Citation

Brankley AE, Monson CM, Seto MC. Sex. Offender Treat. 2017; 12(1): e159.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Pabst Science Publishers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Our traditional approach to understanding risk focuses on factors internal to the individual (e.g., paraphilic sexual interests, antisocial personality traits) and by only engaging the convicted individual in treatment. But propensities for sexual offending do not manifest in a vacuum; they most likely are caused and maintained by the interaction between internal (e.g., genetics, brain structures) and external (romantic partners, family, friends, and the community) forces present in an individual's life. The objective of this paper is a justification for enhancing treatment-as-usual by involving individuals in clients' interpersonal network (e.g., partners, friends, family, staff, community volunteers). This paper contains a summary of the theoretical framework for involving others in treatment and a review of the involvement of social supports in current treatment programs. There are three main conclusions: First, sexual offending is an interpersonal problem - offenders' interactions with others shape their risk for offending. Second, the involvement of concerned others varies widely across treatment programs and is often limited to education. Third, limited involvement of concerned others is due to both theoretical (i.e., the absence of consensus in defining the role of interpersonal relationships) and practical (i.e., difficulties in recruitment and treatment delivery) issues.

Keywords: Sex offender treatment, recidivism, interpersonal functioning, social support, systemic treatment

Language: en