Self-Esteem and Coping Strategies in Child Molesters

Abstract

This study assessed the social self-esteem and the coping styles of child molesters, nonsex offenders, and nonoffenders. Child molesters were found to have lower self-esteem than the other participants, and they more typically made use of emotion-focused (i.e., ineffective) coping strategies. A combination of low self-esteem and poor coping was found to predict being a child molester, although the causal pathway was somewhat obscure and appeared to involve a complex feedback loop. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and treatment implications.