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Published on: May 3, 2016
An exploration of theory of mind performance among men convicted of rape
Christine Friestad1,2, Anja Vaskinn3,4
1Department of Mental Health and Addiction, Centre for Research and Education in Forensic Psychiatry, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Abstract:
Several of the known risk factors for sexual violence concern a lack of capacity for engaging in mutually satisfying interpersonal relationships. Socio-cognitive deficits may be approached from a theory of mind (ToM) perspective, where lack of ability to attribute mental states to others is seen as the core feature. This study focuses on imprisoned men (n = 26) convicted of rape against an adult. A video-based measure of ToM (MASC) was applied, depicting social interaction in a dynamic real-life setting. The results showed that the rape-convicted men have a markedly inferior ability to infer the mental states of others. Clinical as well as theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.
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