recidivism - Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings

PA Department of Corrections 2022 Recidivism Report

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 12:00:00 +0000

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections 2022 recidivism report and a look at the known recidivism statistics offered within.

Want to learn more about prevention? These articles explore primary prevention, minor attraction, stigma, and ways to improve outcomes before harm occurs.

The report provides some key statistics and is a follow up to the 2013 recidivism report.

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses? stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Consult with a professional.

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CSAM Recidivism: A Summary of Research

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000

In this video I give a brief summary of research studies and meta-analysis regarding the rate of recidivism for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) offenders.

Want to learn more about prevention? These articles explore primary prevention, minor attraction, stigma, and ways to improve outcomes before harm occurs.

The most important take away here is understanding that internet-only offenders are at an extremely low-risk of sexually re-offending. 4.6% is the exact number based on Seto (2011).

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

The post CSAM Recidivism: A Summary of Research first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

70 Years of Recidivism Research

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:32:40 +0000

What do distinguished researchers do during COVID-19 lock downs? A huge meta-analysis of recidivism research for sexual offending that covers the span of 70 years, of course. Then, they look at the recidivism rates based on the changes in law and culture in the United States and Canada.

Recidivism Research at the ATSA Conference

Patrick Lussier, a professor of criminology at Universite Laval in Canada, presented a keynote speech at this year’s ATSA Conference based on two scientific publications this year looking at 70 years of recidivism research of sexual offenses in the US and Canada.

It was a super interesting talk made even better by their analysis of recidivism rates in relation to law changes and sexual offender registry adoption.

What do and don’t we know about sexual offense recidivism?

The first study by Lussier et al was published in the journal Criminal Justice Review.

They started with 3206 studies on recidivism which was pared down to 859 studies which fit the criteria for inclusion:

Published after 1949
Be in English or French
Be a longitudinal study looking at sexual offenders
Provide actual data on recidivism

One of the very interesting aspects of this study was the historical perspective taken on sexual offending and recidivism.

As professionals, our time is valuable. Dr. Weeks created the Mitigation Aide Research Archive because there isn’t enough focused, data-backed research available in easily digestible formats.

Recidivism Research, Sexual Offending, and the Past

The earliest writings on sexual “deviance” come from the 19th century and the book by Kraftt-Ebing, published in 1886 is often cited. In this book, he described sexual deviance as a sexual behavior that is repetitive and persistent that was deemed odd, atypical and outside the norm.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, research on sexual offending began to focus on mental health problems of the offending person as well as the characteristics of people who offended.

Publications at the time indicated that there was an assumption that prison was not something that would deter a person who committed a sexual crime, and they would instead need individualized psychological interventions. Therapy tailored to their individual needs was the preference.

Studies from this era treated people who offended as specialists with major mental health problems related to sexual deviance.

The 1980’s

Starting in the 1980s studies started to look at sexual offense recidivism and a shift happened in the field. A very influential report was published stating that nothing worked to deter recidivism.

This influenced a movement away from looking at those who offended as individuals and moved things towards a deterrent focused model. This eventually would lead to a very large increase in incarceration rates.

Want to learn more about prevention? These articles explore primary prevention, minor attraction, stigma, and ways to improve outcomes before harm occurs.

The 1990’s to Today

In the 1990s sexual recidivism became a common indicator of risk which influenced laws and management of those convicted of sexual offending.

In the early 2000s sexual recidivism became a go-to statistic for evaluators and the courts.

Since the 2010s there has been criticism of the risk paradigm which suggests that people who have committed a sex crime have continuing propensities to commit future sex crimes.

This is supported by many studies that indicate low recidivism rates. The field has come to understand that the risk of reoffending is not a static thing, but changes based on the developmental stage of the person as well as life circumstances.

What do we know about sexual recidivism?

There is no such thing as a true base rate.

Recidivism rates based on what the study is measuring, the length of the follow up period and the nature of the individuals in the sample population.

Recidivism rates vary based on the length of the follow up period

Studies on recidivism can have a follow up period that varies from a few months to about 25 years.

Recidivism rates are associated with individual characteristics

These can include the person’s criminal history, past sexual offending history, psychological, sexual, and social functioning.

Recidivism is not limited to sexual recidivism.

Many people who commit a sexual crime are not specialists. Recidivism rates for sexual reoffending are low, the lowest across all types of crime.

Recidivism rates for adult offenders vary by age.

Rates of crime peak in adolescence and decrease into adulthood.

The Specificity of Adolescent offenders.

