Experiences of parents attending a programme for Families of adolescent  CSA perpetrators in Ireland

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.