The present investigation examined a sample of 64 offenders treated at the Regional Treatment Centre (Ontario) Sex Offender Treatment Program (RTCSOTP) and a sample of 55 untreated sexual offenders from the Ontario region of Correctional Service of Canada. Groups were matched on age at index offence, Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) score and type of sexual offender. The Rapid Risk Assessment of Sexual Offence Recidivism Scale was scored on all participants. Recidivism, based upon officially recorded charges and conviction data, was the primary dependent measure. Results indicated that both treated participants and control participants, including those with high PCL-R scores, evidenced low sexual recidivism rates. Based on a survival analysis using time to recidivism as the dependent variable, no differences were found between treated and untreated sexual offenders. The need to consider a wider range of treatment outcome measures and the benefits of using dynamic methods of risk assessment are highlighted.

The present investigation examined a sample of 64 offenders treated at the Regional Treatment Centre (Ontario) Sex Offender Treatment Program (RTCSOTP) and a sample of 55 untreated sexual offenders from the Ontario region of Correctional Service of Canada. Groups were matched on age at index offence, Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) score and type of sexual offender. The Rapid Risk Assessment of Sexual Offence Recidivism Scale was scored on all participants. Recidivism, based upon officially recorded charges and conviction data, was the primary dependent measure. Results indicated that both treated participants and control participants, including those with high PCL-R scores, evidenced low sexual recidivism rates. Based on a survival analysis using time to recidivism as the dependent variable, no differences were found between treated and untreated sexual offenders. The need to consider a wider range of treatment outcome measures and the benefits of using dynamic methods of risk assessment are highlighted.

Community notification aims to warn the public when reintegrating sexual offenders represent a significant risk to public safety. However, anxiety and powerlessness are often unintentional side-effects of notification. Fear appeals are persuasive messages that arouse fear of a threat and may include recommended actions for avoiding the threat. This research applied a fear appeal theory, the Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM), to community notification web pages. Study 1, a systematic review of existing community notification web pages, informed the development of a traditional web page vignette for Study 2. Study 2 compared the traditional web page format to a high efficacy web page intervention, which comprised educational information on avoiding sexual victimization. The EPPM predicted positive correlations between fear and perceived threat (hypothesis 1), fear and behavioural intentions (hypothesis 2), and perceived efficacy and intentions to adopt victimization prevention behaviours (hypothesis 4) as well as negative correlations between perceived efficacy and maladaptive fear control responses (hypothesis 3). The intervention group was predicted to have higher perceived threat, higher perceived efficacy, be less likely to adopt fear control responses, and more likely to endorse behavioural intentions than the control group (hypothesis 5). Female participants were hypothesized to have higher fear, perceived threat, fear control responses, and behavioural intentions and lower perceived efficacy than male participants (hypothesis 6). The results provide preliminary support for the EPPMs ability to explain reactions to receiving a community notification. Hypotheses 1, 2, and 4 were fully supported and hypothesis 6 was partially supported as females displayed higher fear, perceived threat, and behavioural intentions; however, the intervention was ineffective in producing differences between the intervention and control groups (hypothesis 5). Exploratory regression analyses found gender, education level, previous victimization, parental status, and locus of control were related to the EPPMs variables. Future research should examine the impact of different educational materials and delivery systems (such as interpersonal sources, media, and web-based multi-media) to further examine the application of the EPPM to web-based sexual offender community notification and determine whether it is possible to increase adaptive responses to receiving a community notification by providing educational information.

Witnessing victimization in prison is a relatively new area of research. Prison victimization research focuses on direct experiences of victimization and its attending consequences; however, studies have not focused on the vicarious victimization experiences of prisoners. Drawing from the prison victimization, witnessing/exposure to violence, and offender reentry literature, this study will investigate the link between witnessing victimization in prison and individual post-release outcomes. Using multivariate analyses, I examined the extent to which individuals witness victimization in prison and the effects of witnessing victimization on individual post-release outcomes using The Prison Experience and Reentry study, a longitudinal study of 1613 males residing in Ohio halfway houses. The findings suggest that a significant proportion of offenders witness victimization while incarcerated. Furthermore, witnessing victimization, particularly witnessing sexual victimization and stealing, was significantly related to post-release outcomes. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

The increasing tendency of youth getting involved in crime, globally as well as in South Africa is an indication of the comprehensive problem and the duty that is resting upon professionals dealing with the youth. It is therefore important that in South Africa attention will be given to the young first offender. Various intervention methods such as drama-based intervention can be used as service delivery for the young first offender. Drama based intervention hold various therapeutic values for the young first offender. This program can make use of various methods for intervention such as, dance, movement and theatre. The objectives of the program, the need of the participants as well as the background of each individual participant are determining the choice of the intervention method. A drama-based intervention program was used for the study. The aim of this study was to examine the nature of a drama-based intervention for young first offenders. The aims were to: • Through an intensive literature study the various intervention methods was studied. The finding of the literature study was that the involvement of the first young offender within any creative activity has a lasting effect on the social development of the client resulting in a decrease in anti-social behaviour such as crime. Experimental exercises that is based on social learning-; role- and cognitive-behavioural theory are very effective in working with young people • To develop, implement and evaluate a drama-based intervention program through an intensive literature study and empirical research. This program needs to focus on the decreasing and prevention of recidivism with young first offenders. This goal was achieved as the program was developed according to guidelines of the GEESE theatre, which was adapted for South-African circumstances. The program was implemented and evaluated with a group of seven young first offenders. The research showed that the most effective intervention program for young first offenders should be more experimental and based upon creative arts, rather than a structured goal-oriented program, creating opportunities for in-depth exploration of the inner self. The program would then also help the respondent to develop resiliency by building on protective factors, identifying risk factors and developing skills to manage factors such as low self esteem, family relations, peer pressure and poverty. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

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No description available.

