Abstract
Cognitive distortions (CDs) are a crucial element in the etiology of child sexual offending, with most of the intervention programs targeting them to reduce the risk of sexual recidivism in perpetrators of child sexual abuse (CSA). Researchers have developed the Hanson Sex Attitude Questionnaire (HSAQ) to assess CDs. With a total sample of 256 participants, the Portuguese version of the HSAQ revealed a two-factor structure. The HSAQ subscales demonstrated good to acceptable psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency, as well as discriminant validity. One of the subscales also demonstrated convergent validity. Additionally, the two subscales exhibited differences between perpetrators of CSA with and without previous interventions, indicating known-groups validity. Overall, our findings partially support the use of the HSAQ in the forensic Portuguese population, underscoring its significance for clinical and research purposes. Nevertheless, particular caution is advised, especially regarding factor two.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 811-822 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 24 Apr 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Funding
The study was conducted at the Psychology Research Center [PSI/01662], School of Psychology, University of Minho. Marta Sousa was funded by a Doctoral research grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, grant number [2020.06634.BD].
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | 2020.06634 |
Keywords
- Cognitive distortions
- assessment
- child sexual offending
- exploratory factor analysis
