NCJ Number
152823
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 21 Issue: 1/2 Dated: (1994) Pages: 73-88
Date Published
1994
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study examined child sexual abuser stereotypes by exploring the relationships among gender, gender role identity, emotional needs, and sexual needs in adult relationships of child sexual abusers and nonabusers.
Abstract
The sample consisted of 71 male and 58 female offenders and 38 male and 52 female nonoffenders. Masculinity and feminity were measured by the Partner Relationship Inventory. All respondents participated in face-to-face interviews conducted by professionally trained interviewers. Analysis of covariance results showed that patterns of relationship need fulfillment for child sexual abusers were not as stereotypical as traditional conceptualizations portrayed. Abusers had higher levels of emotional and sexual needs than nonabusers. Contrary to expectations, female abusers and nonabusers had higher levels of emotional and sexual needs than their male counterparts. Further, only masculinity, and not femininity, differentiated groups. Higher levels of masculinity were associated with lower rather than higher levels of emotional and sexual needs. Results suggest that professionals should look more carefully at beliefs and perceptions about men and women and child sexual abuse, many of which are based on unverified gender biases reported in the literature and accepted as unquestioned fact. The possibility that women have greater emotional and sexual needs than men has important implications for theories about lack of relationship fulfillment and child sexual abuse. 38 references and 3 tables