1. INTRODUCTION

Cognitive distortions of individuals serving sentences for sexual crimes against children and adolescents have been investigated in the field of psychology (^{Ferrão, 2016}; ^{Cepeda, & Ruiz, 2016}; ^{Reis, & Cavalcante, 2019}; ^{Steel, Newman, O’Rourke, & Quayle, 2020}). According to ^{Beck and Freeman (1993)}, cognitive distortions are ways of organizing the mind, in the sense of convincing the individual of something (e.g. person, object, rule) that he believes to be true. These thoughts are inaccurate and are usually used to reinforce negative ideas and/or emotions. According to empirical evidence (^{Blout, 2012}; ^{Irle, 2012}; ^{Laner, & Scortegagna, 2021}), the presence of cognitive distortions in sexual victimizers of children and/or adolescents can facilitate, disinhibit and maintain several aggressive and antisocial behaviors.

^{Ward (2000)} states that there are two types of cognitive distortions in sexual offenders. The first allows you to observe the beliefs and desires, while the second is related to mechanisms of responsibility in relation to the processing of information (such as denial and minimization). ^{Ward, Hudson, Marshall and Siegert (1995)} exemplify, in their study, different cognitive distortions often found in sexual victimizers of children and/or adolescents, such as: “children often incite sexual activity and know what they want”; “children enjoy sexual contact with adults”; “sex is good for children”; “the needs of men are more important than the needs of children” and “men can do whatever they want with their children”.

The study by ^{Cepeda and Ruiz (2016)} revealed that the main cognitive distortions present in the study with sexual victimizers of children consist in thinking that if a minor does not oppose an adult’s sexual advances, it means that they want to have sex; that children are usually flirtatious because they want to have sex with adults; and that most children would like to have sex with an adult, without this experience being detrimental to their future. Sexual victimizers of children see them as beings eager to have sex with adults, believe that their attitudes are provocative and consider that sexual contact with an adult will not cause them any harm in the future (^{Santos, & Mesquita, 2019}).

A study conducted in Rio Grande do Sul (^{Moura, & Koller, 2008}) investigated the perception that the men accused of sexually raping children and/or adolescents have about the child and how they conceive what should be an ideal relationship between children and adults. Five men who were accused of sexually victimizing children between 7 and 13 years of age at the time of the complaint participated in this study. Four of the participants were compulsorily referred by Justice and one of them spontaneously sought to be evaluated. As a result, the researchers found a stereotypical and politically correct view of these men in relation to children, especially those who still remained in judicial custody. The authors also considered that the beliefs of these individuals can be really distorted, but it is necessary to clarify that such beliefs are not related only to cognitions, because if there was a way to correct this cognition, the abuses would tend to disappear.

There may be emotional difficulties (such as reduced empathy processes) related to the maintenance of such cognitive distortions (^{López, & Ríos, 2014}; ^{Morrow, 2020}). The study by ^{Nascimento (2017)} points out that cognitive distortions related to the practice of sexual victimization occur more frequently in extrafamily victims than in intrafamily victims. According to the author, individuals who promote abusive acts outside the family show a greater tendency to have beliefs that facilitate the abusive act.

^{Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994)} categorize cognitive distortions of sexual victimizers of children into three types: 1) attempting to justify abusive behavior; 2) aiming to minimize and ignore abusive behavior; 3) seeking to attribute blame to the victim. Some authors (^{Carvalho, 2011}; ^{Santos, & Mesquita, 2019}) explain that the thoughts, perceptions, beliefs and ideas created by these individuals function as obstacles for them to take responsi- bility for their actions. Studies suggest that perpetrators of child sexual abuse have many cognitive distortions, involving rationalization, justification and minimization (^{Carvalho, 2011}; ^{Reis, & Cavalcanti, 2018}; ^{Reis, & Cavalcante, 2019}).

Regarding the rooted beliefs that facilitate the commission of sexual violence, ^{Ciardha and Gannon (2011)} indicate that they constitute risk factors in intrafamily child sexual abuse. ^{Pereira, Maciel, Dias, Alexandre, Oliveira, & Pimentel (2019)} point out that these are beliefs/attitudes that violate the norms (implicit or explicit) shared and accepted by a group of individuals or community and that show to be related to the maintenance of the offense. In the study by ^{Wakeling, Webster, Moulden and Marshall (2007)}, in which subjects who sexually victimized daughters and stepchildren were interviewed, most had cognitive distortions that facilitated abusive action. Cognitive distortions are considered as an extremely relevant factor in the etiology and maintenance of sexual behavior disorders.

