Abstract

The importance of empathy to sexual offenders lies in the notion that sexual aggression is inversely related to empathic response. It has been thought that poor parenting practices such as persistently abusive acts would influence the normal development of empathy. While the association between abuse experiences from primary caregivers and lower level of empathy is apparently present, it is still inconclusive whether empathy deficits could account for violent offending such as sexual offending as a mere effect up above the abuse experiences. Therefore, the present study examined if empathy deficits predicted violent offenses (sexual and nonsexual) when abuse experiences from primary caregivers were controlled for. In general, empathy deficits significantly predicted violent offenses(sexual and nonsexual offenses) of sexual offenders after controlling for physical and sexual abuse that they experienced from primary caregivers. When looking into the independent role of empathy and abuse experiences, empathy and physical abuse significantly predicted violent-nonsexual offenses, while empathy and sexual abuse significantly predicted violent-sexual offenses. The implication about these findings were discussed in conjunction with empathy training program in clinical settings for sexual offenders.