Assessment of moral judgment and empathy in young sex offenders: a comparison of clinical judgment and test results

Professional decision making in forensic clinical practice may have lifelong consequences for offenders. Although information on moral development is important for prediction of reoffending and referral to adequate treatment, conclusions regarding moral development are still largely based on unstructured clinical judgment instead of assessment instruments. For this study, the authors examined to what extent unstructured clinical judgment of both moral judgment and victim empathy concurred with test results in a group of young sex offenders. Moral judgment was measured with the Sociomoral Reflection Measure-Short Form (SRM-SF), whereas victim empathy was measured with an extended version of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES). No significant associations were found between clinical judgment of moral judgment and the mean scores on the SRM-SF. However, clinical judgment of victim empathy was significantly associated with victim empathy on the Victim Empathy Scale but not consistently in the expected direction. Juvenile sex offenders, who were judged by clinicians to show little victim empathy, displayed lower mean scores on the Victim Empathy Scale than juvenile sex offenders who were evaluated to lack victim empathy or to have intact victim empathy. This study showed unstructured clinical judgment of moral development not to concur with test results. To improve decision-making processes regarding moral development, clinicians are advised to rely on instruments that assess moral development to inform clinical judgment. Further research is needed to examine which predictions are more accurate and to establish the predictive validity of moral development evaluations.     

The Effects of Youth Mentoring Programs: A Meta-analysis of Outcome Studies

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Mentoring programs, which pair youth with caring, non-parental adults with the goal of promoting positive youth development, are an increasingly popular strategy...     

The relationship of punishment- and victim-based moral orientation to prosocial, externalizing, and norm trespassing behaviour in delinquent and non-delinquent adolescents: a validation study of the Moral Orientation Measure

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Moral Orientation Measure (MOM), which was administered to 75 juvenile delinquents and 579 non-delinquent adolescents from lower socio-economic and educational backgrounds. Confirmatory factor analysis of a two-factor model, with punishment- and victim-based moral orientation as factors, showed an adequate fit to the data, indicating construct validity of the MOM. Moderate associations between moral orientation and sociomoral reasoning, as well as empathy, were also considered indicative of construct validity. Additional evidence for construct validity was found in only small associations between moral orientation and social desirability and verbal intelligence. Stronger victim-based orientation proved to be associated with less norm trespassing behaviour in non-delinquent adolescents and more prosocial behaviour in juvenile delinquents, which was considered indicative of concurrent validity. The results of this study strengthen the case for the MOM as a reliable and valid instrument to assess moral development in adolescents at risk of behavioural maladjustment, showing that moral orientation is differently associated with morally relevant behaviour in delinquent and non-delinquent adolescents.

Ethnic differences in the relationship between psychopathy and (re)offending in a sample of juvenile delinquents

The present study focused on the relationship between psychopathy and delinquency in a multiethnic sample of juvenile offenders (N=207, n=105 native Dutch, and n=102 immigrants) referred to a treatment program. Aims were (1) to examine the cross-ethnic equivalence of the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD); (2) to compare the mean levels of psychopathic traits in native Dutch and immigrant juvenile delinquents and (3) the strength of the associations between psychopathic traits and delinquency in both the native Dutch and immigrant samples. Measurement invariance was established for APSD factors assessing callous-unemotional (CU) traits and impulsivity. However, there were ethnic differences in the factor structure of narcissism. No differences were found between ethnic groups in mean levels of CU traits and impulsivity. Finally, the association between impulsivity and self-reported delinquency was stronger for native Dutch than for immigrant juveniles. Further research is needed in order to make the treatment of juvenile delinquents with psychopathic traits in ethnic minority groups more effective according to the specific needs of these juveniles.     

Equality as a driver of inequality? Universalistic welfare,generalised creditworthiness and financialised housing markets

Abstract

Scandinavian countries are known for their universalistic welfare states, corporatist coordination, strong economic performances and egalitarian outcomes, an institutional combination often referred to as the ‘Nordic model’. However, these countries also possess volatile and increasingly vulnerable housing markets characterised by periods of sharp increases in prices and rents and some of the highest debt to income ratios in the world. The combination of a universalistic welfare state and housing market dynamics sets off a self-reinforcing process of increased stratification and re-familialisation. How did these orderly, egalitarian and welfare-oriented societies end up with housing markets that expose their citizens to increasing risk while driving inequality? The key lies in the effect the Nordic welfare state has on financialised housing markets. Successful decommodification of human lives leads to generalised creditworthiness which stimulates asset price inflation and new wealth and risk inequalities.     

