Sexual Reoffending Research Articles

Adolescent sexual offender recidivism: success of specialized treatment and implications for risk prediction

Objective: To evaluate the success of specialized community-based treatment for reducing adolescent sexual reoffending and explore the predictive utility of variables assessed regarding sexual and nonsexual recidivism. Method: Recidivism data (criminal charges) were collected for 58 offenders participating in at least 12 months of specialized treatment at the SAFE-T Program. Data were also collected for a comparison group of 90 adolescents who received only an assessment ( n = 46), refused treatment ( n = 17), or dropped out before 12 months ( n = 27). Follow-up interval ranged from 2 to 10 years ( M = 6.23, SD = 2.02). Offenders completed a battery of psychological tests to provide standardized data regarding social, sexual, and family functioning. Results: Recidivism rates for sexual, violent nonsexual, and nonviolent offenses for treated adolescents were 5.17%, 18.9%, and 20.7%, respectively. The Comparison group had significantly higher rates of sexual (17.8%), violent nonsexual (32.2%), and nonviolent (50%) recidivism. Sexual recidivism was predicted by sexual interest in children. Nonsexual recidivism was related to factors commonly predictive of general delinquency such as history of previous offenses, low self-esteem, and antisocial personality. Conclusions: Results support the efficacy of treatment for adolescent sexual offenders and are consistent with the notion that sexual recidivism is predicted by unique factors unrelated to general (nonsexual) reoffending.

The Minnesota SOST and Sexual Reoffending in North Dakota: A Retrospective Study

Using the Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool (MnSOST), 26 sex offenders (SOs) released fromthe North Dakota StatePenitentiary (NDSP) from1993 to 1994 were rated retrospectively. These included all 10 SOs who had been reincarcerated since release and 10 others who were chosen randomly. Scores were compared between groups and correlated with the current status of these released SOs. Contingency tables also were devised to explore the comparative utility of cutting scores in correctly classifying the data. Findings support the validity of the MnSOST in predicting sexual reoffense risk with our released SO population. Cutting points to maximally classify released SOs’risk among our population and within the time parameters of this study are described.

Factors related to recidivism among juvenile sexual offenders.

This recidivism study retrospectively examined the juvenile court case records of 170 first-time juvenile sexual offenders in a 5-year observation period. Cox regression, a model of event history analysis, was used to test hypotheses and to build multivariate competing risk models predictive of criminal recidivism. The multivariate analyses found that nonsexual offense recidivism was significantly (p < .01) associated with (a) prior nonsexual offenses and (b) failure to complete treatment. Sexual offense recidivism was significantly associated with larger numbers of female victims, but results were inconclusive due to the small size (n = 13) of the sexual reoffending sample.

Adolescent perpetrators of sexual abuse -long term outcome of treatment

Abstract Introduction In the Northern Ireland Child Sexual Abuse Study (Kennedy et al 1990) 36% of all cases of abuse involved juvenile perpetrators. In the last few years attempts to treat these young perpetrators have been made in the form of individual and group treatment programmes alongside family work. Similar programmes have been in place in other parts of the world, especially the United States, for many years. There is some evidence from follow up studies conducted in the USA (Kahn and Chambers 1991, Schram et al 1991) that sexual re-offending after adolescent programmes involving individual group and family work had low rates of sexual recidivism (12%). Rates for non-sexual offending were higher (48%). These studies have not indicated any recidivism rates for untreated perpetrators, but one study of the long term outcome of a behavioural treatment programme for adult perpetrators (Marshall and Barbaree 1988) showed recidivism rates for treated heterosexual paedophiles at 18% versus 43% untreated...

Offending histories and offending behaviour: A Ten year follow-up of sex offenders tried by Sheriff and District Courts in Grampian, Scotland

Abstract From criminal complaint records all incidents of sexual misbehaviour resulting in charges in three North East Scotland courts during 1981 and 1982 were traced. Of the 80 alleged offenders, 75 were followed up for 10 years using current criminal records. Offending behaviour ranged from obscene telephone calls to rape. Half the offenders made no physical contact with their victims. These “hands-off” offenders were compared with “hands-on” offenders and were found to show a higher prevalence of sexual convictions both before the index offence and in the follow-up period. Those offenders who removed their victims clothes or had sexual intercourse with their victims were found to have the lowest prevalence of sexual reoffending. Degree of intrusiveness was inversely related to sexual recidivism in this sample and there was no evidence of progression over time to more intrusive offending.