Some authors (^{Ward, & Keenan, 1999}; ^{Ward, & Siegert, 2002}) suggest that cognitive distortions are a direct consequence of the underlying schemas (or implicit theories) and that these would direct the processing of social information for the selection and integration of congruent information with schemas, favoring the rejection of information that questions their validity. The underlying schemas are usually developed in childhood and guide how sexual victimizers of children and/or adolescents interpret the behavior of individuals, children in general and also their victims.

Regarding the schemas, ^{Young (1990)} conceives the concept of early maladaptive schemas (EMSs), explaining that these are characterized by broad and generalized patterns, developed in early childhood or adolescence, as representations of the environment. They are related to the person themselves or with other people and are made up of memories, emotions, cognitions and bodily sensations. EMSs result from unrequited emotional needs in childhood or adolescence and can be dysfunctional according to their activation (^{Young, Klosko, & Weishaar, 2003}). The classification of domains and their schemas are shown in Table 1.

Regarding early maladaptive schemes and sexual victimization of children and adolescents, ^{Carvalho and Nobre (2013)} compared a group of rapists, another group of sexual abusers of children and a group of non-offenders. The results identified that participants convicted of child sexual violence presented more schemas of the disconnection/rejection domain, impaired autonomy and performance, and also more schemas in the overvigilance and inhibition domain than non-offenders. As for rapists, they present more schemas of the domain of impaired autonomy/performance than non-offenders. The differences also revealed that child sexual abusers showed greater activation in the negativity/pessimism schema than rapists. The results of this study suggest that the early maladaptive schemas are associated with aggressive sexual behavior, thus emphasizing the evidence that the approach focused on the schemas by ^{Young (1990)} may be relevant to understand the phenomenon of sexual violence against children and/or adolescents.

The study by ^{Carvalho (2011)} aimed to investigate predisposing factors for sexual assault in a sample of 32 convicts of rape and 31 convicts of sexual abuse of children. According to the study, individuals convicted of sexual abuse of children presented more schemas related to the themes of mistrust/ abuse, vulnerability to harm and schemas in the domain of impaired autonomy and performance.

The fact that that some victimizers have suffered trauma and sexual violence in childhood can also be considered a factor often related to the process of sexual victimization of children and/or adolescents (^{Costa, Cavalcante, & Reis, 2018}; ^{Silva, 2018}; ^{D’Urso, Petruccelli, Constantino, Zappulla, & Pace, 2019}), which would even justify the development of early maladaptive schemas. ^{Reichenheim, Souza, Moraes, Jorge, Silva and Minayo (2012)} draw attention to the fact that the emergence of sexual violence can occur both by socio-en- vironmental factors, and by cultural variables associated with the victimizer’s family of origin. Situations such as experiencing sexual victimization and absence of an environment of care and affection can cause the constitution of a sexual offender (^{Nascimento, 2017}). Abusive experiences and unstable relationships in childhood disorganize the security in attachment relation- ships, resulting in maladaptive models of beliefs, generating unsafe bonds throughout life (^{Young, Klosko, & Weishaar, 2003}; ^{Pressi, & Falcke, 2016}), and contributing to the establishment of psychopathological frameworks (^{Waikamp, & Serralta, 2018}).

In the researches conducted by ^{Carvalho and Nobre (2013)} and ^{Dennison and Leclerc (2011)}, the main risk factors for the constitution of sexual abusers of children and adolescents were those that refer to the existence of an unstable family structure, such as parental substance abuse, parental crime, adolescent mothers, marital discord, family violence, parental neglect and abuse, lack of parental supervision and control, severe or inconsistent discipline, and lack of parental support or involvement. These findings corrob- orate the research of ^{Dennison and Leclerc (2011)} and ^{Santos and Mesquita (2019)}, which pointed out that family aspects such as deficient parental practices, parental instability and loss of parents may be risk factors for committing sexual assault.

