Because of the enormous human and financial costs society incurs as a result of sexual crimes, any reduction in the recidivism of sex offenders caused by treatment is very worthwhile. Although treatment can be valuable if this reduction is small, the reduction must nevertheless be real. Real effects are statistically significant differences between treated and untreated subjects in controlled studies. In general, statistical significance is a necessary criterion for clinical and economic significance. In the field of sex offender treatment, it is likely to be a sufficient condition as well. In the view of the authors, the effectiveness of treatment in reducing sex offender recidivism has not yet been scientifically demonstrated. To demonstrate the effectiveness of sex offender treatment, more well-controlled outcome research is required that can be evaluated with meta-analytic techniques.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abel, G. G. , Mittleman, M. S., Becker, J. V., Rathner, J., & Rouleau, J. L. (1988). Predicting child molesters' response to treatment.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 528, 223-234.
2.
Andrews, D. A. , Zinger, I., Hoge, R. D., Bonta, J., Gendreau, P., & Cullen, F. T. (1990). Does correctional treatment work? A clinically relevant and psychologically informed meta-analysis.Criminology, 28, 369-404.
3.
Canadian Psychological Association. (1988). Canadian code of ethics for psychologists.Old Chelsea, Quebec: Author.
4.
Davidson, P.R. (May, 1979). Recidivism in sex offenders: Who are the bad risks? Paper presented at the 2nd National Conference on the Evaluation and Treatment of Sexual Aggressors, New York.
5.
Davidson, P.R. (March, 1984). Behavioral treatment for incarcerated sex offenders: Post-release outcome. Paper presented at the Conference on the Assessment and Treatment of the Sex Offender, Kingston, Ontario.
6.
Durlak, J. A. , & Lipsey, M. W. (1991). A practitioner's guide to meta-analysis.American Journal of Community Psychology, 19, 291-332.
7.
Foa, E. B. , & Emmelkamp, P.M.G. (1983). Failures in behavior therapy.New York: Wiley.
8.
Furby, L. , Weinrott, M. R., & Blackshaw, L. (1989). Sex offender recidivism: A review.Psychological Bulletin, 105, 3-30.
9.
Gordon, A. (1989). Research on sex offenders: Regional Psychiatric Centre (Ontario).Forum on Corrections Research, 1, 20-21.
10.
Gordon, A. , Holden, R., & Leis, T. (1991). Managing and treating sex offenders: Matching risk and needs with programming.Forum on Corrections Research, 3, 7-11.
11.
Hunter, J. E. , & Schmidt, F.L. (1990). Methods of meta-analysis.Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
12.
Lipsey, M. W. (1992). Juvenile delinquency treatment: A meta-analytic inquiry into the variability of effects. In T.D. Cook, H. Cooper, D.S. Cordray, H. Hartmann, L. V. Hedges, R. J. Light, T. A. Louis, & F. Mosteller (Eds.), Meta-analysis for explanation: A casebook (pp. 83-127). New York: Russell Sage.
13.
Maletzky, B. (1987). Data generated by an outpatient sexual abuse clinic. Paper presented at the 3rd Annual Conference of the Association for the Behavioral Treatment of Sexual Abusers, Newport, OR.
14.
Marques, J. K. , Day, D. M., & Nelson, C. (in press). Findings and recommendations from California's experimental treatment program. In G.C.N. Hall & R. Hirschman (Eds.), Sexual aggression: Issues in etiology and assessment, treatment, and policy.Washington, DC: Hemisphere.
15.
Marshall, W. L. , & Barbaree, H. E. (1988). The long-term evaluation of a behavioral treatment program for child molesters.Behavior Research and Therapy, 26, 499-511.
16.
Marshall, W. L. , & Barrett, S. (1992). Criminal neglect: Why sex offenders go free.Toronto: Seal Books.
17.
Marshall, W. L. , Eccles, A., & Barbaree, H. E. (1991). The treatment of exhibitionists: A focus on sexual deviance versus cognitive and relationship features.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 29, 129-135.
18.
Marshall, W. L. , Jones, R., Ward, T., Johnston, P., & Barbaree, H. E. (1991). Treatment outcome with sex offenders.Clinical Psychology Review, 11, 465-485.
19.
Pithers, W. D. , & Cumming, G. F. (1989). Can relapses be prevented? Initial outcome data from the Vermont Treatment Program for sexual aggressors. In D. R. Laws (Ed.), Relapse prevention with sex offenders (pp. 313-325). New York: Guilford.
20.
Quinsey, V. L. , Chaplin, T. C., Maguire, A. M., & Upfold, D. (1987). The behavioral treatment of rapists and child molesters. In E. K. Morris and C. J. Braukmann (Eds.), Behavioral approaches to crime and delinquency: Application, research, and theory (pp. 363-382). New York: Plenum.
21.
Rice, M. E. , Quinsey, V. L., & Harris, G. T. (1991). Sexual recidivism among child molesters released from a maximum security psychiatric institution.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 381-386.
22.
Romero, J. , & Wiliams, L. (1983). A comparative study of group psychotherapy and intensive probation supervision with sex offenders.Federal Probation, 47, 36-42.
23.
Rothman, D. J. (1980). Conscience and convenience: The asylum and its alternatives in progressive America.Toronto: Little, Brown.
24.
Schmidt, F. L. (1992). What do data really mean?: Research findings, meta-analysis, and cumulative knowledge in psychology.American Psychologist, 47, 1173-1181.
25.
Shadish, W. R. , & Sweeney, R. B. (1991). Mediators and moderators in meta-analysis: There's a reason why we don't let dodo birds tell us which psychotherapies should have prizes.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 883-893.
