[Study of empathy in a Spanish sex offender sample].
International research has emphasised that empathy is a relevant factor of sex offending. The main goal of this study is to explore, in a Spanish sex offender sample, the relationship between empathy deficits and sex crime for various types of victims. This study also analyses the positive effect that psychological treatment could have on empathy. For this purpose, 118 non-sex offenders were compared on an adapted version of Rape Empathy Measure to 39 treated rapists and 34 untreated rapists. Results show that the untreated rapists have lower empathy levels than non-sex offenders. Nevertheless, the treated rapists scored higher on empathy than the other two groups assessed, untreated rapists and non-sex offenders. Lastly, some suggestions are provided for future research in terms of the assessment of empathy and other factors related to sexual aggression.
Martínez García
Marian
M
Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. marianmartinez@ub.edu
Redondo Illescas
Santiago
S
Pérez Ramírez
Meritxell
M
García Forero
Carlos
C
D000328:Adult; D004645:Empathy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011902:Rape / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires