The effectiveness of sexual offender treatment for juveniles as measured by recidivism: a meta-analysis.
Published and unpublished data from nine studies on juvenile sexual offender treatment effectiveness were summarized by meta-analysis (N=2986, 2604 known male). Recidivism rates for sexual, non-sexual violent, non-sexual non-violent crimes, and unspecified non-sexual were as follows: 12.53%, 24.73%, 28.51%, and 20.40%, respectively, based on an average 59-month follow-up period. Four included studies contained a control group (n=2288) and five studies included a comparison treatment group (n=698). An average weighted effect size of 0.43 (CI=0.33-0.55) was obtained, indicating a statistically significant effect of treatment on sexual recidivism. However, individual study characteristics (e.g., handling of dropouts and non-equivalent follow-up periods between treatment groups) suggest that results should be interpreted with caution. A comparison of odds ratios by quality of study design indicated that higher quality designs yielded better effect sizes, though the difference between groups was not significant.
Reitzel
Lorraine R
LR
Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA. lrreitze@mdanderson.org
Carbonell
Joyce L
JL
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000726:Androgen Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000726:Androgen Antagonists