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.