Adolescents who commit a sexual crime are not destined to become adult offenders.

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What is unresolved?

Current measures underestimate risk.

How much? We all know that recidivism studies are based on known behavior, and we also know that many sex crimes are not found out. Therefore, we know that recidivism rates are likely an underestimate of actual recidivism. What we do not know is how big that underestimate is.

What is the accuracy of long-term estimates of sexual recidivism?

Studies have gotten better in terms of having longer follow-up periods. However, these studies are based on older samples. Therefore, we do not know if this effect still holds true with more recent cohorts of offending individuals.

What is the effect of where you live?

Is it possible that registry laws and laws that restrict residences are creating variations in sexual recidivism rates caused by crime displacement?

What is the effect of post release experiences on recidivism?

Most studies simply look at whether or not a new offense was committed. They do not look at what the person’s environment was like. Were they on probation/parole? Were they in therapy? Did they have employment, housing, supportive people around them? Are low risk individuals actually low risk or are they being effectively managed in the community?

After reading this summary (and we didn’t cover everything) one might leave with more questions than answers.

Studies like this are important to highlight the weaknesses in the field and introduce new avenues of research for us to improve recidivism research, prediction, and treatment and policy making for individuals who have committed a sexual crime.

Reference: Lussier, P., Thivierge, S.C., Frechette, J. & Proulx, J. (2023). Sex Offender Recidivism: Some Lessons Learned from Over 70 Years of Research. Criminal Justice Review, doi:10.1177/0734016823157385journals.sagepub.com/home/cjr

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

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Are Denial and Minimization Always Bad? New Perspectives

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 13:11:21 +0000

Have you ever minimized your actions? Or even denied all or part of them? How do denial and minimization reflect on the accused?

Guest Blog by Patti Hoyt LPC CAADC CSAT

What are Denial and Minimization?

Denial is a small child saying “I didn’t do it,” when a parent walks into a messy room. Maybe, you say you completed a task, but in reality, you haven’t started it.

Minimization is a small child saying “It isn’t that bad,” when they get a poor grade or you saying “It isn’t that big of a deal,” when you forget to bring something you said you would.

Denial and minimization are both types of cognitive distortions. We all deny or minimize behaviors at some point in our lives.

Struggling with excessive sexual thoughts, urges, or activities that are causing you distress? Take the free, online Sexual Symptom Assessment Scale (SSAS) and get a link to share with your therapist.

Denial and Minimization in Forensic Psychology

Yet, in the forensic world, denial and minimization are viewed as a negative behaviors and cause for concern.

They are often seen as:

Barriers to accountability
Barriers to treatment response
A predictor for reoffense

Treatment often focuses on denial and minimization as a means to reduce risk of reoffending. However, the research on denial and minimization has yielded inconsistent results over the years.

Some studies have shown addressing denial for certain populations reduces risk of reoffending for a few, but not necessarily all.

Multiple researchers have been exploring the question “What is the function of denial?”

Why do people deny all or part of an event?

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According to the Research

Current research by Gabrielle B. Lucente and Kevin L. Nunes of Carleton University explores the function of denial.

They note denial is an adaptive response to a person being charged with a crime. They propose denial should be addressed as a barrier to treatment rather than a deficit to be addressed.

The researchers have indicated multiple possibilities for the use of these cognitive distortions by people who have been charged with a crime. Through their research, they have identified what they call the Adaptational Model.

Why do People Deny or Minimize?

People deny or minimize their actions for some of the following reasons:

To continue offending behavior or continue to manipulate situations (psychopathy)
- If I don’t tell, I can keep doing it, and no one will ever know.

Protect self-esteem
- If I don’t tell, people will continue to like me. I will still have friends and family.

Avoid consequences of action
- If I don’t tell, I will still have a job or people will continue to talk to me.

Distance self from negative label like sexual offender
- If I don’t tell, I won’t have the shame of being labeled negatively.

Protect identity
- This behavior is completely out of character and something I would never do it, thus I cannot tell.

Avoid negative evaluations from others
- If I don’t tell, I won’t be judged.

The more a person has at stake, such as losing friends, family, employment, sense of self, or increasing self-loathing, the more likely it is that they will minimize or deny their actions. The role of shame often plays a huge part in denial and minimization.

Licensed Professional Counselors: Dr. Weeks’ course Sex Addiction, Erotic Conflict, Moral Incongruence looks at what can be mistaken for sex addiction and offers treatment considerations for distinguishing those problems.

Sexual Addiction Treatment Services has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7250. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Sexual Addiction Treatment Services is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Does the Research Recommend Denial and Minimization?

This research does not give permission to anyone to deny or minimize any behavior.

What it does is give insight to why these thinking patterns can occur.

Changing how we look at denial and minimization allows treatment providers to explore barriers to a person’s responsiveness to treatment.

If a treatment provider starts to ask about the “Why” behind denial or minimization, they can help the client begin to work through the underlying mechanisms for the distorted thinking.

Guest Blog by Patti Hoyt LPC CAADC CSAT

Are you looking for more reputable, data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

The post Are Denial and Minimization Always Bad? New Perspectives first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

Sex Offender Treatment: Helpful or Placebo?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Sat, 09 Nov 2019 13:29:45 +0000

In most jurisdictions in the United States, a person convicted of a sex crime is mandated to sex offender treatment.

This treatment tends to be group therapy primarily being Cognitive Behavior Therapy, or CBT.

As the leader of a community of treatment providers, I am always striving to improve my practices. Therefore, I use evidenced based treatment modalities and the interventions best suited to our clients to decrease risks of recidivism.

So, when the question of whether or not what we are doing is helpful or harmful comes up, I pay attention.

Meta-Analysis of Sex Offender Treatment Outcomes

The keynote address Thursday morning at this year’s ATSA conference was by Dr. Teresa Gannon.

She presented her recently published meta-analysis of the effectiveness of sexual offender treatment. It was recently published in Clinical Psychology Review and is open access.

She looked at all types of violent offending but spoke this morning, specifically, about treatment for sexual offending.

There have been some studies that have been published that have provided a grim picture of treatment. Most specifically, Dr. Gannon points to a 2017 report from the UK Ministry of Justice that stated that people who had committed sexual crimes and had treatment had a 25% increase in their rates of recidivism.

To those of us who do this work, that’s a shocking number. No treatment provider wants to do more harm than good. Furthermore, none of us would ever knowingly do anything that would increase the risk of harm to anyone.

Details of the Meta-analysis

Enter Dr. Gannon and her colleagues. They embarked on a meta-analysis of 70 studies on offending behavior. Furthermore, they analyzed variables that could influence treatment outcomes.

Their work asked three specific questions:

Does offense specific treatment influence recidivism risk?
Is a trained psychology professional needed?
What program variables are important for success?

Results of the Study on Sex Offender Treatment

The results of the meta-analysis were both encouraging and enlightening.

Over a 6 year follow up period, individuals who engaged in sex offender specific treatment reoffended at a rate of 9.5%.

Those who did not attend sex offender specific treatment reoffended at a rate of 14.1%.

Sex offenders who attended treatment were 32.6% less likely to reoffend than those who did not attend. This result is the encouraging part.

Stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

What has the Greatest Impact on Sex Offender Treatment?

The first important question involved the presence of a licensed psychology professional. Was there a licensed professional involved in provision of treatment?

This was broken down into unclear/none meaning that a psychology professional was not directly involved with providing treatment or it was unclear. The other categories were inconsistent and consistent.

The results indicated that treatment is more effective when a psychology professional is consistently hands on in the treatment process.

What Other Factors Impact Recidivism?

The last set of factors investigated involved actual variables in the treatment program.

It was found that offenders who attended group only had better outcomes than those who attended group and individual therapy.

Those programs where a licensed psychology professional provided supervision had better outcomes.

Programs that used arousal conditioning had lower recidivism rates.

Programs that didn’t use polygraph testing had better outcomes than those that did use it.

Do you believe your sexual behaviors are compulsive or harmful to you or others? Then you should take the CSBD-19 free, validated self-assessment tool.

Takeaways for the Sex Offender Treatment Study

The meta-analysis posits that, we need to think about several key elements.

The most effective treatment programs had the following characteristics:

A licensed psychology professional with expertise in treating sexual offenders, who is hands on and consistent in the treatment.
Inappropriate sexual interest is addressed.
It is group based and supervision by a psychology professional is provided.
The polygraph is not used in treatment.

On a side note, the study indicated that the countries with the best outcomes for treated offenders were Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

This is the most up to date meta-analysis of sexual offender treatment efficacy published. It is the first to provide some evidence for the efficacy of arousal conditioning. It also indicates that it is not just treatment that is effective but treatment provided by individuals with expertise in the field and offer supervision to treatment providers.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? consult with a professional.

Are you looking for more reputable, data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

The post Sex Offender Treatment: Helpful or Placebo? first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.