The damage from early experiences can impact on many aspects of life, including the assessment that individuals have of themselves. In this sense, low self-esteem (^{Becerra-García, 2013}), depression and feelings of maladaptation and vulnerability (^{Lã-branca, 2012}) are common in sexual aggressors of children and/or adolescents.

Self-esteem constitutes an evaluative aspect of self-concept and composes a set of thoughts and feelings concerning oneself. Therefore, it approaches a positive (self-approval) or negative (depreciation) direction of oneself, characterizing the representation of feelings of self-worth (^{Kernis, 2005}). It tends stabilize over time and in different contexts in adult life, positively correlating to life satisfaction (^{Diener, & Diener, 1995}). The study by ^{Scortegagna and Amparo (2013)} investigated personality characteristics of sexual offenders of children and/or adolescents and concluded the indication of low self-esteem, as well as deficits in the participants’ self-image.

In the same direction, self-efficacy, defined as a judgment that individuals make about their own abilities to perform something efficiently (^{Bandura, 1994}), interferes with how they will face the challenges that present themselves in a more or less adaptive way, since having the belief of being able predisposes to the expectation of success (^{Pajares, & Olaz, 2008}). Self-efficacy beliefs, in this sense, influence personal choices, dedicated effort to fulfilling tasks, how frustrations and failures are endured, as well as resistance to adversities (^{Sousa, & Bardagi, 2013}), being important in deter- mining the adaptive personal trajectory or, on the other hand, in perpetuating cognitive distortions.

^{Pollock (1996)} points out that committing sexual abuse could lead to a low self-efficacy perception, increasing the likelihood of further offenses. The author found that a subscale of a specific self-efficacy test (related to appreciation and expectations of rewards for dealing with high-risk situations), along with the speed of producing a coping response in a high-risk situation, provided 89 % of discrimination between sexual victimizers who relapsed and those who did not.

Based on these assumptions, the objective of this study was to analyze cognitive distortions and verify associations with experiences in the family of origin, early maladaptive schemas, self-esteem and self-efficacy of individuals who are in closed prison regime, convicted for the crime of rape of those who cannot consent (art.2017-A, CP), against children and/or adolescents. In addition, we sought to identify the predictive variables of cognitive distortions of victims, considering the other variables studied (experiences in the family of origin, early maladaptive schemas, self-esteem and self-efficacy).

2. METHOD

3. RESULTS

The evaluation of cognitive distortions in sexual victimizers is a complex task, considering that there is the possibility of manipulation of information (^{Moura, & Koller, 2008}). In this study, the data presented in Table 2 were obtained:

It is noteworthy that the information regarding cognitive distortions suggests that, in most items, participants answered what would be considered socially appropriate. However, it is clear that the higher levels of the participants’ compliance occurred in relation to the issues targeted at the sexuality of children and adolescents, and what the consequences of sexual contacts with adults are for the future of the child, such as, for example, the items that suggested: “If children have sex with an adult, this prevents them from being afraid of sex in the future” and “Sexual relations between a child and an adult do not cause emotional problems for the child”; “Sexual relations between a minor and an adult will not cause emotional problems to the minor”, in which the distribution of the answers was divided in a more balanced way. Table 3 shows the correlations obtained between the measurement of cognitive distortion and the other variables analyzed.

It is observed in the table that the level of cognitive distortion in the sex victimizers correlated significantly and positively with the experience in the family of origin of paternal substance abuse (r=0,417; p=0,034), as well as the defectiveness schema (r=0,405; p=0,013), vulnerability to harm (r=0,416; p=0,008), and grandiosity (r=0,339; p=0,040).

In the evaluation of the predictive power of independent variables on cognitive distortion levels, it was found, through multiple regression analysis (stepwise method), that a single variable (vulnerability to harm schema) was shown to be predictive of cognitive distortions. The model was significant (Z= 11.010; p = 0,029) and provided an explained coefficient of variance (R2) of 0,734, which determines that the selected independent variable explained 73,4 % of the cognitive distortions presented.

