RT Article
T1 “I’m Not a Child Molester, But a Victim Myself”: Examining Rationalizations Among Male Sex Offenders Who Report Histories of Childhood Sexual Abuse
JF International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology
VO 67
IS 12
SP 1254
OP 1271
A1 Steely Smith, Mollee
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1854127985
AB Persons convicted of sexual offenses (PCSOs) hold distorted attitudes and beliefs, or rationalizations that minimize the severity of their offending. Despite this, knowledge of rationalizations held by PCSOs remains limited, especially for offenders who report being sexually abused as children. The purpose of the study was to qualitatively assess post-conviction rationalizations of PCSOs who reported childhood sexual abuse (n = 40) and those who reported no sexual abuse (n = 40) focusing on account variations—a framework proposed by Scott & Lyman. Offenders were interviewed and assessed for risk and community notification purposes in 2014 in a southern state. The manner in which PCSOs use rationalizations to avert responsibility for their offenses provides insight into their motivations for offending, and therefore, can inform treatment initiatives for PCSOs with and without histories of sexual victimization. Results can help inform differentiated treatment for those with histories of sexual abuse and those without.
K1 Victimization
K1 Sex offending
K1 Sexual Abuse
K1 rationalizations
DO 10.1177/0306624X221102789