Author(s): Sousa, Marta ; Gouveia, Cláudia Patrícia França ; Cunha, Olga Cecília Soares ; Basto-Pereira, Miguel ; Gonçalves, Rui Abrunhosa ; Castro Rodrigues, Andreia
Date: 2024
Persistent ID: https://hdl.handle.net/1822/96854
Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
Subject(s): Cognitive distortions; Child sexual offending; Exploratory factor analysis; Assessment
Cognitive distortions (CDs) are a crucial element in the etiology of child sexual offending, with most of the intervention programs targeting them to reduce the risk of sexual recidivism in perpetrators of child sexual abuse (CSA). Researchers have developed the Hanson Sex Attitude Questionnaire (HSAQ) to assess CDs. With a total sample of 256 participants, the Portuguese version of the HSAQ revealed a twofactor structure. The HSAQ subscales demonstrated good to acceptable psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency, as well as discriminant validity. One of the subscales also demonstrated convergent validity. Additionally, the two subscales exhibited differences between perpetrators of CSA with and without previous interventions, indicating known-groups validity. Overall, our findings partially support the use of the HSAQ in the forensic Portuguese population, underscoring its significance for clinical and research purposes. Nevertheless, particular caution is advised, especially regarding factor two.
