NCJ Number
156346
Journal
Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1995) Pages: 113-127
Date Published
1995
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Fifty-five outpatient rapists and child molesters attending the Kingston Sexual Behavior Clinic in Ontario, Canada were compared with a socioeconomically similar group of nonoffenders and with a group of university students on measures of social functioning and with respect to their judgments about actors displaying underassertive, overassertive, and appropriately assertive behavior.
Abstract
Results revealed that the child molesters did not differ from the matched community group; both groups reported social anxiety, underassertiveness, and low self- esteem. These two groups also considered the unassertive actor to be the most appropriate of the three actors. In contrast, the rapists thought that the overassertive actor was the most appropriate; they also appeared more confident, more assertive, and less anxious than the child molesters. The university students were more socially appropriate, more confident, and less anxious than the child molesters and made judgments about the actors that were consistent with prosocial expectations. Findings indicated that the model of social functioning that these sex offenders accepted differed from prosocial expectations; this and their actual functioning should be addressed in research and treatment. Tables and 22 references (Author abstract modified)