PARENTAL BONDING, ADULT ROMANTIC ATTACHMENT, FEAR OF INTIMACY, AND COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS AMONG CHILD MOLESTERS Eric Wood, MS Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2007 APPROVED: Shelley Riggs, Major Professor James Quinn, Committee Member Kimberly Kelly, Committee Member Richard Rogers, Committee Member Linda Marshall, Chair of the Department of Psychology Sandra L. Terrell, Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies Wood, Eric. Parental bonding, adult romantic attachment, fear of intimacy, and cognitive distortions among child molesters. Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology), August 2007, 127 pp., 18 figures, 9 tables, references, 231 titles. Path models assessed different models of influential order for parental bonding; adult romantic attachment; views of self, world/others, and the future; the fear of intimacy; and cognitive distortions among child molesters and non-offending controls. Child molesters receiving sex offender treatment reported more problematic parental bonding; insecure adult romantic attachment; negative views of self, world/others, and the future; a greater fear of intimacy, and more cognitive distortions regarding adult-child sex. The predicted path models were not established as the models did not adequately fit the data. However, post hoc logistic regressions indicated that Maternal Optimal Bonding, Preoccupied attachment, and cognitive distortions regarding adult-child sex significantly predicted child molester status. Overall, the findings provide support for a multi-factorial model of child molestation derived from attachment theory. Limitations of the study and areas for future research are also discussed. Copyright 2007 by Eric Wood ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... vi Chapter I. LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................................................1 Attachment Theory Internal Working Models Parent Child Attachment Continuity of Attachment Organization Adult Attachment Adult Romantic Attachment and Intimacy Adult Attachment, Abuse, and Psychopathology Sex Offenders Parental Bonding among Sex Offenders Sex Offender and Adult Attachment Sex Offender and Intimacy Cognitive Distortions among Sex Offenders Present Study Hypotheses and Data Analysis II. METHOD ..............................................................................................................41 Participants Child Molesters Controls Measures Procedure III. RESULTS ..............................................................................................................50 Preliminary Analyses Parental Bonding Adult Attachment iii Fear of Intimacy Child Trauma Negative Perceptions Cognitive Distortions Path Analyses Post Hoc Analyses IV. DISCUSSION........................................................................................................64 Differences between Child Molesters and Non-Offending Controls Parental Bonding Adult Attachment Fear of Intimacy Childhood Trauma Negative Perceptions Cognitive Distortions Path Analysis Post Hoc Analyses Limitations of the Present Study Areas for Future Research Conclusion REFERENCE LIST .....................................................................................................................111 iv LIST OF TABLES Page 1. Demographic Information of Participants .......................................................................102 2. Characteristics of Child Molesters...................................................................................103 3. Means, Standard Deviations, and Statistical Results for ECR, FIS, CMS, CTQ, and CTI subscales ..........................................................................................................................104 4. Correlations Among Subscales of PBI ,CTI, ECR, FIS, and CMS for Whole Sample...105 5. Correlations Among Subscales of PBI ,CTI, ECR, FIS, and CMS for Child Molesters.106 6. Correlations Among Subscales of PBI ,CTI, ECR, FIS, and CMS for Controls.............107 7. Chi-square Analyses for Parental Bonding and Adult Attachment .................................108 8. Results of Logistic Regression Model for Continuous Variables....................................109 9. Results of Logistic Regression Model for Categorical Variables....................................110 v LIST OF FIGURES Page 1. Path coefficients of Model 1 among sample showing maternal care leading to views of self, others, and the world; than to adult romantic attachment, fear of intimacy, and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex................................................................84 2. Path coefficients of Model 2 among sample showing maternal care adult romantic attachment; than to views about the self, others, and the world, fear of intimacy and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex................................................................85 3. Path coefficients of Model 3 among sample showing maternal care leading to views about the self, others, and the world; and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex, adult romantic attachment, and fear of intimacy ...............................................................86 4. Path coefficients of Model 1 among sample showing paternal care leading to views of self, others, and the world; than to adult romantic attachment, fear of intimacy, and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex................................................................87 5. Path coefficients of Model 2 among sample showing paternal care adult romantic attachment; than to views about the self, others, and the world, fear of intimacy and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex................................................................88 6. Path coefficients of Model 3 among sample showing paternal care leading to views about the self, others, and the world; and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex, adult romantic attachment, and fear of intimacy ........................................................................89 7. Path coefficients of Model 1 among child molesters showing maternal care leading to views of self, others, and the world; than to adult romantic attachment, fear of intimacy, and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex .........................................................90 8. Path coefficients of Model 2 among child molester showing maternal care adult romantic attachment; than to views about the self, others, and the world, fear of intimacy and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex................................................................91 9. Path coefficients of Model 3 among child molesters showing maternal care leading to views about the self, others, and the world; and cognitions distortions regarding adult- child sex, adult romantic attachment, and fear of intimacy ...............................................92 10. Path coefficients of Model 1 among child molesters showing paternal care leading to views of self, others, and the world; than to adult romantic attachment, fear of intimacy, and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex .........................................................93 11. Path coefficients of Model 2 among child molesters showing paternal care adult romantic attachment; than to views about the self, others, and the world, fear of intimacy and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex................................................................94 vi 12. Path coefficients of Model 3 among child molesters showing paternal care leading to views about the self, others, and the world; and cognitions distortions regarding adult- child sex, adult romantic attachment, and fear of intimacy ...............................................95 13. Path coefficients of Model 1 among non-offending controls showing maternal care leading to views of self, others, and the world; than to adult romantic attachment, fear of intimacy, and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex .........................................96 14. Path coefficients of Model 2 among non-offending controls showing maternal care adult romantic attachment; than to views about the self, others, and the world, fear of intimacy and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex .........................................................97 15. Path coefficients of Model 3 among non-offending controls showing maternal care leading to views about the self, others, and the world; and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex, adult romantic attachment, and fear of intimacy .....................98 16. Path coefficients of Model 1 among non-offending controls showing paternal care leading to views of self, others, and the world; than to adult romantic attachment, fear of intimacy, and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex .........................................99 17. Path coefficients of Model 2 among non-offending controls showing paternal care adult romantic attachment; than to views about the self, others, and the world, fear of intimacy and cognitions distortions regarding adult-child sex .......................................................100 18. Path coefficients of Model 3 among