Early maladaptive schemas in sex offenders versus the characteristics of offences against sexual freedom

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between early maladaptive schemas (EMS) and the characteristics of offences committed by sex crime convicts. The research uses data collected from 102 convicts. The Polish version of Young’s Schema Questionnaire (YSQ-S3-PL) was used to gauge the severity of EMS. The author’s self-made questionnaire used for making extracts from prison records, coupled with Beisert’s Violence Scale (2012), was employed to study the characteristics of the offences committed by the criminals under study. A correlation was found between the characteristics of the committed criminal acts (choice of victim, the CSO’s modus operandi, sexual violence involved) and the type and severity of each EMS. Relevant for CSOs in the context of their criminal acts are 4 domains out of 5 and 11 EMSs out of 18. The findings suggest that EMS contribute to criminal sexual behaviour. It may be important and useful to consider these structures when constructing models of preventive measures and planning therapeutic or proactive interventions. As a result, it would seem that convicted sexual offenders (CSO’s) require a customised approach including therapeutic models designed to address the specific maladaptive schema.