Abstract
The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine the experiences of five parents whose sons had committed serious sexual offenses, which included heterosexual and homosexual child molestation, incest perpetration, and rape. The parents were interviewed three times, and their verbatim transcripts were grouped into meaning units and clusters. From these, the following recurrent experiences and themes emerged: (1) preoccupation with their sons' offense; (2) a re-evaluation of the early parent-child relationship; (3) compounded crisis from the mental health and legal systems; (4) changing from external to internal locus of control; (5) confronting thoughts on punishment and treatment; (6) difficulty communicating with their sons about the offense; (7) dealing with the effect on the family; and (8) focusing on the future. Some common stages of reactions of the parents included a sense of pervasiveness of the problem, feelings of profound helplessness, an increase in active involvement on their sons' behalf, and finally a refocusing of their lives. Issues relating to treating families whose children sexually offend are discussed.