Assessing the cognitions of child molesters: Use of the semantic differential with incarcerated offenders

Child molesters' construal of themselves, other adults, and children

“…There were a number of differences between the molester and nonmolester groups in the rating grid results (for the temporal reliabilities of the grids, see Horley, in press;Horley & Quinsey, 1994). Perhaps the most striking difference was in self descriptions: Child molesters described themselves as less sexually attractive (i.e., sexless, repulsive, or frigid) than nonmolesters described themselves (Table 1) and also described themselves as submissive, soft, and dirty.…”

“…Victim gender-a factor shown to be important in distinguishing subgroups of molesters in the past (Quinsey, 1986)-was used as a blocking variable to allow more detailed examination of the child molester group. Other factors, such as treatment, were examined but were not found to be related to the construct measures reported herein (see Horley & Quinsey, 1994).…”

Community-based treatment of sex offenders

“…In previous years, the evaluation of psychological impact of treatment upon the offender was measured using attitudinal scales, such as the Abel and Becker Cognitive Distortions Scale (Abel et al, 1984). There has been a great deal of criticism surrounding tests such as these, in that the ''desirable'' responses are obvious to the offender when offered a choice between this and a clearly socially unacceptable alternative (Horley & Quinsey, 1994). In addition, Swaffer, Hollin, Beech, Beckett, and Fisher (1999) found that offenders tended to score on the upper side of the scoring continuum (i.e., most strongly disagreeing with the undesirable item), suggesting a socially desirable style of response, i.e., not necessarily honest.…”

Distorted Attitudes and Perceptions, and Their Relationship With Self-Esteem and Coping in Child Molesters

“…In a series of studies, Horley ( 1988, 2000Horley & Quinsey, 1994Horley, Quinsey, & Jones, 1997) found somewhat equivocal results. His findings suggest that some child molesters hold inappropriate views of children and women, and this matches results reported earlier by Howells (1979).…”