SEXUAL FANTASIES OF CHILD MOLESTERS

A structured interview was used to collect data concerning the mood pr eceding and accompanying sexual fantasies, and the way in which the ot her person in the fantasy was perceived by 21 child molesters, 19 rapi sts, and 19 non-sexual offenders, all incarcerated in federal prisons. For the child molesters, fantasies about both children and adults wer e examined. It was found that child molesters did not differ from the other groups in terms of their perceptions of adults in their fantasie s, and the adult fantasy was perceived more positively than the child fantasy. Child molesters were more likely to fantasize about children when in a negative emotional state than when in a positive mood, and t hese fantasies were likely to produce a negative mood state. It is sug gested that child molesters may fantasize about a child as an inapprop riate way of coping with dysphoric moods, thus enhancing that dysphori a and leading to further inappropriate fantasies. These results sugges t that sexual fantasy monitoring should become an important component in the treatment of child molesters.