Changes in the relative importance of dynamic risk factors for recidivism during adolescence

This study examined which dynamic risk factors for recidivism play an important role during adolescence. The sample consisted of 13,613 American juveniles who had committed a criminal offense. The results showed that the importance of almost all dynamic risk factors, both in the social environment domain (school, family, relationships) and in the individual domain (attitude, skills, aggressiveness), decreased as juveniles grew older. Therefore, the potential effect of an intervention aimed at these factors will also decrease as juveniles grow older. The relative importance of the risk factors also changed: In early adolescence, risk factors in the family domain showed the strongest association with recidivism, whereas in late adolescence risk factors in the attitude, relationships, and school domain were more strongly related to recidivism. These results suggest that the focus of an intervention needs to be attuned to the age of the juvenile to achieve the maximum potential effect on recidivism.     

Follow-up of a social skills training (SST) for juvenile delinquents: effects on reoffending

Objectives

To examine (1) the long-term effects on reoffending of an individual SST for juvenile delinquents in The Netherlands and (2) whether effects differ by demographic and offense history characteristics.

Methods

The present study is a follow-up of a matched control study comparing post-treatment effects of N?=?115 juveniles receiving Tools4U, an SST with a parental component, to N?=?108 control group juveniles receiving treatment as usual (TAU). Analyses were conducted separately for delinquents and truants. Effects in terms of recidivism were assessed using official delinquency data after 6 and 12 months and 1.46 years after SST termination. Percentage of recidivists, number of re-arrests, and violent recidivism were outcome variables.

Results

Overall, 39% of the juveniles reoffended, and there were no differences between Tools4U and TAU on any of the selected recidivism outcomes. Additionally, demographic and delinquency characteristics and post-treatment effects did not moderate effectiveness.

Conclusions

Tools4U was not more effective than TAU in preventing recidivism, which may be explained by a generally low percentage of recidivists. With established treatment integrity, and a lack of well-researched effective treatment alternatives, Tools4U could still be a reasonable treatment option for adolescent onset juvenile offenders, although more research is needed to confirm this.

     

Social skills training for juvenile delinquents: post-treatment changes

Objectives

To examine the post-treatment effectiveness of an outpatient, individual social skills training for juvenile delinquents in the Netherlands and to conduct moderator tests for age, gender, ethnicity, and risk of reoffending.

Methods

The sample consisted of juveniles who received Tools4U, a social skills training with a parental component, as a penal sanction (N?=?115). Propensity score matching was used to select a control group of juveniles receiving treatment as usual (TAU) of n?=?108 juveniles (of a total of N?=?354). Assessment of impulsivity, social perspective-taking, social problem-solving, critical reasoning, developmental task-related skills, and treatment integrity took place before and immediately after the treatment.

Results

Treatment integrity was found to be sufficient, so that treatment effects could be attributed to the Tools4U training. Tools4U was more effective than TAU in reducing impulsivity, cognitive distortions (self-centering and assuming the worst), and social perspective-taking deficits (hostile intent attribution). No treatment effects were found on adolescents’ social problem-solving skills, and only caretakers of girls showed improvement in parenting skills. Effects on developmental task-related skills were not in the expected direction: after Tools4U, juveniles reported significantly less social acceptance and self-worth than juveniles receiving TAU.

Conclusions

Tools4U showed generally small effects and no effects on protective factors, which might limit the long-term treatment effects on delinquency. Treatment effects may be improved by implementing additional techniques and improving the parental component for boys in particular.

     

The relationship between psychopathy and moral development in young sex offenders

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between psychopathic traits and moral development (moral judgement and empathy) in 85 Dutch male sex offenders between 13 and 23 years of age. Questions were asked about general life situations, sexual situations with morally relevant features, and questions about the offender's own abuse victim. A weak negative association was found between psychopathy and mature moral judgement, but only when questions involved the offender's own abuse victim. Weak to moderate negative associations were found between psychopathy and cognitive and affective empathy in general and sexual situations, but not in the own abuse victim situations. Further analysis revealed moderate negative associations between psychopathy and affective empathy in the own abuse victim situations, but only when an unfamiliar victim was involved. This is the first study, to our knowledge, showing that juvenile sex offenders with high levels of psychopathy have context-specific moral deficits, and that in this group both cognitive and affective empathy are related to psychopathy.