Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Publication
    Experiences of parents attending a programme for Families of adolescent  CSA perpetrators in Ireland
    (Taylor & Francis, 2002-03) ; ; ;
    The NIAP Parents’ Group Programme is a psycho-educational support group for parents of adolescents who have committed a sexual offence. In this qualitative study of 5 programme participants, their self-reported psychological adjustment, self-esteem and perceived social support improved over the course of treatment. From a thematic content analysis of responses to semistructured interviews conducted before and after the programme and midway through it a conceptual model of the processes parents’ experience in reaction to the disclosure of their sons’ sexual offence was developed. The model proposes relationships between parental shock, confusion, searching and questioning, disbelief or minimisation, acceptance, shame, selfblame, guilt, anger and sadness. The model my inform future research and clinical practice with parents of adolescent CSA perpetrators.
    Scopus© Citations 14  383
  • Publication
    Profiles of the parents of adolescent CSA perpetrators attending a voluntary outpatient treatment programme in Ireland
    A group of 22 parents of adolescent sexual offenders (PASO) was compared with a group of 19 normal controls (NC) and 10 clinical controls (CC) on demographic, developmental, personal adjustment and family environment variables. The assessment protocol included the General Health Questionnaire –12, the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory, the Child Behaviour Checklist, the Family Assessment Device, the Parent Satisfaction Scale, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Compared with clinical and normal controls, more parents in the PASO group reported that they had been arrested orcharged for a criminal offence; had personally experienced child abuse; and more of their adolescents had experienced child abuse, with emotional abuse being the most common form of abuse for both parents and adolescents. Compared with clinical and normal controls, more adolescents of parents in the PASO group had witnessed parental drug or alcohol abuse and had been placed in care outside their home. While parents in the PASO group did not differ from clinical or normal controls in terms of personal adjustment, their adolescents had significantly more internalizing behaviour problems than normal controls, whereas adolescents of parents in the clinical control group had significantly more externalizing behaviour problems than normal controls. Compared with normal controls, parents in both the PASO and clinical control groups reported more difficulties with general family functioning, roles, affective responsiveness, affective involvement and behaviour control and lower levels of parental satisfaction. But the groups did not differ significantly in their levels of perceived social support.
    Scopus© Citations 16  684
  • Publication
    Supporting parents of adolescent perpetrators of CSA
    (Edwin Mellen Press, 2004) ; ; ;
    The importance of parental involvement in the treatment of their adolescent CSA perpetrators cannot be underestimated. One of the defining differences between the fields of adult and adolescent sexual offending is the fact that adolescents are still in a formative stage of development. Parents can still exercise a major influence in re-engaging children back on a normative developmental pathway and reducing future risk to a minimum. It is also important to include parents of adolescent CSA perpetrators in treatment programmes because it is well documented in Irish and international studies that some have significant problems.
      415
  • Publication
    Profiles of parents of adolescent perpetrators of CSA
    (Edwin Mellen Press, 2004) ; ; ;
    The present study aimed to expand our knowledge about the profiles of families of adolescent CSA perpetrators by comparing a group of parents of adolescent sexual offenders (PASO); a clinical control group (CC) of parents of non-offending adolescents attending a child and adolescent mental health service; and a normal control group (NC) of parents of non-offending adolescents in the community on a range of demographic, developmental, personal adjustment and family environment variables.
      240