Denial, Response Styles, and Admittance of Offenses Among Child Molesters and Rapists

Nugent, Patricia; Kroner, Daryl G.

doi:10.1177/088626096011004002

Cited by 32 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Differences have also been reported on socially desirable responding according to offence type amongst sexual offenders. Nugent and Kroner (1996) found a child molester group had greater scores on impression management than rapists (but no differences were found for self-deceptive enhancement). Elevated impression management scores suggest that child molesters are more concerned with what others think about them than rapists are, perhaps due to having less concern about self-presentation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…This may in turn suggest that rapists are less embarrassed about admitting criminal charges. This normalizing of antisocial behaviour may negate their need to use impression management tactics (Nugent & Kroner, 1996). Kroner and Weekes (1996) examined socially desirable responding amongst a sample of sexual and non-sexual violent offenders.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing socially desirable responding and its impact on self-report measures among sexual offenders

Mathie

Wakeling

2011

Psychology, Crime & Law

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It is often assumed that offenders employ socially desirable responding when completing self-report questionnaires, thereby invalidating such measures. The aim of this study is to examine the extent that sexual offenders employ socially desirable responding and the impact that socially desirable responding, as measured by the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding-6 (BIDR: 6, Paulhus, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 598Á609, 1984), has on self-report measures. The sample comprised 1730 adult males, all convicted and serving a sentence for a sexual offence. The entire sample had completed a set of self-report measures used to identify treatment needs, and examine progress in treatment. The results indicate that the extent of socially desirable responding is smaller than assumed, and its impact on a number of self-report measures is lower than expected. Furthermore, lower levels of risk of sexual re-offending were significantly associated with higher scores on the impression management subscale. We suggest that impression management should be viewed as more of a trait-like tendency rather than a validity check, and the use of this scale in determining whether or not to interpret other self-report instruments should be questioned. The present study also indicates that self-report questionnaires used with forensic populations may be accurate and valid. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing socially desirable responding and its impact on self-report measures among sexual offenders

Mathie

Wakeling

2011

Psychology, Crime & Law

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“…Regarding the first point, individuals undergoing assessment in a forensic setting are sometimes reluctant to be forthcoming with information, especially when such information could have negative consequences for their evaluation. This type of limitation is consistently identified in forensic research [e.g., Nugent and Kroner, 1996]. Additionally, individuals were asked to recall information spanning much of their lifetime and problems with adequate retrieval of early events may have influenced the results.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pornography use and sexual aggression: the impact of frequency and type of pornography use on recidivism among sexual offenders

Kingston

Fedoroff

Firestone

et al. 2008

Aggressive Behavior

127

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In this study, we examined the unique contribution of pornography consumption to the longitudinal prediction of criminal recidivism in a sample of 341 child molesters. We specifically tested the hypothesis, based on predictions informed by the confluence model of sexual aggression that pornography will be a risk factor for recidivism only for those individuals classified as relatively high risk for re-offending. Pornography use (frequency and type) was assessed through self-report and recidivism was measured using data from a national database from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Indices of recidivism, which were assessed up to 15 years after release, included an overall criminal recidivism index, as well as subcategories focusing on violent (including sexual) recidivism and sexual recidivism alone. Results for both frequency and type of pornography use were generally consistent with our predictions. Most importantly, after controlling for general and specific risk factors for sexual aggression, pornography added significantly to the prediction of recidivism. Statistical interactions indicated that frequency of pornography use was primarily a risk factor for higher-risk offenders, when compared with lower-risk offenders, and that content of pornography (i.e., pornography containing deviant content) was a risk factor for all groups. The importance of conceptualizing particular risk factors (e.g., pornography), within the context of other individual characteristics is discussed.

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“…A limitation consistently identified in forensic research involves self-report and response bias (Nugent & Kroner, 1996). Both issues exist in the two main forms of categorization of pedophilia (interviews for DSM diagnosis, and phallometric assessment).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, phallometric testing allows for the assessment of deviant sexual preference, while attempting to overcome deliberate impression management, which may undermine self-report information in forensic populations (Nugent & Kroner, 1996). In an examination of the diagnostic utility of the phallometric test for pedophilia, Freund and Watson (1991) found adequate sensitivity, such that only 3.1% of the sexual offenders against adult victims demonstrated sexual preference to children, whereas 78.2% of the child molesters with female victims and 88.6% of the child molesters against male victims demonstrated deviant sexual arousal to children.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Utility of the Diagnosis of Pedophilia: A Comparison of Various Classification Procedures

et al. 2006

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This study examined the utility of the diagnosis of pedophilia in a sample of extra-familial child molesters assessed at a university teaching hospital between 1982 and 1992. Pedophilia was defined in one of four ways: (1) DSM diagnosis made by a psychiatrist; (2) deviant phallometric profile; (3) DSM diagnosis and a deviant phallometric profile; and, (4) high scores based on the Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interest (Seto & Lalumière, 2001). Demographic data, psychological tests, and offence history were obtained and group differences were analyzed along with the ability of certain variables to contribute uniquely to the classification of pedophilia. Results indicated that few significant differences existed on psychological measures between pedophilic and nonpedophilic extra-familial child molesters regardless of the classification system employed. Finally, results indicated that the procedures used to define pedophilia were not significantly related to one another. Results are discussed in terms of the utility of the diagnosis of pedophilia.

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Denial, Response Styles, and Admittance of Offenses Among Child Molesters and Rapists

Cited by 32 publications

References 22 publications

Assessing socially desirable responding and its impact on self-report measures among sexual offenders

Assessing socially desirable responding and its impact on self-report measures among sexual offenders

Pornography use and sexual aggression: the impact of frequency and type of pornography use on recidivism among sexual offenders

The Utility of the Diagnosis of Pedophilia: A Comparison of Various Classification Procedures

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