4. DISCUSSION

This study aimed to analyze cognitive distortions and verify associations with experiences in the family of origin, early maladaptive schemas, self-esteem and self-efficacy of individuals who are serving sentence for the crime of sexual abuse against children and/or adolescents. It was found that, in the assessment of cognitive distortions, there may have been a kind of answer by social desirability, as previously observed in another study (^{Moura, & Koller, 2008}), considering that the participants have already been questioned numerous times and serve sentence for the crime, they would have more clarity of what is considered socially right or wrong. Even so, it is noteworthy that the answers show a more balanced distribution in the levels of agreement when the beliefs involve the sexual manifestations of children and the consequences of the sexual interaction with adults in the future of the children. Another fact that may have motivated lower levels of cognitive distortions was the fact that the scale used the term “child”. When answering the questionnaire, many victims questioned whether the questions referred to young children and answered considering this age group. In this sense, it can be inferred that if the scale addressed older children or adolescents, the level of cognitive distortion would be higher.

The level of cognitive distortion of sexual victimizers correlated significantly and positively with the experience of paternal substance abuse in the family of origin. The experience of living with a parent who abuses chemical substances can have consequences for the development of an individual (^{Marafiga, & Falcke, 2020}). ^{Pressi and Falcke (2016)} and also ^{Young, Klosko and Weishaar (2003)} point out that unstable relationships in the childhood tend to disorganize the security in attachment relationships, which can result in maladaptive models of beliefs, producing insecure attachments throughout the life of the individuals. A parent with abusive behavior can make the individual predisposed to develop cognitive distortions directed to the relationship with other people, especially in relation to the lack of social skills and of emotional self-regulation. These distortions lead to erroneous ideas in interpersonal relations, making it difficult to establish future relations. The lack of social skills and emotional self-regulation favors that the romantic relationships of these individuals result in rejection, leading to a decrease in self-esteem and thus developing negative feelings and emotions (^{Ward, Polaschek, & Beech, 2006}).

From these experiences in the family of origin, with unmet child needs, the early maladaptive schemas emerge (^{Young, Klosko, & Weishaar, 2003}). The cognitive distortions correlated with the patterns of defectiveness, grandiosity and vulnerability to harm. The defectiveness schema refers to the feeling of inferiority or failure, in which the individual feels that he is not wanted and does not deserve the love of others. This schema makes up the domain of distancing and rejection, which encompasses individuals who are characterized by the inability to create stable bonds with others, with a perception that their individual needs for security, protection, stability, love and respect will not be met. It can be assumed that, in these individuals, the personal difficulty of creating bonds projects on children the greatest potential for acceptance and recognition, given that, according to the literature (^{Finkelhor, 1984}; ^{Howitt, 2009}; ^{Chudzik, & Réveillère, 2013}; ^{Scortegagna, & Amparo, 2013}; ^{Zilki, Aguiar, Perissinotto, & Resende, 2020}), a large portion of the sexual victimizers of children are immature, emotional, and assume that these individuals have emotional needs that are met in the context of their relationships with the children.

In relation to the grandiosity schema, this is related to the feeling that the individual is unique, grandiose, superior to other people. The individual feels that he has special rights or that he has no obligation to comply with social rules. There is a superiority that is not covered by the rules, nor by respect for others. There is no tolerance for not having what they want and they present an exaggerated focus on superiority to achieve control. There is an exacerbated need to impose their presence and their point of view, leading to a lack of empathy (^{Moura, & Koller, 2008}). This schema is linked to the domain of impaired limits, which is characterized by insufficient internal barriers, lack of discipline and respect for others, being associated with disinhibition in relation to social norms, in this case, referring to sexual relations with children and/or adolescents, generating difficulty in controlling their sexual attraction for them (^{Howitt, 2009}). The power discrepancy is what most adequately characterizes this complex relationship between the victimizing adult and the child and/or adolescent, sexually victimized, since the aggressor is in a more advanced psychosexual stage of development than the victim who, in turn, has no conditions for the self-determination and consent related to sexual interactions with adults (^{Habigzang, Koller, Azevedo, & Machado, 2005}). This data indicates the difficulty of the victimizing individual in considering childhood as a stage of development, and the child as a subject deserving of respect and consideration (^{Azevedo, & Guerra, 2011}).

