Examining the effectiveness of a UK community-based sexual offender treatment programme for child abusers |
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| Authors: | Rebecca Mandeville-Norden Anthony Beech Elizabeth Hayes |
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| Institution: | 1. DCPA, Queen's House , Little Queen Street, Exeter, EX4 3LJ, Devon, UK becky@rpmn.fsnet.co.uk;3. Centre for Forensic and Family Psychology , University of Birmingham , Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK;4. Attitudes Thinking and Behaviour Team, Interventions and Substance Abuse Unit , NOMS Commissioning and Partnerships Directorate, Ministry of Justice , 1st Floor, Abell House, John Islip Street, London, SW1P 4LH, UK |
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| Abstract: | Abstract An analysis of psychometric data from a sample of 341 UK child abusers who had completed a probation-based sex offender treatment programme was carried out in order to assess the effectiveness of therapeutic treatment. A cluster analysis was also undertaken to examine the pattern of pre-treatment problems. Three clusters of offenders, with distinctly different psychometric profiles, were identified depending upon the number and extent of their offence-specific and social adequacy problems. These were labelled Low need, Medium need and High need. Pre–post analyses revealed clinically significant treatment effects for the entire sample, with differing effects found across the clusters as follows: 50–81% of the Low need group scored within the cut-off (or normative range) at the post stage, while between 3% and 26% had shifted to a clinically significant degree; 34–75% of the Medium need group scored within the cut-off range after treatment, while between 9% and 100% had shifted to a clinically significant degree; 16–52% of the High need sample scored within the cut-off at the post-treatment stage, and between 15% and 80% had shifted to a clinically significant degree. |
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| Keywords: | child abusers community sexual offender treatment statistical effects clinically significant change |
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