title: Psychological profiles of sexually abusive adolescents in Ireland.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to profile the psychological and psychosocial characteristics of a group of Irish adolescents who had sexually abused other youngsters.
  
  
  METHODS
  Levels of behavior problems, personal adjustment, anger management, and psychosocial adjustment were compared in 27 Irish adolescents with a history of sexually abusing another youngster (SA group), 20 clinical controls who had significant behavioral problems but no history of sexual offending (CC group), and 29 normal controls who were without significant psychological problems (NC group). Measures used included the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Youth Self-Report Form (YSR), selected scales from Beckett (1997) Adolescent Sex Offender Assessment Pack (ASOAP), and the Family Environment Scale (FES).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the CC group, the SA group displayed fewer problems overall on the CBCL and the YSR. The SA group showed problems with self-esteem, emotional loneliness, and perspective-taking similar to those of the CC group, but their impulsivity scores were similar to those of the NC group. The locus of control scores of the SA group fell between those of the CC and NC groups. The SA group showed an anger management profile that fell at an intermediate position between those of the NC and CC groups. The SA group showed problematic family functioning in the areas of expressiveness, behavior control, and social support, similar to those of the CC group. Their difficulties with family cohesion were less severe than those of the CC group but worse than those of the NC group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, the psychological adjustment of adolescents with a history of sexually abusing others was more problematic than that of normal controls but less problematic than that of youngsters who had significant behavioral problems but no history of sexual offending.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Mid Western Health Board, Limerick, Ireland.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Halloran
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: O'Reilly
authors.forename: Declan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sheerin
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cherry
authors.forename: Rhonda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Beckett
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000786:Anger; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004645:Empathy; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007494:Ireland; D008132:Loneliness; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012649:Self Concept; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires