Citation

Balbernie R. Br. J. Psychother. 1999; 16(2): 160-172.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1752-0118.1999.tb00506.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This is a study of a boy entering puberty who developed fantasies of sexually abusing younger children; it looks at a number of issues that lie behind such thoughts and the risk that they might be acted out. A child who has been the victim of inappropriate sexual advances from a parent may develop into an abuser themself later on in life, but this is not inevitable. Other risk factors have to be considered, and all taken in the context of the strong possibility that being exploited by a caregiver has left the child with neither a sense of trust nor an organized internal programme for creating fulfilling relationships (disorganized attachment) in the future. The six risk factors considered are: social isolation, unhelpful ego-defences, distorted identity, lack of empathy, a need to dominate, and precipitating oedipal fantasies into reality. Work with a boy in whom all six risk factors coalesced is described.