Citation

Eastman BJ. Prison J. 2004; 84(4): 472-485.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0032885504269346

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Though many treatment programs for adolescent sexual offenders identify specific clinical goals such as the reduction of cognitive distortions, the enhancement of sexual knowledge, the development of prosocial attitudes toward sexual behavior, the enhancement of empathic abilities, and the enhancement of an offender’s self-esteem, there remains a deficit in research assessing the attainment of these treatment goals. Using a cross-over longitudinal design, the present study examines pretreatment and posttreatment data collected from a residential sex offender programfor incarcerated adolescent males (N = 100). The observed results provided support for the attainment of the program’s clinical goals with significant changes observed in the levels of cognitive distortions, sexual knowledge, attitudes about sexual behavior, and self-esteem. Partial support was observed as related to the goal of enhancing offender empathic abilities. The need for continued research examining treatment outcomes and the utility of employing existing measures in evaluating treatment is discussed.