A Structured Approach to Evaluating Change Among Sexual Offenders

Abstract

Presently, there are no established scales that evaluate change in risk among sexual offenders. The Sex Offender Need Assessment Rating (SONAR) was developed to fill this gap. The SONAR includes five relatively stable factors (intimacy deficits, negative social influences, attitudes tolerant of sex offending, sexual self-regulation, general self-regulation) and four acute factors (substance abuse, negative mood, anger, victim access). The psychometric properties of the scale were examined using data previously collected by Hanson and Harris (1998, 2000). Overall, the scale showed adequate internal consistency and moderate ability to differentiate between recidivists and nonrecidivists (r = .43; ROC area of .74). SONAR continued to distinguish between the groups after controlling for well-established risk indicators, such as age, and scores on the Static-99 (Hanson & Thornton, 2000) and the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (Quinsey, Harris, Rice, & Cormier, 1998).

What clinicians need to know before assessing risk in sexual offenders

“…The summation of scores for each factor gives a total score, which indicates a risk level. These levels improve on the use of static actuarial tools alone in predicting recidivism (Hanson 2001Beech 2003;Olver 2011).…”

Trajectoires criminelles et récidive des délinquants sexuels adultes : l’hypothèse « statique » revue et corrigée

“…Ces facteurs sont souvent décrits comme ceux qui devraient faire l'objet d'un traitement ou d'une intervention, notamment des distorsions cognitives, une régulation personnelle inadéquate, un manque d'empathie, des préférences sexuelles déviantes, des défi cits sur le plan de l'intimité, etc. (Hanson et Harris, 2001 ;Ward et Beech, 2006 ;Lussier et Cortoni, 2008).…”

Sexually Violent Predator Evaluations: Empirical Evidence, Strategies for Professionals, and Research Directions.

“…Although researchers are identifying important dynamic variables that should be taken into account when evaluating risk, only a small number of such measures are currently being developed and these remain in their infancy. Instruments such as the Sex Offender Need Assessment Rating (SONAR; Hanson & Harris, 2001) have shown promise, but more research is needed. Additionally, there are no standards of how to take dynamic variables into account and/or combine them with more established static variables when determining risk.…”