Esquemas precoces mal adaptativos e ajustamento emocional à prisão em agressores sexuais de menores

Abstract

In recent years, child sexual abuse has become a subject of scientific interest. With the literary development, there has been an extension of the study of this phenomenon in order to treat the aggressor and avoid recurrence. Several motivations were identified has precursors of these dysfunctional sexual behaviors, including the influence of early maladaptive schemas (EMS’s) as vulnerability factor for child sexual abuse. During the confinement period, there’s a specific therapy for these individuals, however it’s known that the emotional adaptation to the prison environment tend to influence how these individuals participate in the treatment. For this reason, this study aimed to assess the impact of EMS’s in the emotional adjustment to imprisonment in a sample of convicted child sex offenders (N = 43) aged between 22 and 58 years. Findings showed that a set of EMS’s were associated with this emotional adaptation, such schemas can provide a conceptual base aimed at assisting mental health management strategies implemented in imprisonment context. These schemas were largely associated with the Abandonment and Mistrust themes. Additionally, it was found that all schematic domains included schemas relating to the offender’s emotional management.

Date of Award	2016
Original language	Portuguese
Supervisor	JOANA PATRÍCIA PEREIRA CARVALHO (Supervisor)