Ross M. Bartels

Assessment and Treatment of Distorted Schemas in Sexual Offenders

The aim of this review is to examine the literature related to the assessment and treatment of sex offenders’ distorted schemas. Where appropriate, the review draws upon current insights from the field of social cognition to aid in the critical evaluation of the findings. First, the review considers the various different methodologies for assessing distorted schemas, discussing their strengths and limitations. Second, the review examines the work related to the treatment of sex offenders’ schemas. Suggestions for future research, and the implications for clinical practice, are highlighted in the article.

Implicit theories and offender representativeness in judgments about sexual crime

Implicit theories structure the way people understand and respond to various human actions. Typically, people believe attributes are either fixed (entitists) or malleable (incrementalists). The present study aimed to examine (a) whether attitudes toward sexual offenders differ depending upon one’s implicit theory about human nature and sexual offenders, and (b) whether implicit theories are associated with judgments made about different types of child abusers. A sample of 252 community participants was recruited. Their attitudes, implicit theories, and political orientation were assessed via self-report. One of three vignettes describing an incidence of child sexual abuse was then presented. The cases were identical except the perpetrator was either an adult male, an adult female, or a male juvenile. Participants then made judgments about the offender’s deserved sentence and moral character. Entitists (across both domains) held more negative attitudes than incrementalists, although the magnitude of the difference was greatest when examining implicit theories about sexual offenders. Compared with those with an incremental theory of sexual offenders, entity theorists judged sexual offending to be more (a) indicative of the perpetrator’s moral character and (b) deserving of punishment. However, scores were greater toward the adult male relative to the adult female and juvenile. The findings suggest that implicit theories about sexual offenders are domain specific. They also indicate that judgments made by those with an entity theory (about sexual offenders) are affected by whether a case is representative of a stereotypical sexual offender. Implications of the findings are discussed, along with limitations and future research.

Reducing stigma and punitive attitudes toward pedophiles through narrative humanization

Stigmatization and societal punitiveness about pedophilia have a range of potential consequences, such as the social isolation of people with sexual interest in children, and the formation of policies that are not consistent with empirical research findings. Previous research has shown that people with pedophilic sexual interests use societal thinking to self-stigmatize, which in turn may actually serve to increase their risk of committing a sexual offense. In this study, we compared two attitudinal interventions (first-person narrative vs. expert opinion) using a student sample (N = 100). It was hypothesized that both interventions would lead to reductions in stigmatization and punitive attitudes about pedophiles on an explicit (self-report) level but that only the narrative intervention would lead to reductions of these constructs at the implicit level. Our findings supported both hypotheses. We further discuss the role of narrative humanization in this area and offer suggestions for further research based upon the theoretical and methodological implications of the findings.

The influence of implicit theories and offender characteristics on judgements of sexual offenders: a moderated mediation analysis

ABSTRACT The psychological factors underpinning responses to sexual offenders are beginning to receive increased empirical scrutiny. One such factor is offender representativeness, which refers to the extent to which a given offender example matches a stereotype of those who are typically labelled as “sexual offenders”. Using a sample of 252 community members, we examined the role of implicit theories about sexual offenders (ie whether sexual offending is seen as fixed or malleable) in mediating the relationship between affective responses to sexual offenders and policy outcome judgements. We found support for this mediating effect, although this was eliminated when participants were presented with a “non-representative” offender vignette. We argue that the relationship between affective responses and policy judgements is contingent on the activation of a sexual offender stereotype, and that this link can be disrupted via the increased presentation of non-stereotypical case examples. Implications for public debate and professional practice are discussed.

