidence interval; LL = lower limit; UL = upper limit; SSPI = Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests.

p < .05.

Models of Emotional Congruence With Children

Blockage

There was partial support for the blockage model of emotional congruence with children. Sexual offenders against children high in emotional congruence with children were significantly more likely to have problems with loneliness and social rejection (social rejection/loneliness AUC = .614), but were equally as likely to have problematic significant adult social influences (significant social influences AUC = .553) relative to offenders low in emotional congruence with children (although this finding approached significance, p = .062). Sexual offenders against children high in emotional congruence with children were also more likely to lack stable intimate relationships with adult women on the relationship status item of the Static-99R (ever lived with a lover for at least 2 years AUC = .578), on the lovers/intimate partners item of the STABLE-2000 (lovers/intimate partners AUC = .559), and on the capacity for relationship stability item of STABLE-2007 (capacity for relationship stability AUC = .604). As well, sexual offenders against children high in emotional congruence with children were significantly more likely to express hostility toward women (hostility toward women AUC = .595), but not more distorted cognitions about rape (rape attitudes AUC = .531). Offenders high in emotional congruence with children were equally as likely to have problems cooperating with supervision (cooperation with supervision AUC = .536) and have breaches of conditional release (breach of conditional release AUC = .499) as offenders low in emotional congruence with children. Furthermore, sexual offenders against children high in emotional congruence with children showed high (not low) sexual deviance (discussed further below), contrary to the blockage model. Also contrary to this model, high emotional congruence was associated with high (not low) lifestyle impulsivity (impulsive acts AUC = .586).

Sexual deviance

The sexual deviance model received the most support in this sample. In terms of victim characteristics, sexual offenders against children high in emotional congruence with children did not have more victims overall compared with offfenders low in emotional congruence with children (total number of victims AUC = .550). They did, however, have more child victims (number of child victims AUC = .571), reflecting potentially greater sexual interest in children. Sexual offenders against children high in emotional congruence with children were significantly more likely to have unrelated child victims, measured both continuously (number of unrelated child victims AUC = .586) and dichotomously (any unrelated child victims AUC = .560), and to have at least one male victim (any male victims AUC = .569), but they were not significantly more likely to have a stranger victim (any stranger victims AUC = .490). As well, offenders high in emotional congruence with children were significantly more likely to have two or more victims under the age of 12 years, where at least one victim was unrelated (two or more victims below 12 years, one unrelated AUC = .607). High emotional congruence with children offenders also scored significantly higher on the SSPI (AUC = .615).

In terms of sexual offence history, sexual offenders against children high in emotional congruence with children had significantly more prior sexual sentencing occasions as measured by Static-2002R (prior sentencing occasions AUC = .598) and by Static-99R (prior sex offence AUC = .566). However, they were equally as likely to have a juvenile arrest for a sexual offence (juvenile arrest for sex offence AUC = .517), a high rate of sexual offending (high rate of sexual offending AUC = .547), and a noncontact sexual offence (noncontact sex offence AUC = .521) as sexual offenders against children low in emotional congruence with children.

In general, offenders high in emotional congruence with children were more likely to have psychological indicators of deviant sexuality. Namely, those high in emotional congruence with children were significantly more likely to have problems with sexual preoccupation and sex drive (sex preoccupation/sex drive AUC = .624), using sex as a coping mechanism (sex as coping AUC = .625), and display deviant sexual interests (deviant sexual interest AUC_STABLE-2007 = .578; deviant sexual interest AUC_STABLE-2000 = .682). Furthermore, sexual offenders against children high in emotional congruence with children endorsed significantly more distorted cognitions about sex with children (child molester attitudes AUC = .719) as measured by STABLE-2000. Note that the effect sizes for the latter two risk factors were among the largest obtained in the present study, suggesting emotional congruence with children is most strongly associated with deviant sexual interest and beliefs associated with child sexual abuse.

Psychological immaturity

Of the three models, psychological immaturity received the least support. Namely, sexual offenders against children high in emotional congruence with children were not more likely to be younger (age at release AUC = .493), developmentally delayed (developmentally delayed AUC = .525), or have a history of mental illness (history of mental illness AUC = .473) than sexual offenders against children low in emotional congruence with children. Offenders high in emotional congruence with children were significantly more likely to have poor cognitive problem-solving skills (poor cognitive problem solving AUC = .595), more impulsivity (noted above), and more social rejection and loneliness (noted above) than sexual offenders against children low in emotional congruence with children.

