NCJ Number
132738
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 13 Issue: 5 Dated: (December 1988) Pages: 1,6-10
Date Published
1988
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The Sex Offenders Unit at Oregon State Hospital, a secure correctional program, is considered a model program for treating sex offenders.
Abstract
Participants in the program must give staff members a detailed description of their offenses and past criminal and sexual behavior, write an autobiography, and confront their co-participants in daily group therapy. While researchers categorize sex offenders, as first offenders, controlled chronic offenders, and mentally impaired chronic offenders, the two greatest risk factors are childhood victimization and biological influences including brain damage, hormonal imbalance, and genetic defects. A common pattern that sex offenders follow is carrying out their fantasies of deviant sexual activity. While correctional experts generally agree that sex offenders cannot be "cured," they can be taught to control their deviance. The therapies used to treat sex offenders focus on behavioral, cognitive, and medical factors. More juvenile programs, victim counseling, and training for community health workers would enhance the effectiveness of sex offender treatment programs.