犯罪者在心智推理的表現探討－－以性侵害加害人為例

On Theory of Mind and Crime: Differences in Sexual Offenders

心智推理是指個體具有推測他人心中想法、感受、需求與信念的能力，若心智推理能力有所損害，會影響個體理解他人的心理狀態，也就無法同理他人、與他人建立良好關係，性侵害加害者通常身處孤獨並僅擁有極少人際親密關係，故本研究目的為探討性侵害加害者在心智推理的能力表現是否與一般正常控制組有差異及性侵害加害者在人際親密的能力是否與一般正常控制組有差異？受試者為性侵害加害組32人、一般犯罪組15人以及控制組32人為研究對象，測驗工具包括語言、非語文心智推理作業及人際親密關係量表。研究結果顯示在非語言訊息的心智推理作業方面，性侵害加害組顯著低於控制組，非語言訊息之心智推理作業能區分性侵害加害者與正常控制組。

Theory of mind refers to the ability of people to attribute others' thoughts, feelings, needs, and beliefs. A deficit in theory of mind will influence one's comprehension of other's mental states, making one unable to empathize with others or develop good social relationships. Sexual offenders are often reported to have feelings of loneliness and few, if any, intimate interpersonal relationships. Thus, sexual assault could be related to an incapability to mentalize others' thoughts or feelings. The purpose of this study was to explore whether the performance on theory of mind tasks would differ among a sexual-offender group, anon-sexual-offender convict group, and a control group. Thirty-two sexual offenders, fifteen non-sexual offender convicts, and thirty-two control participants were recruited. All groups completed an interpersonal competency scale and theory of mind tasks, including both verbal and nonverbal tasks. The scores of the sexual offenders group on the theory of mind task were significantly lower than those of the control group, as were the scores on the inter personal competency scale. Significant differences among the three groups were also found on nonverbal theory of mind tasks. Onthe interpersonal competency scale, the sexual offenders scored higher on the subscale of the self revealing actively. The results indicated that the measurement of nonverbal theory of mind could identify sexual and non-sexual offenders.