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Theory of mind (ToM) impairment is associated with poor social functioning in some psychological disorders (e.g., autism and schizophrenia). ToM deficits have also been linked with offending behavior in the theoretical literature. However, no review has examined the empirical evidence for such a link. We carried out a systematic review to provide a critical overview of studies involving ToM ability in offenders. We included studies published in English that used an instrument to measure at least one aspect of ToM. Twenty-eight eligible studies were identified and coded. Our findings reveal a generally mixed literature. Taking study quality into account, our findings suggest that offenders and nonoffenders do not differ in their first-order ToM. For second-order ToM, findings are mixed, even when only the highest quality studies are examined. Studies exploring advanced ToM showed mixed results overall, though the highest quality research appeared to indicate that offenders have impairments in advanced ToM which means that they may have difficulty understanding various mental states such as pretense, white lies, irony, double bluffs, and sarcasm. We suggest that well-controlled future studies, which also measure other facets of ToM (e.g., distinguishing between cognitive and affective ToM or examining ToM content), are needed to fully understand the role of ToM in offending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the feasibility of using crowdsourcing to recruit men who self-report sexual interest in children or sexually problematic behavior involving children. Crowdsourcing refers to the use of the internet to reach a large number of people to complete a specific task. A nonrepresentative sample of men (N = 997) participated in a brief self-report survey examining age of attraction, sexual interest in children, proclivity toward sexual offenses involving children, and history of sexual offending. Almost a quarter of the sample (23.1%) indicated some degree of sexual interest in children, propensity to sexually offend against children, and/or actual offending behavior. We present our data broken down by type of interest or behavior and examine the frequency of these outcomes. Findings are likely to be of value to those considering the viability of crowdsourcing to overcome the limitations or challenges of face-to-face research on stigmatizing interests and behaviors. Findings also contribute to estimating prevalence of self-reported sexual interest in children, and sexual offending behavior toward children, across different countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals who identify as pedophilic or hebephilic, and who do not offend, are increasingly visible in online discourse and as a focus of research. Developing knowledge about this population will offer insights into their psychological needs and, potentially, into the mechanisms and strategies individuals use to live offense-free lives. This study examined coping strategies among members of an online forum supporting pedohebephilic individuals who do not wish to offend. Forum users' posts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Eleven themes emerged, which were classifiable into three superordinate themes around (a) the acceptance of pedophilia, (b) strategies to stay safe, and (c) dealing with sexual arousal. These themes offer insight into the varying strategies used by these individuals to cope with stress and/or to remain offense-free. Understanding whether these strategies are adaptive or maladaptive may help develop better support services for those who have not offended and may inform prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ward and Keenan (1999, Child molesters' implicit theories. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14(8), 821–838. doi: 10.1177/088626099014008003) hypothesised that some individuals who sexually offend against children have belief systems through which they perceive the world as an inherently dangerous place – labelled a dangerous world implicit theory (DWIT). Individuals with a DWIT are hypothesised to either (1) believe it is necessary to punish women and/or children who are perceived as threatening, or (2) see children as more accepting than adults, and as capable of understanding and gratifying the individual's needs and desires. In two online studies (N = 113 and N = 123) we examined the possible overlap between the DWIT and four other constructs: hostile attribution bias, hostile sexism, emotional congruence with children, and a 'children as sexual beings' implicit theory. Results suggest that identifying with an individual holding DWIT overlaps considerably with some of the other constructs, but not with hostile attribution bias – a finding that ran counter to our hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adverse childhood experiences have been associated with negative outcomes in adulthood, including sexual offending. Using a cross-sectional design, we investigated whether self-reported adverse childhood experiences related to the perpetration of coercive sexual acts among 250 females recruited from the community. Furthermore, we examined whether sexualised coping mediated any potential relationship between childhood experiences and sexual coercion. A Spearman's rank order correlation revealed no relationship between adverse childhood experiences and sexual coercion. However, adverse childhood experiences were significantly correlated with sexualised coping, which in turn was correlated with sexual coercion. Additionally, there was a significant but small indirect effect of adverse childhood experiences on sexual coercion through sexualised coping. Findings may help researchers to better understand the causal relationship between childhood experiences, sexual coping, and sexual coercion in females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals who set deliberate fires are frequently encountered by clinicians working in forensic mental health services. However, little attention has been paid to developing standardised treatment for this behaviour, and few evaluations of treatment have been conducted in forensic mental health services. This study evaluates a new standardised group cognitive behavioural treatment programme for individuals residing in forensic psychiatric hospitals who have engaged in deliberate firesetting (The Firesetting Intervention Programme for Mentally Disordered Offenders; FIP‐MO). Sixty‐three male and female patients with a history of deliberate firesetting commenced FIP‐MO treatment. Patients who met the referral criteria for treatment but who resided at hospitals where FIP‐MO treatment was not available were recruited as a treatment as usual comparison group. The treatment group completed a battery of psychometric assessments pre‐ and post‐treatment, with the comparison group completing these at similar time points. Results showed that patients who completed the FIP‐MO made significant improvements post‐treatment, relative to the comparison group on fire‐related measures (e.g., problematic interest and associations with fire) and anger expression. Further, effect size calculations showed that the treatment group made larger pre‐post treatment shifts on the majority of outcome measures compared to the comparison group. These findings suggest that FIP‐MO treatment is effective for reducing some of the key factors associated with deliberate firesetting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated whether pupil size during the viewing of images of adults and children reflects the sexual orientation of heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual men (n = 100, Mage = 22). More specifically, we explored whether this measure corresponds with sexual age preferences for adults over children in nonpedophilic men. In general, results across three experiments, in which observers freely viewed or rated the sexual appeal of person images, suggest that pupil dilation to sexual stimuli is an indicator of sexual orientation toward adults. Heterosexual men's pupils dilated most strongly to adults of the other sex, homosexual men dilated most strongly to adults of the same sex, and bisexual men showed an intermediate pattern. Dilation to adults was substantially stronger than dilation to younger age groups. Sexual appeal ratings for images of adults and children also correlated with pupil responses, suggesting a direct link between pupil dilation and sexual interest. These findings provide support for pupil dilation as a measure of sex- and age-specific sexual preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]