Another fact to be emphasized is that the vulnerability to harm schema was positively associated with cognitive distortions, and was also presented as the only variable with predictive power for the occurrence of cognitive distortions. This schema is about the exaggerated fear of suffering a physical or mental damage, with which the individual does not feel prepared to cope. This schema is linked to the domain of impaired autonomy and performance, which includes individuals who present an obstacle when finding themselves as autonomous and independent of their families of origin. Relating to this data, the study by ^{Carvalho and Nobre (2013)} found a higher number of schemas related to the domain of impaired autonomy and performance in sexual offenders of children and adolescents than in the group of non-of- fenders. The vulnerability to harm schema may be directly related to the experiences in the family of origin of these individuals, since many reported the occurrence of substance abuse by the father, in addition to experiences of victimization, both physical, sexual and psychological, common in families with substance abuse (^{Reichenheim et al., 2011}; ^{Carvalho, & Nobre, 2013}; ^{Ferreira, 2020}; ^{Fonseca, Setubal, & Costa, 2019}). In addition, ^{Finkelhor (1984)}, as well as ^{Howitt (2009)}, discuss the emotional fragility of the victimizer related to immaturity, need for domination/control, narcissism and the stage of development of the child and/or adolescent, which ultimately justifies the childish emotional needs of the victimizers, which are provided in relations with children and/or adolescents. This data is linked to the vulnerability to harm schema presented in this study and also to the findings of ^{Carvalho (2011)}, especially when related to the need for mastery/control, since a child and/or adolescent, theoretically, due to their stage of psychological development, would not present substantial threat in the interaction.

Finally, it should be emphasized that the sample composed in this study is of individuals who are in prison. Considering that EMSs develop in childhood, when individuals enter the prison, they can have new experiences and there is the possibility of activation of these schemas, giving rise to the mechanism of dysfunctional coping (^{Ferrão, 2016}; ^{Reis, 2016}). The dysfunctional content of schemas arises in circumstances later in life. When EMSs are activated, one experiences a childhood situation taken by the invasion of emotions and bodily sensations. Thus, a reaction of dysfunctional coping follows to adapt the individual to the schema, so that it is possible to deal with the intense emotions that the schema activates. These dysfunctional coping strategies correspond to overcompensation, avoidance and resignation. By overcompensating, the individual fights against the schema, behaving and relating as if the opposite of the schema were true (e.g. if he himself was the victim of sexual abuse in childhood, he will abuse others). Schema avoidance as a coping strategy is understood as a way to prevent the schema from being activated. The individual seeks to avoid situations that activate the schema (e.g., avoiding intimate relationships). By succumbing to a schema, the individual does not try to avoid it, he accepts it as true. In this case, they feel the emotional suffering of the schema and act in such a way as to confirm it (^{Young, Klosko, & Weishaar, 2003}).

5. CONCLUSION

The findings of this study reveal an association between cognitive distortions of sexual victimizers and experiences in the family of origin (paternal substance abuse), as well as with early maladaptive schemas (defectiveness, grandiosity and vulnerability to harm), being the vulnerability to harm schema predictive of the occurrence of cognitive distortions. Based on these results, the Therapy Focused on Schema for sexual victimizers of children is suggested as a therapeutic possibility, since the treatment aims at the conscious control of the schemas, in order to weaken the emotions, memories, cognitions and behaviors associated with them, such as sexual abuse. This intervention encompasses cognitive, experiential, behavioral and interpersonal strategies in order to modify the mechanisms of dysfunctional coping. Furthermore, in addition to working with an intervention proposal, this study also reveals important information about the prevention of crimes that involve sexual violence against children and adolescents, especially by revealing the associated variables (experiences in the family of origin, self-efficacy and self-esteem). If these variables are well managed, they become significant early prevention tools.

The limitations of this study include the use of the cognitive distortions questionnaire, since it presents affirmations not considered as proper cognitive distortions (ex0,13. An adult can know whether having sex with a child will hurt the child in the future; 27. An adult can know if the amount of sex between him and a child will hurt the child later), generating a need for further explanations, including at the time of application for the sample. For future studies, it is recommended to use a version of the scale with the sentences referring to young people, as well as the development of other means of assessment and measurement, combined with qualitative methods, such as told stories, reconstruction of the events, which will allow the individual to express their feelings, emotions, and thoughts that were developed before the event which resulted in the offence, and, as well, in regards to the interpretation of the behaviors and the feelings directed to the victim(s).