What motivates sexual abusers of children? A qualitative examination of the Spiral of Sexual Abuse

This paper is the first in a sequence of explorations into the etiology of sexual offence patterns. Our sample is comprised of 63 males who admitted and/or were convicted of contact sexual crimes against children in the United Kingdom and United States. During semi-structured interviews subjects identified formative life experiences as central to the development of their motivations to sexually abuse. Sexual interest in children, while common, was not the sole motivational factor influencing behaviour; other key factors include the gaining of personal affirmation and a desire for power and control. There appeared to be an association between the type of formative life experience described and the specific motivations offenders developed to facilitate sexual abuse. Additional findings and implications are discussed.