Cognitive distortions in child sex offenders : an overview theory, research, and practice

A great deal of clinical and research attention has been paid to understanding and explaining child sex offenders’ social cognition. Cognitive distortions have been implicated as a core feature of child sex offenders’ offense supportive cognition. The primary aim of this paper is to critically evaluate the phenomenon of cognitive distortions as currently understood with respect to child sex offenders: it reviews the theoretical and research literature and highlights the implications for clinical practice.