Sex Offender Treatment Programs in Correctional Settings: Participant Selection, Treatment Experience, and Treatment Completion (Criminal Justice)

Thousands of treatment programs have been implemented to address sexual offending. Recent studies support treatment effectiveness, but few focus on treatment in correctional settings. Additionally, many studies continue to use recidivism as an outcome measure. Treatment completion, however, has been shown to be an important indicator of positive outcome in sex offenders. Thus, Osborn focuses on determining characteristics of offenders and treatment experience that indicate which offenders will volunteer for treatment, be selected for treatment, and complete treatment. She finds that therapist turnover negatively impacts treatment completion. Results suggest a needed focus on refining treatment admission practices and understanding staff turnover, in order to enhance the effectiveness of prison-based sex offender treatment programs and to assist in retention of both participants and treatment providers.