title: Process evaluation of a group therapy component designed to enhance sex offenders' empathy for sexual abuse survivors.
abstract: A process evaluation was conducted to assess the extent to which a specialized treatment group might enhance the offenders' empathy for sexual abuse survivors. Therapeutic efficacy was assessed through pre- and post-treatment administration of a battery of paper-and-pencil inventories. Pedophiles demonstrated greater empathy at pre-treatment and post-treatment than rapists. Surprisingly, pedophiles and rapists did not differ in pre-treatment endorsement of cognitive distortions hypothetically related to rape. Post-treatment psychological inventories revealed significant changes on a variety of empathetic qualities. The results suggests that highly-specialized interventions can enhance sex offenders' empathy for sexual abuse victims and decrease endorsement of distortions justifying sexualized violence. Follow-up is underway to determine if these changes are associated with long-term reductions in recidivism.
authors.affiliation: Vermont Department of Corrections, St Albans.
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Pithers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology*; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010262:Paraphilic Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D010378:Pedophilia / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011902:Rape / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012008:Recurrence; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000523:psychology*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology