However, an all embracing theory of this kind is still some way off, and in the current environment the most rational strategy is to embrace theoretical pluralism (Hooker, 1987). Ideally this would be a comprehensive theory that integrated all the relevant phenomena into a coherent and rich theoretical structure. The major task of a good etiological theory of rape, child molestation, or any other form of sexual offending, is to account for its onset, development and maintenance. There are usually clinical theories underlying the selection of the modules contained in treatment manuals.įor example, the inclusion of relapse prevention strategies in most state-of-the-art intervention programs for sexual offenders follows from the belief that relapse is a sequential process influenced by different cognitive, affective and contextual factors (Marshall, 1999). Treatment programs for sex offenders are typically based on theoretical assumptions concerning the psychological, biological and socio-cultural mechanisms that result in child molestation. Theory generation is not a luxury to be indulged in after the task of detecting basic phenomena and their relationships has taken place. Moreover, such understanding helps in the design of intervention programs to stop men from re-offending. Understanding why child molestation occurs, and how it develops and changes over time, is of the utmost importance to help us prevent it. They are not simply abstract questions with no discernible impact on individual everyday lives.