The relationship between childhood traumatic events,social support,and mental health problems in prisoners

This study examined the prevalence of childhood traumatic events (CTE), social support levels as well as mental health problems (MHP), to test for differences between traumatized and non-traumatized individuals, and to investigate the relationship among the aforementioned parameters in a sample of 49 prisoners in Switzerland. This cross-sectional study used standardized self-report measurements. In line with expectations, prisoners reported a high rate of traumatic events. Furthermore, results indicated that those traumatized differed from those non-traumatized regarding the level of social support, interpersonal sensitivity, and depression. However, no relationship between CTE and social support as well as MHP was found. This points to specific therapeutic needs of those traumatized, and to the necessity of a trauma-informed correctional care. Moreover, these study results are a further step into more integrated models of criminal behavior.     

Using clinical variables to evaluate treatment effectiveness in programmes for sexual offenders

Abstract

Typically, sex offender programmes are evaluated using recidivism, a distal outcome measure. This paper proposes that sex offender programmes also incorporate proximal variables to evaluate treatment effectiveness. Proximal variables assess within treatment changes immediately following the intervention. To demonstrate this approach, the effectiveness of a sex offender treatment programme is evaluated using proximal variables, specifically locus of control, empathy, cognitive distortions and acceptance of responsibility. We provide the findings of this evaluation and discuss the implications of this approach. In particular, we conclude with the importance of identifying relevant treatment targets and selecting suitable proximal measures of those targets in evaluating treatment effectiveness.     

Child pornography possessors: Comparisons and contrasts with contact- and non-contact sex offenders

Abstract

The advent of the internet has facilitated a dramatic increase in the number of individuals accessing and possessing child pornography and a corresponding increase in referrals for assessment and treatment. Questions remain regarding whether child pornography possessors are more similar to or different from other types of sex offenders, and whether or not assessment and treatment protocols for contact and non-contact sex offenders are applied appropriately to child pornography offenders. The present study compared 50 child pornography offenders, 45 non-contact sex offenders and 101 contact child molesters. The results indicated that the three groups were more similar than different; however, child pornography offenders were distinguished by greater academic and vocational achievement, fewer childhood behaviour problems and by select relational variables. Recidivism rates were low for all groups.     

Differential Effects of Adult Court Transfer on Juvenile Offender Recidivism

Prior research indicates that adolescent offenders transferred to adult court are more likely to recidivate than those retained in the juvenile system. The studies supporting this conclusion, however, are limited in addressing the issue of heterogeneity among transferred adolescents. This study estimates the effect of transfer on later crime using a sample of 654 serious juvenile offenders, 29% of whom were transferred. We use propensity score matching to reduce potential selection bias, and we partition the sample on legal characteristics to examine subgroup effects. We find an overall null effect of transfer on re-arrest, but evidence of differential effects of transfer for adolescents with different offending histories. These results suggest that evaluating the effects of transfer for all transferred adolescents together may lead to misguided policy conclusions.     

Can we keep it simple? Using the BARR-2002R with a community-based sex offender sample

The Brief Assessment of Recidivism Risk (BARR-2002R) comprises of six items from the Static-2002R and has been designed for predicting general and violent recidivism among sexual offenders. The present study investigates the ability of the BARR-2002R, Static-2002R, Static-99R, and SORAG to predict general, violent, and sexual recidivism in a sample of 342 male sex offenders at a community-based forensic clinic. All four of the risk schemes demonstrated large effect sizes for predicting general, violent, and sexual recidivism, although the BARR-2002R produced a moderate effect size in its prediction of sexual reoffending. Unlike past research, the BARR-2002R did not outperform the other measures; however, our findings showed that the BARR-2002R adds incremental value to the Static-99R in predicting general and violent recidivism. These findings provide support that the BARR-2002R is a valid, abbreviated risk scheme that could be used in routine assessments of individuals convicted of sexual offending.     

Perceptions of Older Adult Eyewitnesses: Will You Believe Me When I'm 64?

Participant-witnesses (young adults/young seniors/older seniors) viewed one of two versions of a simulated videotaped crime (crime context either familiar to young or older adults). The witnesses were videotaped responding to direct and cross-examination questions about the video. The older seniors were significantly less accurate than the young adults and young seniors. Familiarity of the crime context did not affect testimony accuracy. However, the older seniors were more verbose when describing a familiar context. Participant-jurors viewed the testimony videotapes and evaluated the witnesses' credibility. All witnesses were regarded as equally credible in testifying and less accurate in response to cross-examination questioning.