Efficacy of Sexual Offender Treatment: Juvenile Sexual Offenders with Mental Health Diagnosis

Sex offenders are described as a person who commits a crime involving a sexual act. They are people convicted for sexual crime in a criminal court. Sex offenders make a high percentage of the offender population and are considered special circumstance offenders. Sex offenders typically use sex as a coping mechanism. Juvenile sex offenders are those age from adolescences to an adult, who committed a sexual act without consent both physically and verbally.

One of the tools frequently incorporated by evaluators is the Multiphasic Sex Inventory-II (MSI-II), or MSI-II-A for adolescents. The MSI-II is the second version of the test, developed my Nichols and Molinder (Nichols & Molinder Assessments, Inc., 2010). The original MSI was developed in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and then in 1996, after years of research, was revised into the MSI-II (Nichols & Molinder, Inc., 2010; Craig et al., 2008). The MSI-II is a self-report measure, consisting of 560 True/False questions. The answer sheet requires submission to Nichols & Molinder Assessments, Inc. for scoring, interpretation, and a report (Nichols & Molinder Assessments, Inc., 2010). The report breaks down each offender’s

With the Pandora’s Box opened, we may find ourselves forced to rediscover morality due to our natural tendencies. This does not mean accepting adult-child relationships. Figure 3 indicates if we are serious about protecting children, then that ultimately requires some level of understanding, which is a problem for most because that is dangerously close to compassion. On the contrary, the risk they pose is the very reason why we need to support pedophiles who do not want to become sex offenders. We all want the same thing. We do not want them to offend nor their potential victims to offend. In 2008, Michael Seto, a forensic psychologist, published a book stating that the onset of pedophilia is right around the stages of puberty, as with any other sexual orientation. I believe we can prevent a greater number of victims if we put more energy into early detection and providing support before the first offense occurs, rather than solely relying on punishment after the fact. We need to be thinking about the children that pedophiles once were and catch them at their vulnerable stages, which are during puberty. There we can find a sense of compassion and support to want to help. In 2014, Margo Kaplan, an associate professor at Rutgers School of Law, wrote an op-ed in New York Times stating that pedophilia is neurologically rooted, supporting Cantor’s research.

Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia have higher rates of mental illness and sexual offending, for example, incest offenders had a much higher rate of psychosis when compared to homicidal sex offenders (Galloway & Houston, 2008). Personality disorders and sex offenders were characterized by pervasive affective instability, poor impulse control, impairment of self-identity and a tendency towards engaging in unstable relationships associated with emotional crises underpinned by a fear of abandonment (Galloway & Houston, 2008). Comorbid conditions seen in those with a diagnosis of voyeuristic disorder or exhibitionistic disorder in addition to the sex offense include hypersexuality, ADHD, conduct disorder, higher rates of depression and substance use disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). There are psychiatric comorbidity of pedophilic disorder they include substance use disorders, depression, bipolar, anxiety disorder, and

While sexually deviant behavior among juveniles is not a new phenomenon there has been a dramatic increase in the concern of this problem over the last two decades. As the number of juvenile sex offenders arrested increases, the recognition of it as a serious issue also increases. The anxiety over juvenile sex crimes has led to a wide variety of research being conducted to determine if there are antecedent traits in offenders. The tremendous data collected and analyzed to try to understand the factors leading a juvenile to sexually violate has piloted a wide range of theories and also much disagreement among professionals about the appropriate consequences a violator must face.

Stories of sex offenders have been increasingly a focus of attention by the criminal justice system over the past years. By legal definition, a sex offender “is a person who is convicted of a sexual offense (Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition),” an act which is prohibited by the jurisdiction. What constitutes as a sex offense or normal/abnormal sexual behavior varies over time and place, meaning that it also varies by legal jurisdiction and culture. In the United States of America, for example, a person can be convicted of wide range of sexual behavior that includes prostitution, incest, sex with a minor, rape, and other sex offenses (Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition). As the nature of sex crimes have long held the

I selected polygraph data from 60 case files for in this study. Participants were males aged 10-18 enrolled in 12 months residential treatment facility for juveniles with sexual behavior problems in Idaho. The demographic characteristics are presented in data below. This group included youth who received only resided at Sequel for residential sexual behavior problems. Services provided included group therapy, individual, family, and trauma therapy. The program director and clinicians were licensed mental health providers who met established criteria for providing treatment to juvenile sex offenders in the state of Idaho. All participants are court ordered to this facility for charges of sexual offenses on adults or children. Most of the youth are on probation with will be until they are 21 years of age. This facility only treats male sex

Sex offenders can be described as a person who has committed any of a variety of offenses, including rape, child abuse, possession of child pornography, exhibitionism (flashing), and even consensual sex amongst teenagers.They can vary between adults or juveniles, male or female, and the perpetrators may even be strangers, acquaintances, or related to their victims. Based on the different characteristics and motivations for committing these heinous offenses, these offenders require different responses that are appropriate in order to accurately treat, manage, and supervise them. This research paper will review types of offenses and offenders; pervasiveness of sexual abuse and recidivism; and responses to sexual offending, including treatment, supervision, and management practices for this population.

