The use of theories about the etiology of incest as guidelines for legal and therapeutic interventions

Abstract

During the past few years there has been a dramatic increase in concern about child sexual abuse. Those in the mental health, social work, medical, and education professions have developed programs for preventing child sexual abuse and for treating victims, families, and perpetrators. Legal professionals have become increasingly involved with sexual abuse investigations and prosecutions and have joined other professionals in implementing or advocating procedural changes intended to make courtroom experiences less traumatic for some child witnesses. Researchers in the fields of psychology, sociology, social work, and medicine have generated hypotheses and provided empirical evidence about the incidence of child sexual abuse and about the consequences to victims and their families.

Social Skills and Human Relationships: Training for Sex Offenders

“…These defects may result from inadequate opportunities to observe, display and receive reinforcement for socially useful behaviours. This view reflects Haugaard's (1988) individualised explanation.…”

Treating Sexual Offenders Who Deny Their Guilt: A Pilot Study

“…During the past decade, the increasing awareness and concern about sexual violence have led to increased efforts to understand offenders and to provide effective treatment techniques (Darke, 1990;Haugaard, 1988;Marshall, Laws, & Barbaree, 1990;McGrath, 1991;Murphy, 1990). Criminal justice agencies have reacted to the increase in reports of sexual offending by expanding their resources to apprehend, prosecute and punish sexual offenders (Earls, 1983;Henderson & Kalichman, 1990;Levin & Stava, 1987).…”