This study investigated whether sexual offenders were measurably different from nonoffenders
on a battery of self-report questionnaires. The study was designed to test four aims: 1. To test the
validity of the self-report methodology. 2. To test the effectiveness of the treatment given to sex
offenders. 3. To test for differences between the offender's before and after their treatment with
the nonoffenders. 4. To test the differences of the psychological profiles between the offender
samples and the nonoffenders. The four aims were related to divergent positions held in the
literature on sexual offenders. One position in the literature views sex offenders as deviant. The
second position views sex offenders as normal men.
Thornton's (1992) battery of self-report questionnaires was given to three samples. A dependent
sample of offenders, (n=31 ), before and after their treatment and an independent sample of
nonoffenders, (n=l6).
The results were analysed using Kendall's tau-b for aim one. For aims 2 and 3, t-tests were
employed. For the profile analysis, aim 4, multivariate and univariate ANOV AS were employed.
The balance of the results favoured the deviancy position.
Differences were measurable between the three samples. The nonoffenders have significantly
different psychological profiles compared to the offender samples. The treatment received by the
offender's is shown to be effective for key attitudes and beliefs that should reduce the risk of
reoffending. The treatment does have some failings. The failings are in more indirectly related
attitudes and may be a result of design weaknesses. The findings show the need to understand
nonoffenders more in order to place offenders attitudes in a culturally normative context.
Date of Award | 1997 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | |
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ARE MALE SEXUAL OFFENDERS NORMAL MEN, OR CAN THEY BE VIEWED AS A DEVIANT SUB-GROUP OF MEN?
Price, E. (Author). 1997
Student thesis: PhD