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Description: This study examined the cognitive distortions concerning sexual offending behaviour and social self-esteem of four groups of men (child molesters, rapists, violent offenders, and a control group of university students) using the Bumby RAPE and MOLEST Scales, the Social Self-Esteem Inventory, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. The Bumby RAPE Scale did not discriminate convincingly between the groups, although the Bumby MOLEST scale did find less disagreement with cognitive distortions among child molesters compared to rapists and violent offenders, but not less than university students. Social self-esteem scores varied between groups with the child molesters showing the lowest self-esteem scores. Furthermore, offenders with high self-esteem selected more pro-social responses than did offenders with low self-esteem.
Suggested Citation:
Pervan, S., & Hunter, M. (2007). Cognitive distortions and social self-esteem in sexual offenders [Electronic Version]. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice,
3(1), 75-91.
Keywords: sexual offending, violent offending, cognitive distortions, self-esteem
Date: May 16, 2007 | File Size: 122.13 Kb | Downloads: 2688