Assessing an adult for sexual recidivism can be a different type of work than evaluating a juvenile, and requires a different set of risk assessment tools. That being said, adult risk assessment tools initially, and continue to inform juvenile risk assessment tools, therefore, a foundational introduction to adult risk assessment is beneficial to better understand juvenile risk assessment (Christiansen & Vincent, 2013; Collie, Ward, & Vess, 2008; Prescott, 2004). Recognizing this need for some foundational understanding of risk assessment, The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) has set forth some guidelines for adult risk assessment.

Roughly 79.4% of adolescent sex offenders experienced sexual abuse while only 46.7% of nonsexual offenders reported abuse (Burton, Miller, & Shills, 2002).

     Cohen, Seghorn, and Calmas (1969) described three types of child molesters derived from their clinical studies. One type had a history of relatively normal functioning and the incident of molestation appears to reflect a reaction to a severe threat to their sense of sexual adequacy. Another type had a history of poor social-sexual functioning and is regarded as primitive and immature in terms of social-sexual skills. The last type they found in their study had offenses involving cruel and vicious assaults on children and the act of molestation is regarded as more aggressive then sexual. (Mc Creary, 1975)

pedophilia, exhibitionism, sadism, etc.) (Kaplan & Krueger, 2012). Dolan (2009) introduces a notion that involves combining cognitive-behavioral therapy with other methods to yield better results. Essentially, it is discussed in Dolan’s (2009) article that sufficient evidence exists to suggest combining cognitive-behavioral treatments with relapse prevention, intensive residential treatment, and community-based sex offender treatment programs can reduce the risk of recidivism. Dolan (2009) describes a combined method that needs further research but could be a successful pairing in cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychopharmacologicals/pharmacological treatments. Essentially, Dolan (2009) is introducing new advancements in sex offender treatments to be paired with cognitive-behavioral therapy because the research is leading Dolan to believe that this approach does not work on its

Sexual assault is one of the fastest growing violent crimes in America. Approximately 20% of all people charged with a sexual offense are juveniles. Among adult sex offenders, almost 50% report that their first offense occurred during their adolescence. (FBI, 1993) There are many different opinions, treatment options and legislation to manage the growing numbers of juvenile sex offenders. In today’s society the psychological and behavioral modification treatments used to manage juvenile sex offenders is also a growing concern. To understand and determine the proposed treatment methods, several related issues will need to be reviewed such as traditional sex offender therapy methods like cognitive therapy and alternative therapies like

Sex offenders tend to blend in to society virtually unnoticed until they offend or reoffend (Polizzi, MacKenzie, & Hickman, 1999). Currently, there is a large group of mental health professionals representing a variety of disciplines, including psychology, psychiatry clinical social work, counseling, and medicine, that continue to believe in the potential efficacy of treating sex offenders. Over the past decade, the sex offender treatment field has grown rapidly and the treatment of juvenile sex offenders is on the rise (Parks & Bard, 2006). The rationale for treating juvenile offenders is based on research which indicates that inappropriate sexual behavior patterns develop early and a failure to intervene and change behavior early often means that the offender will continue to escalate his/her inappropriate behavior, which could present an even greater danger to society (Ayland & West, 2006). Vivian-Bryne, (2004) suggests that professionals who treat adult sex offenders report that offenders who are incarcerated will eventually return to the community and therefore, therapeutic measures should be taken to reduce the likelihood that they will reoffend even if those measures have not conclusively been identified as effective. Sexual offenders may find therapy valuable because it can allow them to retrace their upbringing to help them identify and understand the roots of their

In this time period, there are many different disorders and illnesses that go unnoticed, and unknown. Society creates stereotypes about illnesses such as obsessive compulsive disorder, clinical Depression, and many other mental afflictions. Another that seems to remain controversial and misunderstood is sexual compulsive behaviors. Many see it as an excuse to act a certain way, or think a certain way; in reality it is a serious mental disorder that can cause devastating effects on the people that are consumed by them and the people who are around them. Something that is however, known about sexual compulsive behaviors is that there are certain things that can emotionally damage a person and cause them to have these behaviors. The three