NCJ Number
152827
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 21 Issue: 1/2 Dated: (1994) Pages: 139-150
Date Published
1994
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Four motivational factors were examined as predictors of treatment effectiveness for 48 male child molesters seen in outpatient therapy.
Abstract
The treatment regimen was structured according to a two- group research design. The experimental group received 20 weeks of rational-emotive therapy (RET) and one of two behavior therapy types, olfactory aversion or verbal satiation. This was followed by 20 additional weeks of relapse prevention. The control group received 20 weeks of RET only, followed by 20 weeks of more applied RET. Acceptance of the problem, attendance, promptness, and level of participation in therapy sessions were used as predictors in regression analysis of two outcome variables: (1) mastery of principles and concepts from cognitive-behavioral therapy as measured by proficiency tests; and (2) mastery of aversive conditioning procedures as measured by penile plethysmographic monitoring of sexual arousal. Results supported earlier findings in the literature that client motivation was related to successful treatment outcome. Motivational factors were more predictive of mastery over cognitive-behavioral therapy approaches than of changes in sexual arousal patterns. Acceptance of responsibility for sexual deviance consistently proved to be an effective predictor of favorable treatment outcome. Implications of the results for handling child molesters in denial and/or who do not comply with therapy attendance requirements are discussed. 19 references