A two‐dimensional risk assessment system for sexual offenders was created that can classify them for risk of sexual recidivism, risk of nonsexual violent recidivism, and the composite risk of reconviction for sexual or nonsexual assaults. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses of separate follow‐up samples were used for cross‐validation. The system is easier to score than Static‐99, and substantially easier to score than the VRAG or SORAG, while yielding comparable predictive accuracy in cross‐validation samples with follow‐ups from 2 years to 19 years. ROC AUC coefficients between .74 and .81 were found for the different scales and samples.
Relapse prevention (RP) plays a major role in the vast number of treatment programs for sexual offenders. However, despite its widespread application, questions have been raised regarding the uncritical adoption of the approach (R. K. Hanson, 1996). More specifically, the way in which it is presented to sexual offenders has been criticized for being unhelpfully negative in focus (Mann, 2000) and it has been suggested that treatment should adopt a broader focus on improving quality of life (T. Ward and C. A. Stewart, 2003), with the expectation that recidivism would reduce as a side-effect. The current study evaluated two orientations to relapse prevention, comparing a deliberately positively-focused orientation, focusing on creating a "good life," to the more traditional approach that focuses on avoiding and controlling risk factors. Twenty-four participants completed an approach-focused RP intervention and 23 completed an avoidance-focused RP intervention. Results indicated that participants who completed the approach-focused intervention had a greater engagement in treatment as measured by homework compliance and willingness to disclose lapses. Furthermore, participants within the approach-focused intervention were rated by therapist to be more genuinely motivated to live life without offending by the end of treatment. However, differences between the groups in terms of self-esteem change following treatment were not very marked. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for treatment delivery.
HM Prison Service Sex Offender Treatment Programme (SOTP) has been running since 1992. Despite the collection of standardised psychometric data, no qualitative data to ascertain sexual offenders' treatment experiences within HM Prison Service have been gathered to date. This study evaluates participants' experiences of SOTP using qualitative and quantitative methods. A semi-structured interview was administered to 46 adult male sexual offenders. The interviews were transcribed and subject to grounded theory analysis. Treatment Summary Documents and psychometric measures were also interrogated to examine the relationship between subjective treatment experiences and other progress assessment. The results indicate that participants' experiences of the Core Programme were multidimensional; they experienced both positive and negative affects during treatment, and learning points were drawn from every treatment 'block'. Findings support the recommendation of using qualitative exploration, and triangulating methods of programme efficacy. The results are discussed in terms of implications for the improvement of future programmes for sexual offenders.
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