Discussion

All three conceptual models of emotional congruence with children received some empirical support, although the sexual deviance model was the most strongly supported; these results are consistent with McPhail et al. (2014). Furthermore, these results are generally consistent with the research on sexual offender typologies. As noted above, empirical clusters of sexual offenders with high levels of emotional congruence with children are also associated with problems with sexual deviancy, emotional loneliness, and/or problematic beliefs about sexual offending against children (Beech, 1998; Mandeville-Norden & Beech, 2009; Seto & Fernandez, 2011).

Of note, however, there are some inconsistencies between our current and previous studies. In the present study, offenders high in emotional congruence with children were significantly more likely to have poor cognitive problem solving, hostility toward women, negative emotionality, more victims, have an unrelated victim, have a male victim, have a lack of concern for others, and to be more impulsive. The same pattern of results for these correlates was not found in McPhail et al. (2014). Namely, offenders high and low in emotional congruence with children were equally as likely to have problems on all of these correlates, except for impulsivity, which was found to be lower in offenders high in emotional congruence with children. Although there are differences in the results, some variation is expected due to the relatively small sample sizes and the different composition of these samples (e.g., sample with 100% federally sentenced offenders vs. 5% federally sentenced offenders).

These results support an empirical link between emotional congruence with children and pedophilic interests. The nature of this association, however, remains unknown. One explanation is that emotional congruence with children is a general symptom of a pedophilic orientation. In other words, emotional congruence with children follows the same developmental course as sexual interest in children and, as a result, has the same basic correlates. Consistent with this interpretation, it is possible that emotional congruence with children is akin to courtship displays designed to attract members of the group one is sexually attracted to (Miller, 1998). In addition, emotional congruence with children may not be distinct from pedophilia. This interpretation of the results is consistent with recent scholarship on pedophilia being a sexual orientation (Seto, 2012) and potentially a taxon (Schmidt, Mokros, & Banse, 2013). In other words, pedophilic orientation may not be a continuous dimension but instead may represent a distinct subgroup of individuals, of which emotional congruence with children is a diagnostic feature.

There is, however, some evidence that emotional congruence with children is distinct from pedophilic interests. The meta-analysis by McPhail et al. (2013) found that incest offenders evidenced, on average, lower levels of emotional congruence with children than did individuals who have never committed a sexual offence against a child. This pattern might not be expected if emotional congruence with children and pedophilia were parts of the same construct. Although the rates of pedophilia in incest offenders is comparatively low, rates are still higher in incest offenders than the general male population (e.g., Blanchard et al., 2006); consequently, if pedophilia and emotional congruence with children were part of the same construct, incest offenders would be expected to have higher rates of emotional congruence with children than men in the general population. Past research on nondeviant sexual orientation provides some precedent for this finding in that social/emotional preferences form a distinct factor from, yet are correlated with, sexual interests (Weinrich et al., 1993).

It is also possible that emotional congruence with children contributes to sexual interest in children, particularly when combined with poorly controlled sexual impulses. For sexually preoccupied individuals, sex is all encompassing, overvalued, and is engaged in to both define and medicate oneself (Hanson & Harris, 2001; Mann et al., 2010) and sexualized coping is used to manage negative and stress-related emotions (Cortoni & Marshall, 2001; Mann et al., 2010). Sexualizing the emotional connection with a child may be the difference between nonoffending populations and sexual offenders against children (see Ward et al., 1995). As a result of poor sexual self-regulation, it is possible that individuals high in emotional congruence with children misattribute the emotional connection they feel for children as sexual desire (Howells, 1994) and, consequently, are at risk of pursuing sexual contact with a child.

