Brief Interventions: Solving the ‘Internet Sex Offender Paradox’

Abstract

The common judicial practice of restricting Internet sex offenders’ access to the Internet for the length of their sentence gives rise to an interesting paradox. On the one hand, studies show there is a strong correlation between prevalence of behaviours and increased access to the activity, in which case such restrictions would reduce the likelihood of sexual recidivism. On the other hand, cognitive-behavioural therapy shows that skills practice in the natural environment followed by reinforcement from therapy is a crucial step in the consolidation of newly acquired skills, decreasing the likelihood of relapse. This paradox – reduced likelihood of recidivism due to restrictions to Internet access in the face of increased likelihood of recidivism due to prevention of hands-on skills practice during therapy – is considered in the context of therapeutic treatment. The authors advocate the use of post-therapy brief online interventions to assist Internet offenders to put into practice in the online environment skills acquired during therapy.