TY - JOUR
T1 - Are Child Abusers Sexually Attracted to Submissiveness?
T2 - Assessment of Sex-Related Cognition With the Implicit Association Test
AU - Kanters, Thijs
AU - Hornsveld, Ruud H J
AU - Nunes, Kevin L
AU - Huijding, Jorg
AU - Zwets, Almar J
AU - Snowden, Robert J
AU - Muris, Peter
AU - van Marle, Hjalmar J C
N1 - © The Author(s) 2014.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Child sexual abuse is associated with social anxiety, low self-esteem, and intimacy deficits. This, in combination with the core belief of a dangerous world, might suggest that child abusers are sexually attracted to submissiveness. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) was used to examine this hypothesis. Results indicated that child abusers have a stronger sexual preference for submissiveness than rapists, although there were no differences between child abusers and non-sexual offenders. Multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that submissive-sexy associations have incremental value over child-sex associations in differentiating child abusers from other offenders. The predictive value of both implicit associations was explored by correlating IAT scores with measures for recidivism risk, aggression, and interpersonal anxiety. Child abusers with stronger child-sex associations reported higher levels of interpersonal anxiety and hostility. More research on implicit cognition in sex offenders is required for a better understanding of what these and similar implicit measures are exactly measuring and what role implicit cognition may play in sexual offending.
AB - Child sexual abuse is associated with social anxiety, low self-esteem, and intimacy deficits. This, in combination with the core belief of a dangerous world, might suggest that child abusers are sexually attracted to submissiveness. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) was used to examine this hypothesis. Results indicated that child abusers have a stronger sexual preference for submissiveness than rapists, although there were no differences between child abusers and non-sexual offenders. Multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that submissive-sexy associations have incremental value over child-sex associations in differentiating child abusers from other offenders. The predictive value of both implicit associations was explored by correlating IAT scores with measures for recidivism risk, aggression, and interpersonal anxiety. Child abusers with stronger child-sex associations reported higher levels of interpersonal anxiety and hostility. More research on implicit cognition in sex offenders is required for a better understanding of what these and similar implicit measures are exactly measuring and what role implicit cognition may play in sexual offending.
U2 - 10.1177/1079063214544330
DO - 10.1177/1079063214544330
M3 - Article
C2 - 25079778
SN - 1079-0632
VL - 28
SP - 448
EP - 468
JO - Sexual Abuse-a Journal of Research and Treatment
JF - Sexual Abuse-a Journal of Research and Treatment
IS - 5
ER -