A Descriptive Model of the Offense Chain for Child Molesters

Abstract

A grounded theory approach was taken to the qualitative analysis of the descriptions of thoughts and feelings provided by 26 incarcerated child molesters while describing their most recent or typical offense. The resulting descriptive model comprised nine stages, with three contributing factors that describe the sequence of cognitive and behavioral events that form an offense chain. The model incorporates offender type, offense type, and offers a description of the possible interactions between the various stages and factors. The model was then applied to the offense descriptions of an independent sample of 12 incarcerated child molesters in order to ascertain its cross-sample validity and the reliability of classification. The results suggest that the model has provisional validity and adequate interrater reliability. The theoretical, research, and clinical implications of the descriptive model are then discussed.