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S.P. Thomas er al./ Archives of Psychiatric Nursing 27 (2013) 293-298

Picked on and bullied was a second prominent theme. Participants

reported verbal abuse, such as being called names, serving as "the butt
of a lot of jokes," and "made fun of." Narratives also included physical
abuse, such as being shoved and beaten by schoolmates, neighbor
children, and cousins. In one extreme incident, the participant was
forced into a freezing pool in the middle of winter. Bullying was
especially severe among participants who were non-Caucasian and/or
poor. These quotes were illustrative: "I was the only non-white person
in the school, you can imagine what life was like, a nightmare;" "We
would have to go to the dollar store and I would get picked on because
of my clothes and my shoes." A vivid recollection of one participant
was his threadbare pants: "I'll never forget, I had a pair of dress pants
and a pair of school pants, and I had those dress pants for so long that
in the back they had worn so much you could see through'em."
Another participant lived in fear of "thugs" who harassed him as he
walked to school each day, which eventually caused him to align
himself with a drug dealer who would protect him.
The theme of unable/afraid to get close portrayed withdrawal from
peers and conveyed a posture of defeat. This theme is exemplified in
quotes such as "I just didn't let anybody get close to me. It was just like
a defense. I thought they would hurt me like my mom did;" "I was
always by myself and kept things to myself;" "Every time I had a friend
or two, it seems like they had better friends than me and better things
to do with other friends than me;" "I had a friend once and my
younger brother took him away from me." The interviewee who made
the last remark said that he stopped trying to make friends after this
loss, for fear he would lose them also.
The theme of sex as cost of friendship/substitute for friendship
depicted powerlessness when peers began to take advantage of the
participants sexually. One man, who referred to himself as "the weak
one," saw no way to resist his bigger, older peer: "I just had to let him
do it whenever he required and forced me to. I had nowhere to go and
nobody to go to." Despite this painful introduction to sex, eventually it
became a substitute for friendship, since he was unable to make
friends. Sex became his "only fun, it was the only way I knew." Other
quotes illustrate children and adolescents acquiescing to sexual acts,
such as oral sex, as the cost of friendship: "They wanted to have sex
with me, that's what it cost to have a friend;" "I didn't want it, but I felt
that's what I had to do;" "Everybody was just using me."
The final theme, peers as substitutes for intimacy in the family,
showed the benefits of good peer relationships for those few who
were fortunate enough to forge them: "He was kind of the brother I
never had;" "What I found myself doing when life turned to hell at
home, I would spend time over at my friends' houses because their
families weren't as dysfunctional as mine."
Thematic Structure

One way to articulate the thematic structure of a phenomenon is to

draw the themes together in a researcher-created first person account
of the meaning of the experience, as if the participant were speaking.
Adopting this practice, a study participant's experience of his/her
relationships with siblings and peers during childhood can be
summarized as follows:
When I reflect on my childhood, it was a real hard time for me. My
siblings and classmates often hurt me. I really didn't understand
why. Others in my world often invaded my space and used my
body. There was no safe place for me. So I stayed by myself a lot. I
feel sad when I remember how it was.
DISCUSSION

To our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the childhood

sibling and peer relationships of convicted perpetrators of sexual

crimes against children. We discovered childhood issues that deserve

more extensive investigation. With few exceptions, neither sibling nor
peer relationships adequately promoted participants' capacity for
developing and maintaining healthy relationships in adulthood. In
general, participants felt unlovable as children and described
themselves as lacking in self-worth. They did not develop the core
attributes of self-control, resilience, and confidence that should be
developed in the formative stages of life (WHO, 2012). The majority of
the sample had experienced multiple forms of childhood abuse from
their parents (Thomas et al., 2013). This secondary analysis showed
that parental abuse was compounded by sibling abuse in some (but
not all) cases. Sibling abuse has been shrouded in secrecy except for a
few classic studies such as Wiehe's (1997). Our findings support
recent pleas for further research on this neglected phenomenon
(Tucker, Finkelhor, Shattuck, et al, 2013; Tucker, Finkelhor, Turner, et
al., 2013). Sibling bullying and sexual abuse are underreported and
therefore untreated (Finkelhor, 1984; Wiehe, 1997). Kilgore (2013),
who recently shared her own chilling memoir of abuse by her older
sister (Girl in the Water: A True Story of Sibling Abuse), asserts that
there are 40 million adult sibling abuse survivors in the United States.
Perhaps her book, along with the heavily publicized 2013 studies by
Tucker and colleagues will help to advance research and public
awareness in this area.
Bullying by peers was thematic in this study of sex offenders,
including verbal abuse and coerced sex. School could have been an
escape from homes of abuse and neglect, but instead it was another
site of abuse. The word "outcast," used by a study participant, speaks
volumes about his perception of peer relationships. "Being different in
any way" was a core theme in a study of bullied students conducted by
Horowitz et al. (2004). Similarly, interviewees in our sample
emphasized their differentness from peers, which prevented them
from fitting in at school and gaining acceptance. The world of peers
epitomized the "challenging and sometimes unforgiving environ
ment'' alluded to by Hays et al. (2004, p. 100). Peer sexual aggressors
included neighborhood playmates, schoolmates, and cousins. "Trau
matic sexualization," as described by Finkelhor ( 1984), can include (a)
being forced to engage in inappropriate sexual activity and/or (b)
engaging in sex to garner rewards. Both were described by our study
participants. For some, peers provided their first introduction to sex;
for others, a Sunday school teacher, babysitter, scoutmaster, or family
member had already violated them (Thomas et al., 2013).
Recommendations for Intervention

Early intervention with children who are victimized is imperative

because early intervention increases the likelihood of recovery
(Vizard, 2013). According to Finkelhor (1986), if childhood abuse
victims are supported and comforted, they will have no need to abuse
others. Support for this assertion can be found in a study comparing a
group of male survivors of sexual abuse who became perpetrators to a
group who were similarly abused in childhood but are "resilient"
(Lambie, Seymour, Lee, & Adams, 2002). There were no significant
differences between groups in the frequency or duration of childhood
abuse. Highly relevant to the present study is the researchers' finding
that the resilient non-offending group reported more emotional
support from parents and other adults, as well as significantly more
peer friendships during childhood. The researchers concluded that
breaking the "victim-offender cycle" must begin with providing
supportive responses to abused children, enhancing their self-esteem,
and decreasing their social isolation. Social skills training (SST) has
been recommended for childhood abuse victims who have difficulty
making friends (Ryan & Lane, 1991), although it is doubtful that SST
alone would be sufficient to alter long-ingrained wariness about
interpersonal relationships.
None of our victimized study participants received any support at
the time of their childhood victimization, nor was any mental health