Sexual Offending Pathways

Background It was predicted that offenders with intellectual disabilities categorised according to Ward & Hudson’s (1998b) self-regulation theory as having an Approach goal, as compared to those with an Avoidant goal, would have higher levels of distorted cognitions, less victim empathy, and a history of more prolific offending. Offenders categorised as having a Passive strategy, as compared to those with an Active strategy, were hypothesised to have lower levels of general intellectual functioning, and more known offences and convictions. Method Using a cross sectional independent groups design, the offence pathways of thirty-four men with intellectual disabilities who were taking part in group cognitive-behavioural therapy were rated by therapists. Participants assigned to each pathway were then compared using measures of sexual knowledge, distorted cognitions, and victim empathy. Cronbach’s alpha for the measures used was found to be acceptable.