Offense-related interpretative bias in female child molesters: a preliminary study.
Although female child molesters are hypothesized to hold offense-supportive cognitions that facilitate their sexual offenses, there have been no implicit social-cognitive studies used to investigate this. Using an implicit memory recognition paradigm, it is shown that female child molesters--relative to female offender controls--are more likely to interpret ambiguous information about males in a threatening manner. These results suggest that female child molesters hold a series of beliefs about men's dangerousness and power. The authors discuss these results and explore the possibility that these beliefs about male dangerousness are related to a risk of abusing children.
Psychology Department, Keynes College, University of Kent, Kent, UK. t.a.gannon@kent.ac.uk
Theresa A
TA
Gannon
Mariamne R
MR
Rose
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D003417:Criminal Psychology / Q000379:methods; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires