NCJ Number
128672
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 34 Issue: 3 Dated: (December 1990) Pages: 239-247
Date Published
1990
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This paper describes a cognitive behavioral treatment program for adolescent sex offenders. Key components include the reduction of deviant arousal via satiation therapy and the use of covert sensitization to develop greater control over sexual impulses.
Abstract
Pre- and post-treatment data are presented for 15 adolescent child molesters of prepubescent females and 12 adolescent child molesters of prepubescent males. Plethysmographic assessment revealed stable response by molesters of both young males and females to deviant stimuli across baseline conditions in two assessments performed one to four months apart. However the assessment at a 2-month treatment interval showed a marked decrease in deviant arousal, specifically a 39.3 percent reduction to male pedophilic cues and 33.5 percent reduction to female pedophilic cues. In contrast, arousal to description of consensual sexual activity with a same age female was high across baseline and treatment conditions. These results demonstrate a significant differential between non-deviant and deviant arousal following treatment. Future research directions are examined. 2 figures and 13 references