Problems of Forensic Sciences 2017 Vol. 111 (CXI) 61-78
THE EFFECTS OF DISTURBANCES IN EMOTION REGULATION AMONG SEXUAL OFFENDERS PERPETRATING SEXUAL CRIME AGAINST CHILDREN
Maria BEISERT, Olga WĘGLERSKA
Institute of Psychology at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland
Streszczenie
According to the ITSO model (Ward, Beech, 2006), emotional problems, especially those related to an inability to control impulses, are one of the factors influencing the perpetration of child sexual abuse. According to research, the ability to control impulses depends on an individual’s temperament, personality traits and their ability to deal with stress. The aim of this study is to determine whether the influence of these factors and their interrelationship affect the level of physical, emotional and sexual abuse a child is subjected to by the perpetrator of the sexual abuse of this child. The study involved 202 perpetrators of sexual violence against children. The TCI questionnaire was used to measure the temperament and personality characteristics of the perpetrators, and the CISS questionnaire to examine their preferred style of coping with stress. The data from the offenders’ files were analysed to determine the characteristics of the act they performed. Using correlation and regression analysis, it was found that core features of the perpetrator’s temperament (cognitive curiosity and impulsiveness) and personality (resourcefulness) have a significant impact on the characteristics of the perpetrator’s act. The results of this study serve as important pointers for the development of further research in this area. Such research is essential for the development of therapeutic methods suited to perpetrators of sexual violence against children.
Słowa kluczowe
Sexual offenders; Emotion regulation; Aetiology of sexual crime.