Abstract
ABSTRACTThe prevalence of adverse childhood experiences is disproportionately high in samples of females who have sexually offended compared to females in the general population. Childhood adversity is associated with myriad negative psychosocial outcomes in adulthood; however, the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and psychosocial outcomes in adult females who have sexually offended has not been investigated, nor has the relationship between ACE and problematic sexual behaviour. Accordingly, the purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship between ACE and adult outcomes in the lives of female sexual offenders (N = 47). Significant positive correlations were found between ACE scores and alcohol and drug abuse, depression, suicidality, being arrested for a driving crime or a non-person, non-property crime, anxiety-related symptoms, and promiscuous and coercive sexual behaviours. As ACE scores increased, so did Odds ratios for the likelihood of a substance use problem, mental health problem, and being arrested for a nonsexual crime. Implications for trauma-informed and schema-focused therapeutic work with female clients who have sexually offended are discussed.
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