NCJ Number
187923
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 45 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2001 Pages: 171-182
Date Published
April 2001
Length
12 pages
Annotation
A study of 25 convicted male pedophiles, 22 men who had been nonoffending victims of sexual abuse before age 14, and a control group of 23 men from the general population used the Ways of Coping Questionnaire to examine the use of coping styles in these groups.
Abstract
The research took place in Australia. The study recruited the pedophiles from custodial and community-based treatment programs, the victims from two community-based treatment programs, and the control sample from distance-education university students. The members of the control group reported that they had not engaged in any sexual behavior with an adult prior to age 14. Results indicated significant differences. The pedophiles used positive coping strategies with the same frequency as the other two groups, but they also used significantly more negative coping strategies, including escape-avoidance, distancing, and confrontive coping. The victims used escape-avoidance more often than the controls did, but less frequently than the pedophiles. However, victims primarily used positive coping strategies to deal with their interpersonal problems. Findings supported the proposition that individuals use coping strategies that are congruent with their attachment styles. Findings also suggested that the combination of insecure attachments with negative coping strategies could lead to serious problems in developing a trusting relationship that could become a therapeutic alliance. Tables and 35 references (Author abstract modified)