The increasing tendency of youth getting involved in crime, globally as well as in South Africa is an indication of the comprehensive problem and the duty that is resting upon professionals dealing with the youth. It is therefore important that in South Africa attention will be given to the young first offender. Various intervention methods such as drama-based intervention can be used as service delivery for the young first offender. Drama based intervention hold various therapeutic values for the young first offender. This program can make use of various methods for intervention such as, dance, movement and theatre. The objectives of the program, the need of the participants as well as the background of each individual participant are determining the choice of the intervention method. A drama-based intervention program was used for the study. The aim of this study was to examine the nature of a drama-based intervention for young first offenders. The aims were to: • Through an intensive literature study the various intervention methods was studied. The finding of the literature study was that the involvement of the first young offender within any creative activity has a lasting effect on the social development of the client resulting in a decrease in anti-social behaviour such as crime. Experimental exercises that is based on social learning-; role- and cognitive-behavioural theory are very effective in working with young people • To develop, implement and evaluate a drama-based intervention program through an intensive literature study and empirical research. This program needs to focus on the decreasing and prevention of recidivism with young first offenders. This goal was achieved as the program was developed according to guidelines of the GEESE theatre, which was adapted for South-African circumstances. The program was implemented and evaluated with a group of seven young first offenders. The research showed that the most effective intervention program for young first offenders should be more experimental and based upon creative arts, rather than a structured goal-oriented program, creating opportunities for in-depth exploration of the inner self. The program would then also help the respondent to develop resiliency by building on protective factors, identifying risk factors and developing skills to manage factors such as low self esteem, family relations, peer pressure and poverty. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The violent sexual assault of women and the rehabilitation of its perpetrators is an area of crime that has been scarcely researched. The problem of sexual aggression is multi-dimensional and accordingly a comprehensive assessment needs to address a wide range of psychological vulnerabilities and offence process characteristics to enhance treatment customisation. The purpose of this study was to create a clinician rated measure for the treatment classification of rapists – Checklist of Offence Pathways – Rapist Version - and to assess the measure’s reliability and validity. The 15-item measure was created using the framework of the pathways model (Ward & Hudson, 1998; Ward, Hudson, & Keenan, 1998). The measure was divided into two subscales measuring approach vs. avoidant goals and active vs. passive strategies. Both subscales demonstrated significant interrater reliability (r = .53 and r = .46, respectively) as well as internal consistency (a = .50 and a = .60, respectively). The majority (80%) of the inter-item correlations were uncorrelated or weak indicating that the test items were measuring separate constructs. Validity analysis indicated that a number of test items displayed convergent and discriminant validity with established psychometric scales. Overall these results suggest that this measure provides a useful framework for understanding sexual aggression and selecting treatment strategies for rapists, while avoiding some of the pitfalls associated with dissimulation in self-report measures.

Approximately 30% of adolescents in the United States have engaged in delinquent acts. Juvenile delinquency is related to the development of Conduct Disorder and other mental health disorders including: Substance Abuse, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Depression and Anxiety. Within the juvenile court system, mental health assessments are utilized in order to identify the complex treatment needs of juvenile offenders; however, implementation of the report recommendations is challenging. This project explored the implementation and adherence of psychological recommendations completed in the Second Judicial Circuit Redeploy Illinois program, a juvenile diversion program. Effectiveness of the psychological assessments conducted in the Redeploy program at reducing commitment to the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice was evaluated. A process evaluation examined the sample of youth who completed assessments, determined who received reports, and evaluated recommendation adherence, barriers to treatment, and perceived effectiveness of recommendations. Information was collected via reviews of archival data and surveys distributed to legal guardians, probation officers, judges and administrators. An outcome evaluation was completed to determine whether Recommendation Adherence and Program Completion predicted reduced days in detention or commitment to IDJJ within six months following the psychological assessment. Age, ratings of parent and child relationships, and intellectual ability were explored as individual predictors of days in detention and sentencing to IDJJ. Results of the process evaluation indicated that juvenile offenders completing psychological assessments within the Redeploy Illinois program were similar to the national profile of juvenile offenders. Psychological reports were distributed to probation officers, judges and administrators appropriately; however, legal guardians received reports less frequently and indicated that reports were less effective than other stakeholders. Nevertheless, the psychological assessments were successful at completing the intended goals of the Redeploy program. Adherence to recommended interventions was very low for all youth. Barriers to recommendation adherence included lack of social support, unavailable services and feelings that recommendations were inappropriate. Recommendation adherence did not significantly predict the number of days in detention, nor commitments to IDJJ, but successful program completion was a significant predictor. Interpretations of these findings and recommendations were provided to help improve psychological assessments within the Second Judicial Circuit Redeploy Program.