Self Perceptions and Cognitions of Child Sexual Exploitation Material Offenders

• Published date: 01 August 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211062161
• Author: Chad M. S. Steel,Emily Newman,Suzanne O’Rourke,Ethel Quayle
• Date: 01 August 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211062161

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2023, Vol. 67(10-11) 1017 –1036

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X211062161

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Article

Self Perceptions and

Cognitions of Child Sexual

Exploitation Material

Offenders

Chad M. S. Steel1,2 , Emily Newman1,

Suzanne O’Rourke1,

and Ethel Quayle1

Abstract

Identifying the self-perceptions of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM)

consumers compared to a reference population of non-consumers is critical in

establishing distorted cognitions that may not be elucidated when comparison is made

with groups who have committed other offenses. This exploratory work utilizes a

quantitative approach toward identifying how individuals previously convicted of child

pornography offenses view CSEM and CSEM offending, using a group of non-offenders

as a baseline. The target group was selected based on their inclusion in two sex

offender registries for child pornography offenses (n = 78). A reference group of non-

offenders (n = 254) was gender-matched from a subset of a prior study evaluating the

public perceptions of CSEM. Both groups were adults located within the United States

and were asked questions using an online survey about their general perceptions of

CSEM, their endorsement of CSEM beliefs, and their opinions related to the legality

of various forms of CSEM and associated laws and sentencing guidelines. The study

found that CSEM consumers more accurately assessed risks associated with CSEM

offending, but that they exhibited potential minimization-based cognitive distortions

related to severity and victimization and more strongly endorsed child erotica and

virtual child pornography being legal. Additionally, they endorsed treatment over

prison, and were strongly opposed to sex offender registration for child pornography

offenses. The results provide potential treatment targets, including behavioral areas

that may be pathways to CSEM offending.

1University of Edinburgh, UK

2George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Chad M. S. Steel, George Mason University, MS 2B5, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA.

Email: c.m.s.steel@sms.ed.ac.uk

1062161IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X211062161International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologySteel et al.

research-article2021

1018 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 67(10-11)

Keywords

child pornography, self-perceptions, sex offender registration, child sexual exploitation

material, cognitive distortions, child sexual abuse material

Introduction

The psychological treatment of individuals who have committed child sexual exploita-

tion material (CSEM) offenses is an area of current research interest. Cognitive-

behavioral approaches based on the cognitions of individuals who committed contact

sexual offenses have been traditionally used (Ly et al., 2018) in the treatment of indi-

viduals who consume CSEM. As research has evolved, differences in cognitions began

to emerge between those who committed contact and CSEM offenses (Bartels &

Merdian, 2016; Howitt & Sheldon, 2007; Khanna, 2013; Merdian et al., 2014). CSEM-

specific cognitions related to offense behavior were identified and have been put forth

as distorted and offense-supportive (e.g., Howitt & Sheldon, 2007; Merdian et al.,

2014; Paquette et al., 2020; Soldino et al., 2020). To effectively treat individuals who

have committed CSEM-only offenses, understanding these differences is critical. For

the purposes of this study, the term child pornography was used in multiple locations.

While controversial in other contexts, its usage is in this paper is consistent with the

Luxembourg guidelines (Terminology and Semantics Interagency Working Group on

Sexual Exploitation of Children, 2016) as several of the endorsement statements were

asked of lay individuals and related to the specific legal definition and specific crimi-

nal offenses within the United States. Where a broader reference is made (e.g., when

talking about “virtual” sexualized images of children) or the more general concept is

discussed, the more inclusive term of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) was

employed.

Internet-only CSEM consumers were found to have low overall endorsement of

traditional cognitive distortions exhibited by those who committed contact offenses

(Steel et al., 2020) and fewer deficits in areas such as victim empathy (Elliott et al.,

2009). Additionally, qualitative studies have identified Internet-specific distortions

such as Virtual is Not Real, in which the online content is perceived as being divorced

from reality, and the Internet is Uncontrollable, which identifies the Internet itself as

criminogenic and facilitative of sexual offenses (Paquette et al., 2020). Newer assess-

ment instruments such as the Cognitions of Internet Sexual Offending (C-ISO) scale

(Paquette & Cortoni, 2020a) were designed to address these differences and focus on

the specific cognitions most relevant to CSEM offending.

While there have been significant advances in the instruments available to measure

CSEM consumer cognitions, most of the work still baselines “normal” cognitions

against a population of individuals who committed child contact offenses (e.g.,

Babchishin et al., 2015; Merdian et al., 2014). These were in-turn baselined primarily

against individuals who committed adult sexual offenses (e.g., Stermac & Segal,

1989), with very few studies offering comparison to non-offending reference groups

(e.g., Mann et al., 2007). Each of these reference points have merit for comparison but