Service Approaches for Youths Who Commit Sexual Crimes: A Call for Family-Oriented Models

Abstract

Sexual crimes committed by youths are a major social concern. Currently, adult-based models of service delivery are applied to juveniles with very little evidence to support treatment effectiveness. With prevailing limitations to these approaches, consideration of methods for improving services to youths is warranted. Adapting traditional treatment approaches to incorporate family-oriented models of service delivery is likely to improve youth and family outcomes. The goal of this article is twofold: (1) to review the state of the evidence of current treatments for sexually abusive youths, identifying gaps in services and research, and (2) to suggest service improvements by incorporating family treatment approaches and reviewing the extant evidence for existing family-oriented models.

The Impact of Family Service Involvement on Treatment Completion and General Recidivism Among Male Youthful Sexual Offenders

“…It is without question that these important advancements have vastly contributed to the field's knowledge, but at the cost of neglecting to identify resilience characteristics, protective factors, or evaluate the efficacy behind several conventional therapeutic modalities (Efta-Breitbach & Freeman, 2004;Spice et al, 2013;Yoder, 2014). Indeed, a "treat first, evaluate later" approach was embraced as juvenile treatment programs began to proliferate across the country (Bourke & Donohue, 1996;Metzner, Humphreys, & Ryan, 2009).…”

“…As mounting evidence suggests that families may be an important component to service delivery for youthful sexual offenders, relatively few studies have examined outcomes associated with family service involvement. Research has begun to call for evaluations of family-oriented models (Yoder, 2014) and even suggest ways to engage families in services (Yoder & Ruch, in press). Therefore, it may be important to dissect the influence of family service involvement on treatment completion and recidivism.…”

The impact of disrupted caregiving for juvenile sexual offenders

“…Understanding risk and protective factors in family relationships has broad implications for encouraging and shaping family therapy for young sexual offenders. Since family dynamics are critical to the development and maintenance of appropriate sexual behaviour among at-risk youth (Yoder, 2014), services that are attuned to the particular risk factors present in a JSO's family structure may be more effective at facilitating a positive home environment for the youth. This study suggests that service providers should be vigilant for youth who have experienced caregiver disruptions.…”

“…Family factors have emerged as an important area in which JSOs may be set apart from youth who do not engage in sexually aggressive acts (Felizzi, 2015a). This line of research may be especially worthwhile as family contexts are proving to be essential when researchers and treatment professionals focus on issues of primary prevention (Ryan, Leversee, & Lane, 2011), recidivism (Zankman & Bonomo, 2004), and treatment trajectories for sexually aggressive youth (Borduin, Schaeffer, & Heiblum, 2009;Henggeler et al, 2009;Yoder, 2014). Thus, the continued development of this line of inquiry is paramount.…”

The Influence of Living Situations on Family Therapy Involvement Among Youth Adjudicated of a Sexual Crime

“…In this way, youth will ideally receive similar services that are the most appropriate and useful for symptom reduction (Carpentier, Silovsky, & Chaffin, 2006; Ralph, 2012). One such service is family therapy, frequently argued to be useful toward rehabilitating youth with sexually harmful behaviors (Thomas, 2010; Yoder, 2014; Zankman & Bonomo, 2004). Indeed, scholars consider family therapy to be a central tenant of service delivery for youthful sexual offenders (Rich, 2011; Yoder, 2014), making a more meaningful therapeutic process for youth and strengthening the overall family system (Rich, 2011; Zankman & Bonomo, 2004).…”