Study: Most female child molesters were victims of sexual abuse

This brief report on Strickland's study, the largest of its kind, surveyed 130 incarcerated females, 60 of which were sex offenders and 70 of which were nonsexual offenders - and examined factors such as childhood trauma, substance abuse, emotional neediness and personality disorders. While the majority of both groups reported being the victims of childhood maltreatment, the sex offenders were significantly more likely to experience pervasive, serious and more frequent emotional abuse, physical abuse and neglect.