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Treatment for Juveniles Who Sexually Offend in a Southwestern State

NCJ Number
229198
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 18 Issue: 6 Dated: November-December 2009 Pages: 594-610
Author(s)
Philip A. Ikomi; Georgetta Harris-Wyatt; Geraldine Doucet; H. Elaine Rodney
Date Published
December 2009
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study explored the most effective treatment for juvenile sex offenders.
Abstract
The cognitive behavioral therapy with relapse prevention was the most common treatment; there was a success rate of 87 percent for treatment provided over an average of 24 months to a mixed ethnic group of juveniles. This finding is consistent with the studies that found that cognitive behavioral therapy approaches were the most effective treatment for male adolescent sexual offenders. Noted is that a highly controlled longitudinal study over an 8-year period using randomized clinical trials with adult offenders did not find a difference between those treated with cognitive behavioral therapy and untreated offenders. Relapse prevention as originally presented for use with sexual offenders is no longer considered viable for juveniles, but a modified relapse prevention model based on self-regulation with its multiple pathways to sexual offending is now an accepted norm for relapse prevention among sexual offenders. Data were collected from sexual offender treatment providers in 23 counties in a Southwestern State using a 25-item questionnaire. Table and references