Factors predicting psychologists' self-efficacy for working with female sexual offenders

Abstract

The literature pertaining to females who sexually offend remains under-developed. This study examined the influence of clinical experience, sexist attitudes toward women, attitudes toward female sexual offenders, and attitudes toward female-perpetrated sexual abuse on psychologists' perceived self-efficacy for working with this population. Differences in psychologists' attitudes toward female sex offenders versus female sexual offending behaviors were also explored. One hundred and fifty-seven mental health professionals participated in the study. Participants completed a demographic form, a work experience scale, the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI), the Attitudes toward Female Sexual Offenders (ATFSO) scale, the Professional Attitudes Regarding the Female Sexual Abuse of Children (PARFSAC) scale, and a self-efficacy scale (SES). Work experience, sexist attitudes, and attitudes toward female sexual offenders emerged as statistically significant predictors of perceived self-efficacy scores. Attitudes toward female-perpetrated sexual abuse were not found to predict counselor self-efficacy. Significant differences in scores on the attitudinal scales suggested that psychologists reported less positive attitudes toward female sex offenders than toward female-perpetrated sexual abuse behaviors. Overall, psychologists with greater work experience, higher sexist beliefs toward women, and more positive attitudes toward female sexual offenders reported greater confidence in working with this population.