Cognitive processing has been implicated in sexual offending in a number of
recent theoretical and empirical papers. Clinicians have emphasized the ne
ed to challenge the cognitive distortions that are often exhibited by sexua
l offenders, and they have incorporated cognitive restructuring components
into treatment programs. However, until recently, the literature has lacked
an integrative theoretical approach to cognition in sexual offenders. In a
ddition, the use of generic classifications (i.e., rapist, child molester)
in both theoretical and empirical work has obscured understanding of the ro
le played by a number of etiological factors, including cognition. In this
paper, we present a multifaceted approach to cognition in rapists. We begin
with a brief overview of a conceptual framework of cognitive dimensions. N
ext, we consider the heterogeneity that characterizes rapists as a group an
d the problems this presents for research. We suggest that Knight and Prent
ky's typology may prove useful for dealing with these problems and, in the
final section, we provide our conceptualization of the potential distorted
cognitions for each of the subtypes within the typology. (C) 2001 Elsevier
Science Ltd. All rights reserved.