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First Report of the Collaborative Outcome Data Project on the Effectiveness of Psychological Treatment for Sex Offenders

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Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment

Abstract

This meta-analytic review examined the effectiveness of psychological treatment for sex offenders by summarizing data from 43 studies (combined n = 9,454). Averaged across all studies, the sexual offence recidivism rate was lower for the treatment groups (12.3%) than the comparison groups (16.8%, 38 studies, unweighted average). A similar pattern was found for general recidivism, although the overall rates were predictably higher (treatment 27.9%, comparison 39.2%, 30 studies). Current treatments (cognitive–behavioral, k = 13; systemic, k = 2) were associated with reductions in both sexual recidivism (from 17.4 to 9.9%) and general recidivism (from 51 to 32%). Older forms of treatment (operating prior to 1980) appeared to have little effect. Future directions for improving the quality of sex offender treatment outcome evaluations are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Corrections Research, Department of the Solicitor General of Canada, Ottawa, Canada

    R. Karl Hanson & Andrew J. R. Harris

  2. Clearwater Treatment Centre, Monroe, Washington

    Arthur Gordon

  3. California Department of Mental Health, Sacramento, California

    Janice K. Marques

  4. University of Tennessee–Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee

    William Murphy

  5. Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario

    Vernon L. Quinsey

  6. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario

    Michael C. Seto

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  1. R. Karl Hanson
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Hanson, R.K., Gordon, A., Harris, A.J.R. et al. First Report of the Collaborative Outcome Data Project on the Effectiveness of Psychological Treatment for Sex Offenders. Sex Abuse 14, 169–194 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014624315814

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