Fourteen- to Twenty-four-Year Longitudinal Study of a Comprehensive Sexual Health Model Treatment Program for Adolescent Sex Offenders: Predictors of Successful Completion and Subsequent Criminal Recidivism

• NCJ Number: 201926
• Journal: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 47 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2003 Pages: 468-481
• Author(s): William Seabloom; Mary E. Seabloom; Eric Seabloom; Robert Barron; Sharon Hendrickson
• Date Published: August 2003
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article discusses the effectiveness of a sexuality-positive adolescent sexual offender treatment program.

Abstract

The Personal/Social Awareness program (P/SA) was established in 1977 in response to increasing referrals of adolescent males experiencing sexual issues of a critical nature, such as criminal sexual behavior. The program was an outgrowth of 17 years’ experience in group therapy and family treatment of adolescents with emotional and behavioral problems. The treatment philosophy was based on principles of child sexual health, social group work theory, family systems theory, and discipline. The purpose was to address and positively affect issues of criminal sexual behavior and sexual health in the adolescent clients and their families, and to provide a community that fosters interdependence, responsibility, and compassion for each other. The purpose of this study was to determine the demographics of the population served by the program, and assess the long-term effect of the program in preventing subsequent criminal sexual behavior. The sample was a subset of the families of adolescent males that participated in the program for greater than 1 month. Logistic regression was used to determine which factors were important correlates with successful completion of the treatment program. The results show strong evidence that the P/SA program was successful in fulfilling its mission to provide adolescents in sexual crisis with the skills necessary to refrain from engaging in criminal sexual behaviors and to become more constructive members of society. Participants from a wide range of backgrounds were equally successful at completing the program. There were no recorded arrests or convictions for sex-related crimes among those that successfully completed the P/SA program after more than a minimum of 14 years post-completion. Living situation, such as living with parents, was the only demographic variable that strongly affected the probability of successful completion. 1 figure, 2 tables, 42 references