Abstract:
Lack of empathy has been identified as a personality variable that may contribute to committing acts of child molestation. In an attempt to examine this possibility, two samples of parolees, classified as sexual offenders convicted of child molestation, and nonsexual offenders convicted of crimes against property participated in this study. The offender samples were compared to nonoffenders from the general population. The two offender samples were on parole in a large city located in Kansas. Sixty male participants aged 18 years or older were given the Mehrabian Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale. The results of a one-way ANOVA showed the nonoffender group significantly higher from the offender samples, and no difference between the two offender samples.
