Development and preliminary evaluation of a questionnaire on cognitions related to sex offending for use with individuals who have mild intellectual disabilities.
The QACSO is a reliable new checklist that flags harmful sex-related thoughts in men with mild ID.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team built a new self-report form called the QACSO. It asks men with mild intellectual disability about thoughts linked to sex offending.
They checked if the form gives steady answers and if it really taps harmful attitudes.
What they found
Early tests show the QACSO is reliable and pulls out antisocial sex-related thoughts in this group.
The tool looks ready for both clinic use and more research.
How this fits with other research
Matson et al. (1994) built the earlier PIMRA-S for broad sexual psychopathology. The QACSO narrows the lens to cognitive distortions, so it updates and sharpens that work.
Nicholson et al. (2006) also vetted a new ID questionnaire, the QABF. Both studies found solid internal consistency, giving clinicians growing evidence that well-made self-reports can work with people who have ID.
Petry et al. (2009) did the same for a quality-of-life scale. The pattern is clear: careful item writing plus pilot testing keeps producing trustworthy tools for this population.
Why it matters
If you work with offenders or court-referred clients with ID, the QACSO gives you a quick window into risk-related thoughts the person may not say out loud. Add it to your intake packet, compare scores before and after treatment, and use the items to spark frank but respectful talk about safe behavior.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: A number of authors note that distorted cognitions may play a significant role in sex offending behaviour in both the people with intellectual disability (ID) and general populations. However, no scales have been specifically developed for use with individuals with ID. To date, there is no valid, reliable, self-report questionnaire that assesses cognitive factors in these individuals. This paper aims to develop a valid, reliable self-report questionnaire to assess antisocial attitudes consistent with sex offending behaviour in individuals who have mild ID. METHODS: Seventeen male individuals with ID who had sexually offended were compared with two non-sex offender groups: 19 males with and 36 males without ID. The Questionnaire on Attitudes Consistent with Sex Offending (QACSO) measure was used to establish sexual attitudes in the three groups. The reliability and validity of the QACSO was examined. RESULTS: The groups were compared and results demonstrated that the QACSO is a promising tool in terms of providing an internally consistent, reliable and valid indicator of cognitive distortions/attitudes held by sex offenders with ID. CONCLUSIONS: The limitations, suggestions for modification, potential uses of the questionnaire and directions for further research are proposed.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2003 · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2788.2003.00510.x