Évaluation des distorsions cognitives et biais de désirabilité sociale chez les agresseurs sexuels d'enfants
At first glance, the assessment tools for cognitive distortions in child molesters seem valid and reliable. These tools are however critiqued for being associated with a social desirability bias as child molesters seemingly tend to modulate their answers to show the best of themselves. Despite this, it seems that the assessment tools can achieve a significative discrimination of child molesters’ cognitions. How is this possible?    For the purpose of this research paper, we conducted a literature review to determine whether the cognitive distortions assessment tools can allow for an effective discrimination of child molesters’ cognitions despite the social desirability issues they are attributed. We also aimed to achieve a better theoretical understanding of the assessment of child molesters’ cognitions as well as of the usefulness and clinical relevance of the assessment tools.   Our results indicate that, despite the criticism formulated about a presumed social desirability bias, the assessment tools do allow for an effective discrimination of child molesters’ cognitions. However, upon closer inspection, it is possible to note that child molesters mostly disagree with the assessment tools items. Although these results were once attributed to the presence of a social desirability bias, we could find little support of this conclusion in the literature as social desirability only seemed to play a minimal role in the analysis of the assessment tools results without rendering them invalid. Lastly, it seems that child molesters honestly answer the assessment tools questions without trying to dissimulate the beliefs they really hold.
Child molesters Cognitive distortions Social desirability Assessment instruments