Date of Award

January 2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Justin D. McDonald

Abstract

American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) people are known to have a history of man-made trauma that corresponds to the colonization of the Americans. Trauma experienced by AI/AN sex offenders has not been evaluated in the research as it relates to their treatment planning. The lack of data reflecting intervention needs for AI/AN sex offenders is problematic. The current study hypothesized that American Indian sex offenders would report a greater number of trauma experiences, endorse increased symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), display more traumatic cognitions, and endorse higher dissociative experiences than Caucasian sex offenders. Statistical results yielded did not support the proposed hypotheses. Additional analyses conducted on the data revealed that American Indian sex offenders reported more adverse childhood experiences that Caucasian sex offenders and contact sex offenders reported experience higher levels of dissociation when compared to non-contact sex offenders.

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