NCJ Number
212191
Date Published
2005
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This 2-year study examined recent developments in services for youth who have manifested sexually abusive behavior in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Abstract
A survey obtained the views of 78 experts on the effective intervention/treatment for youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior. A survey of 65 managers of programs for such youth focused on the structural and management issues involved in these programs. A comprehensive "mapping" survey on the services received by 186 youth in these programs focused on the nature of each service, its users, its practices, and its policies and procedures. An analysis of relevant documents was also conducted, along with a qualitative study of programs at a variety of sites. The study found that programs for sexually abusive youth have developed substantially in England and Wales since a benchmark report in 1992. The same has been true for Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Scotland. The programs serve youth with a diversity of characteristics, including females and minority ethnic youth. Generally, the interventions managed and contained the sexually abusive behavior of the youth while attempting to meet interpersonal and intrapersonal needs related to their deviant sexual behavior. Cognitive behavioral theory was the basis for most interventions, followed by relapse prevention, and approaches based on family systems theory and psycho-education. Methods rejected by the programs were medication to control sexual offending, penile plethysmography, and confrontational approaches. Twenty recommendations are offered for improving program content and delivery, including the development of a national strategy that will ensure the further development of comprehensive and tiered services for sexually abusive youth.