Considerations on Fantasy Use by Child Molesters and Exhibitionists

Abstract

In many sex offender treatment programs, the examination and replacement of deviant fantasy use with appropriate fantasy use is a well-established practice. This practice is based on the assumption that sexual offenders use deviant masturbatory fantasies prior and after committing sexual offenses, but the data available to support this assumption is fairly limited. This study attempted to test the validity of this assumption by finding out whether a majority of exhibitionistic offenders and child molesters used deviant masturbatory fantasies prior and/or after their first offense. Data analysis from 57 child molesters and 25 exhibitionistic offenders indicate that a majority of these offenders used masturbatory deviant fantasies before and after their first offenses, but they tended to use significantly more deviant fantasies after they engage in their first actual offense. Content of deviant fantasies was examined in relation to victim specificity. There were no significant differences between the number of deviant fantasies reported about a specific victim versus the number of fantasies reported about a nonspecific victim. We found a significant positive correlation between the number of deviant fantasies reported and the number of months spent in treatment by child molesters, but not by exhibitionistic offenders. Some tentative explanations for these findings are offered, but further elucidation is necessary.