A total of 122 child molesters were studied to investigate the extent to which Alford's sex offender taxonomy and Finkelhor's Multifactor Theory would predict treatment response. The taxonomy was constructed incorporating two dimensions: perpetrator type and primary motivation to commit abuse. The results indicated that regressed offenders whose primary motivation to commit child abuse was to meet non-sexual needs made more favorable progress and had a higher ratio of therapy successes than comparison groups. A factor analysis of variables constructed from Finkelhor's theory produced seven factors. Three of these factors predicted treatment progress and one predicted termination outcome. Statistical analyses indicated that perpetrators 1) whose family of origin modelled child abuse, and 2) who were rejected by adult peers but, 3) who did not have any behavioral deficits such as an impulse control problem, responded more favorably in therapy than perpetrators who did not share these characteristics. Perpetrators with impulse control problems and /or severe emotional immaturity tended to be therapy failures. Although the Alford sex offender taxonomy and Finkelhor factors were significant predictors of treatment effects, they accounted for considerably less variance than number of treatment sessions attended and therapists' ratings of attitudes and behavior during treatment.
The authors' retrospective survey assessed the incidence and causes of sport- and exercise-related injuries in college students participating in intramural, recreational, and club sports. For their survey, they examined clinical screening forms and medical charts of 300 students (160 men and 140 women) to determine the type of injury, the body part affected, loading behavior of tissues involved, and mechanism of the injuries. Sprains resulting from tensile forces accounted for most of the injuries, with the knee the most frequently injured body part. The occurrence of injuries was equally divided between injuries from overuse, caused primarily by improper body mechanics, and acute injuries resulting from collisions with the ground or floor or from falls. The study suggests a need for programs in sport-injury prevention for college students.
The purpose of this study was to determine the utility of the Multiphasic Sex Inventory (MSI) in predicting treatment progress and therapy outcome of child sexual abuse perpetrators and to examine the diagnostic potential of this instrument for differentiating perpetrator characteristics. The MSI was administered to 122 clients prior to their entry into therapy and again at three month intervals for nine months. No significant changes in MSI scales were found during the nine month period. Retest correlations on the initial test and the first three month retest period ranged from .42 to .84 with an average of .71. Using the initial MSI scores as predictors, the MSI was able to predict between 30% and 47% of treatment variance, depending on what measure was used as a criterion. It was able to differentiate between treatment outcome (success vs. failure) with 70.9% accuracy. The Sexual Assault, Aggravated Assault, Cognitive Distortion/Immaturity, Lie, and Sex Knowledge Scales were the most salient variables in predicting treatment progress and outcome. A factor analysis of the MSI Scales yielded four factors: Assault, Sexual Fantasy, Denial/Dysfunction, and Normal. The Assault Factor accounted for the largest proportion of variance. Results also indicated that the MSI could 1) differentiate among abusers who molest males, females, and both sexes and 2) among abusers who molest only intrafamilial victims, only extrafamilial victims, and those who molest both kinds of victims. The MSI is also an excellent instrument for differentiating between deniers and non-deniers of abuse. The implications of the MSI as an instrument measuring denial is discussed and an MSI profile of a successful therapy candidate is sketched.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.