Disclosure strategies among sex offenders: A model for understanding the engagement process in groupwork

Abstract

A key component of the functional engagement of child sex offenders in a group-based programme is the disclosure of certain personal information. Such information is required to be of a type and presented in a way that facilitates open exchange in the group, promoting understanding of the presenter's offence pattern and conveying his sole responsibility for the offending. The model explained in this paper, based on an outcome from a grounded theory study, describes in detail four distinct orientations to such disclosure. Each is associated with a particular style of managing the disclosure encounter. Three of these disclosure management styles can be described as essentially “resistant” in nature, but only one is overtly oppositional. The two other “resistant” styles of disclosure management emerge as more covert and perhaps less readily identifiable expressions of reluctance. The implications of the model for work with this population and in more general settings are discussed.