NCJ Number
170120
Date Published
1997
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Psychosocial treatment of adolescents who commit sexual abuse or sex offenses in Great Britain is discussed in terms of the issues involved, assessment, intervention, application, and implications for the youth's development.
Abstract
Training in self-presentation, interaction skills, interactions with members of the opposite sex, anger control, and assertiveness form components of many treatment programs for adolescent sexual abusers. Problems in social functioning are a central focus of several descriptive and theoretical accounts in the field of sexual offending, although clear findings about specific deficits and psychosocial treatment have remained elusive. However, this gap characterizes the field of social skills as a whole and suggests the need to improve rather than abandon this approach. A framework for social skills training of adolescents encompasses four interdependent areas of functioning (cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and motivational) and differentiates between three levels (the person-centered, the transactional, and outcomes). Assessment should focus on determining areas and situations where problems do and do not occur. Intervention can take place individually, in groups, or in a combination of the two. Training techniques include an introduction and orientation, modeling, rehearsal and feedback, homework assignments, and techniques for overcoming resistance. Areas of application include social relationships, dating, and anger control and assertiveness. Effective psychosocial treatment can steer the development of an adolescent sex offender in a direction that differs from the previous direction.