Bitna Kim
Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Key Findings
- Sex offender treatment programs are successful in reducing recidivism.
- Age played a significant role in treatment outcomes.
- Adolescent participants had a 24% decrease in recidivism after treatment when compared to their adult counterparts after treatment.
- Community-based programs have a larger effect in reducing recidivism in sexual offenders.
Description
In the article, “Sex Offender Recidivism Revisited: Review of Recent Meta-analyses on the Effects of Sex Offender Treatment,” Kim and her co-authors examine sex offender treatment programs to determine their effectiveness in reducing recidivism. The authors focused on three treatment programs: Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), which uses psychotherapies to address problematic thoughts and behaviors; Multisystemic Therapy (MST), which works at a family-level to reduce deviant tendencies; and other sex offender treatments (medical, physical, or chemical). The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of literature on sex offender treatments on the criteria that the article 1) conducted a meta-analysis on sex offender treatments, 2) focused on adult and adolescent participants, and 3) examined the outcomes of any recidivism, which totaled 11 studies. The results showed that overall, sex offender treatment programs are successful in reducing recidivism. Age played a significant role in treatment outcomes with adolescent participants having a 24% decrease in recidivism after treatment when compared to their adult counterparts after treatment. Community-based programs have a larger effect in reducing recidivism in sexual offenders. The authors note that more research could help target treatments to offender groups.