Sexual offenders’ parental and adult attachments and preferences for therapists’ interpersonal qualities

Abstract

This study explored sex offenders' parental and adult attachment difficulties and assessed the extent to which these were associated with preferences for therapists' interpersonal qualities.One-hundred and twelve adult male child sexual offenders were invited to provide self-report data on their attachment histories, adult attachments and preferences for therapists' interpersonal qualities. A weak relationship between childhood and adulthood secure attachment was found, suggesting that attachment at the time of offending may be more relevant than childhood attachment to the etiology of sexual offending. Participants valued a range of therapists' qualities previously identified as important for positive treatment change.Therapist trust and genuineness were perceived as particularly important by those with attachment difficulties, demonstrating the need for these qualities in offender programmes where attachment difficulties would be expected. There were some differences in the preferences for therapists' qualities between participants with different adult attachment types, highlighting the importance of responsivity factors in treatment.

Changes in the Risk of Sexual Reoffending: The Role and Relevance of Perceived Self-Efficacy and Adult Attachment Styles in Correctional Treatment

“…As previous research emphasizes, the attachment patterns can vary greatly depending on the reference person (Asendorpf, 2018;Caron et al, 2012). Additionally, the clients' attachment styles not only influence the relationship to the therapist but also to the other members of the therapeutic group (Jennings et al, 2021;McKillop et al, 2016;Rom & Mikulincer, 2003;Sonkin & Dutton, 2003). Nevertheless, it is still open to question whether or not the use of the ECR-R is appropriate to capture the relationship to the therapist and other members of the therapeutic group in forensic settings.…”

“…A meta-analysis involving three studies which compared attachment styles across different types of sexual offenses found that men convicted of child sexual abuse were more anxious in their attachment style, while men convicted of rape were more avoidant (Ogilvie et al, 2014). Therefore, adult attachment styles should be considered more with regard to group treatment programs, given that such groups often include members with various attachment styles, and therefore a range of potential attachment difficulties (Jennings et al, 2021; McKillop et al, 2016; Ogilvie et al, 2014).…”

Changing GEARS: Development and Validation of Gendered Emerging-Adult Rehabilitative Strengths Measures

“…To the author's knowledge, there is nothing in the theoretical literature that postulated this relationship directly. In the empirical literature, insecure childhood attachment has been linked to sexual offending in men (McKillop, 2016;Smallbone & Dadds, 1998), also characterized by parents' authoritarian monitoring of their (later sexually offending) boys with lack of warmth (McKillop, 2016). However, meta-analytic findings reveal that a lack of secure attachment to parents has been associated with offending in both boys and girls (Hoeve et al, 2012).…”