Admitters and deniers among adolescent sex offenders and their families: a preliminary study.

In a comparison of five adolescent male sexual offenders who denied the charges prior to treatment and five who admitted to them, substantial differences emerged between the groups in terms of family organization. In addition, parental nurturance and adolescent self-esteem were found to be positively correlated, as were lack of clarity and consistency in communication by parents and mixed messages to the children about deviant and nondeviant sexuality.