Assessing Sexual Interest in Children Using the Go/No-Go Association Test

The present study investigated whether a latency-based Go/No-Go Association Task (GNAT) could be used as an indirect measure of sexual interest in children. A sample of 29 individuals with a history of exclusive extrafamilial offenses against a child and 15 individuals with either a history of exclusive intrafamilial or mixed offenses (i.e., against both adults and children) were recruited from a treatment center in the United States. Also, a sample of 26 nonoffenders was recruited from a university in the United Kingdom. All participants completed the Sexual Fantasy-GNAT, a Control-GNAT, and two self-report measures of sexual fantasy. It was hypothesized that, relative to the two comparison groups, the extrafamilial group would respond faster on the block that paired “sexual fantasy” and “children.” Also, GNAT scores were expected to correlate with child-related sexual fantasies. Support was found for both hypotheses. Response-latency indices were also found to effectively distinguish the extrafamilial group, as well as those who self-reported using child-related sexual fantasies. The implications of these findings, along with the study’s limitations and suggestions for future research, are discussed.

Child sexual exploitation materials offenders: a review

The downloading and possession of Child Sexual Exploitation Materials (CSEM; also referred to as child pornography and indecent images of children) is a commonly convicted type of Internet sexual offenses. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on CSEM offenders. We first provide a summary of the key motivations of CSEM offenders, characteristics of CSEM offenders compared to contact sexual offenders against children, and important facilitative factors. We then review the factors related to recidivism among CSEM offenders. Finally, we describe current developments in the risk assessment, police case prioritization, and treatment approaches for CSEM offenders. Generally, CSEM offenders hold a sexual interest in children, are low on antisocial tendencies, and pose a low risk to reoffend (including contact sexual offending). Key facilitative factors for CSEM offending include access to children, offense-supportive cognitions, and sexual arousal. Factors indicative of antisocial tendencies (e.g., criminal history) are associated with an increased risk of reoffending. Lastly, we address atypical sexual interest, socio-affective dysfunctions, and strategies for maintaining an offense-free lifestyle as key treatment targets for CSEM offenders. Lower treatment dosage, however, should be considered given CSEM-exclusive offenders’ lower risk level for contact sexual offenses. We hope that this review will inspire others to explore the current research gaps in future studies.

Using video stimuli to examine judgments of non-offending and offending pedophiles: a brief communication

ABSTRACT In this experimental study, 89 participants were allocated to an offending pedophile, nonoffending pedophile, or control video condition. They then watched two short help-seeking video clips of an older male and a younger male (counterbalanced). Judgments about each male were assessed, as were general attitudes toward pedophiles and sexual offenders. Offending pedophiles were judged as more deserving of punishment than the nonoffending pedophiles and controls. Age of the male was found to have an effect on judgments of dangerousness. Existing attitudes toward pedophiles and sexual offenders did not statistically differ. Limitations and future research ideas are discussed.

The Influence of Fantasy Proneness, Dissociation, and Vividness of Mental Imagery on Male’s Aggressive Sexual Fantasies:

Many researchers have studied the prevalence and content of men’s aggressive sexual fantasies, including their link with rape-supportive cognition. However, little to no research has examined the link between imaginal ability and the use of such fantasies. Based on existing research and theory, we propose that men who hold hostile beliefs toward women will use aggressive sexual fantasies more often if they possess a greater ability to engage in a “rich fantasy life.” Operationally, we argue this involves (a) a proneness to fantasize in general, (b) an ability to vividly envision mental imagery, and (c) frequent experiences of dissociation. To test this, the present study hypothesized that a latent variable termed “rich fantasy life,” via “hostile beliefs about women,” influences the use of “aggressive sexual fantasies.” A sample of 159 community males was recruited. Each participant completed a measure of fantasy proneness, dissociation, and vividness of mental imagery, along with two measures that assess hostile beliefs about women. Assessing how often the participants fantasized about rape-related and sadistic themes provided a measure of aggressive sexual fantasies. Structural equation modeling (along with bootstrapping procedures) indicated that the data had a very good fit with the hypothesized model. The results offer an important contribution to our understanding of aggressive sexual fantasies, which may have implications for clinical assessment and treatment. The limitations of the study are discussed, along with suggestions for future research.