Implications and Future Research

The results of the present study and the results from McPhail et al. (2014) suggest that sexual offenders against children with higher levels of emotional congruence with children are more likely to also have deviant sexual interests and poor sexual self-regulation, as well as have higher levels of social loneliness and more endorse cognitions supportive of sexual offending against children. These findings could have important implications for treatment, as they suggest offenders with higher levels of emotional congruence with children likely experience problems with certain other psychologically meaningful risk factors. The co-occurrence of these risk factors likely increases their risk of sexual recidivism, and importantly, treatment may need to jointly target these risk factors to be more effective. Future research should continue to explore the relationship between emotional congruence with children and these risk factors for sexual offending against children. In particular, the relationship between emotional congruence with children and pedophilic sexual interests should be further explored.

Another promising avenue for research is the relationship between higher levels of emotional congruence with children and childhood attachment problems. Childhood attachment problems have been cited to be involved in the development of, and engagement in, behaviour consistent with emotional congruence with children and may account, at least partially, for the development of this behaviour (Marshall & Marshall, 2010; Ward et al., 1995). Understanding the relationship between emotional congruence with children and attachment may lead to a better understanding of the origins of this risk factor.

As noted above, past research has also found that extrafamilial and incest offenders tend to differ in their levels of emotional congruence with children (McPhail et al., 2013). Specifically, extrafamilial offenders evidence more emotional congruence with children than incest offenders. This could be the result of extrafamilial offenders being, on average, more pedophilic than incest offenders. However, as discussed above, it is likely that emotional congruence with children and pedophilia are distinct constructs. Future research examining emotional congruence with children should use larger samples of sexual offenders against children to tease out possible differences between incest and extrafamilial offenders.

Limitations

From the research conducted to date, we cannot determine the direction of the relationship between emotional congruence with children and the other correlates we have examined. To address this, future research should explore the relationships between emotional congruence with children and the associated risk factors noted above using longitudinal and experimental research designs.

Furthermore, in the present research, we examined a large number of bivariate associations. This is problematic because as the number of significance tests increase, so does the chance of making a Type I error (i.e., a false positive result). As a result of the number of associations examined, we can expect approximately two false positive findings. Although this is problematic, we did examine AUCs that, in addition to testing the significance of an association, provide information about the size of the relationships. Thus, focusing on both the size and significance of the bivariate relationships helps ensure that only meaningful results are interpreted.

This study is also limited in that emotional congruence with children was only measured using the Emotional Identification With Children item of STABLE-2007. Although there is some empirical support to suggest this item is valid, relatively little is known about the meaning of these scores. Specifically, there is no standard against which to judge the degree of emotional congruence for this item. The STABLE-2000/2007 scoring manual states that a score of “2” represents a definite problem worthy of professional attention, and a score of “1” represents “maybe” or “some” problem. It is not possible, however, to determine how much emotional congruence with children is being evidenced by an individual based on these scores, just that they are evidencing levels considered to be problematic or potentially problematic by the evaluator. Thus, it would be important for future research to explore the relationships between emotional congruence with children and the risk factors noted above using additional measures of emotional congruence with children.

In the present study, 42% of the sample was classified as having scores of 1 or 2, which was a greater proportion than found by McPhail et al. (2014; 25%). This pattern is opposite to what we expected because McPhail et al. examined a higher risk group of sexual offenders (i.e., those receiving longer custodial sentences). It is difficult to tell, however, the extent to which this difference is real. Even though the rater reliability was acceptable within both studies, it is possible that different thresholds apply in different settings. In other words, raters in different settings may differ on the level of a risk factor that they consider problematic. Future studies should use multiple measures of emotional congruence with children (professional ratings, self-report questionnaires, behavioural history, and peer ratings) to better understand how we should represent and quantify this clinical construct.

Conclusion

In this article, we tested three conceptual models through which emotional congruence with children may contribute to sexual offending against children: blockage, sexual deviancy, and immaturity. Similar to McPhail et al. (2014), we found some support for all three of the proposed models; however, we found the most support for the sexual deviancy model. In particular, both studies found consistent associations between emotional congruence with children and deviant sexual interest, sexual preoccupation, and distorted cognitions about adult–child sex. This empirical association between emotional congruence with children and sexual deviancy is not obvious, and was only first clearly articulated in McPhail et al.’s (2014) recent study. Now that this association has been replicated, it should be considered in future theoretical developments concerning the origins and persistence of sexual offending against children.

Footnotes

Authors’ Note

The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services or Public Safety Canada.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Notes

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