No abstract

The records of 377 men civilly committed under Illinois' Sexually Violent Persons Act were compared with similar published samples from seven other states. Civilly committed sexual offenders in Illinois were more likely to be diagnosed with any personality disorder and more likely to exceed the cutoff score for psychopathy than similar offenders in other states. The authors then present a national composite of demographic, victim, and diagnostic information on men referred or pursued for civil commitment in eight states to better understand how these individuals differ from sex offender populations in correctional settings. Results suggest that there may be less victim specificity in sexually violent person (SVP) populations, as although nearly 50% of SVPs are diagnosed with pedophilia, 80% had committed at least one sexual offense against a child or adolescent victim. Across all samples, 72.7% of SVPs were diagnosed with a personality disorder, with antisocial personality disorder the most prevalent.

The purpose of this study was to obtain feedback from civilly committed sex offenders (N = 113) about the components of treatment that they believed to be most important and helpful in preventing reoffense. Participants were also asked to rate their satisfaction with the treatment process and therapists. Victim empathy and accountability were rated as the most important elements of treatment, along with skills for preventing relapse and methods for controlling sexual arousal. There was a fairly robust correlation between client perceptions of importance and satisfaction on most treatment components. Some clients expressed concerns about respect, confidentiality, and judgmental attitudes of some therapists. Because civilly committed sex offenders are considered to be among the most likely to reoffend, strategies are discussed for engagement of this population in a meaningful process of change.

Given the high rates of insecure attachment and adverse childhood experiences in men who sexually abuse, this pilot study examined whether an eight-month course of relationship-focused group therapy could make a positive impact on insecure attachment as a barrier to treatment engagement. Fifty subjects were identified by treatment teams as failing to make progress and/or engage meaningfully in a facility-based, sex offense-specific treatment program for civilly committed men who sexually offend. The subjects were assigned to five simultaneous new "motivational" groups that applied interpersonal-focused group therapy that emphasized interpersonal relating rather than criminogenic offense behavior. Participants showed significant improvement on the Secure Attachment subscale and three Secure items of the Relationship Styles Questionnaire (RSQ), suggesting that group-centered group promoted positive gains in interpersonal attachment, particularly in terms of reduced loneliness, reduced fear of acceptance, and greater comfort in depending on others. Participants assessed as having made good progress in the pilot treatment also showed significant improvement on a fourth Secure subscale item pertaining to greater ease with emotional closeness. Results further suggested that groups with better overall ratings of therapeutic climate using the Group Climate Questionnaire (GCQ) generally showed more movement toward secure attachment.