Adverse childhood experiences among females who sexually abuse

Female perpetrated sexual abuse has historically been a neglected area of research. Encouragement for more dedicated research has followed the recognition that females who display this behaviour have often experienced adversities in their early life. The aim of this thesis is to further professional...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Faure Walker, Dulcie
Format: Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
Published: 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/60724/
_version_ 1848799799887790080
author Faure Walker, Dulcie
author_facet Faure Walker, Dulcie
author_sort Faure Walker, Dulcie
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Female perpetrated sexual abuse has historically been a neglected area of research. Encouragement for more dedicated research has followed the recognition that females who display this behaviour have often experienced adversities in their early life. The aim of this thesis is to further professional understanding of the aetiology of sexual abuse among females. The first chapter provides an introduction to the topic, and the justification and aims of the thesis. The following chapter is a systematic review of the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences among children and adolescents who display harmful sexual behaviour. The third chapter explores the characteristics and motivations of females who sexually abuse employing a mixed methods research design, using data pertaining to female children and adolescents in the community and adults in prison. The fourth chapter is a case study of an adult female sex offender, providing an account, rich in detail, of the cycle of victim to offender. The following chapter is a critique of the adverse childhood experiences scale, with the benefits and limitations of this measure discussed. This research develops and extends professional knowledge of sexual aggression, assessment and treatment methods and seeks to improve policy and practice. Insecure attachments resulting from adverse childhood experiences is a theme which runs throughout all chapters, and the clinical utility of using attachment theory to understand the motivations for sexually abusive behaviour is highlighted.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T20:41:25Z
format Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
id nottingham-60724
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-14T20:41:25Z
publishDate 2020
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-607242025-02-28T14:56:05Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/60724/ Adverse childhood experiences among females who sexually abuse Faure Walker, Dulcie Female perpetrated sexual abuse has historically been a neglected area of research. Encouragement for more dedicated research has followed the recognition that females who display this behaviour have often experienced adversities in their early life. The aim of this thesis is to further professional understanding of the aetiology of sexual abuse among females. The first chapter provides an introduction to the topic, and the justification and aims of the thesis. The following chapter is a systematic review of the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences among children and adolescents who display harmful sexual behaviour. The third chapter explores the characteristics and motivations of females who sexually abuse employing a mixed methods research design, using data pertaining to female children and adolescents in the community and adults in prison. The fourth chapter is a case study of an adult female sex offender, providing an account, rich in detail, of the cycle of victim to offender. The following chapter is a critique of the adverse childhood experiences scale, with the benefits and limitations of this measure discussed. This research develops and extends professional knowledge of sexual aggression, assessment and treatment methods and seeks to improve policy and practice. Insecure attachments resulting from adverse childhood experiences is a theme which runs throughout all chapters, and the clinical utility of using attachment theory to understand the motivations for sexually abusive behaviour is highlighted. 2020-12-11 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en arr https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/60724/1/Dulcie%20Faure%20Walker%20-%20DFORENPSY%202020.pdf Faure Walker, Dulcie (2020) Adverse childhood experiences among females who sexually abuse. DForenPsy thesis, University of Nottingham. Female sex offenders sexual abuse harmful sexual behaviour adverse childhood experiences child abuse attachment theory
spellingShingle Female sex offenders
sexual abuse
harmful sexual behaviour
adverse childhood experiences
child abuse
attachment theory
Faure Walker, Dulcie
Adverse childhood experiences among females who sexually abuse
title Adverse childhood experiences among females who sexually abuse
title_full Adverse childhood experiences among females who sexually abuse
title_fullStr Adverse childhood experiences among females who sexually abuse
title_full_unstemmed Adverse childhood experiences among females who sexually abuse
title_short Adverse childhood experiences among females who sexually abuse
title_sort adverse childhood experiences among females who sexually abuse
topic Female sex offenders
sexual abuse
harmful sexual behaviour
adverse childhood experiences
child abuse
attachment theory
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/60724/