“Built on Respect and Good Honest Communication:” a Study of Partnerships Between Mental Health Providers and Community Corrections

The prevailing approach to managing persons with criminal histories involves community supervision professionals like probation and parole officers partnering with other mental health providers to address clients’ needs. The relationships between individual professionals are seldom researched, though, and the current study aims to address this deficit in the empirical literature. This study utilized interviews about professionals’ perceptions of their work experiences, analyzed open-endedly to identify major themes. Mental health providers’ themes included appreciation and process of collaboration, individual characteristics and roles, characteristics of collaboration, elements of interprofessional relationships, and involvement of the courts. Community supervision professionals discussed issues pertaining to appreciation and process of collaboration, individual characteristics and roles, when conflict occurs, and the lack of basic knowledge about other professionals. Second, these partnerships were examined in light of interprofessional healthcare competencies. Themes identified here resembled healthcare values and ethics competencies and roles and responsibilities competencies; healthcare competencies regarding interprofessional communication and teamwork showed partial congruence with the current themes. Overall, interprofessional collaboration is valued. This research highlights the strengths of this type of interprofessional collaboration and offers suggestions for improving the efficacy of collaboration

Use of Person-Identifiers in Sexual Abuse Research Across 35 Years: Preliminary Results of the Sexual Abuse Terminology Project

In recent years, questions have risen regarding the language used to describe those who are supervised by the criminal justice system, participating in mental health services, and examined in research. This has resulted in recommendations to reduce labelling bias, as is evident from the recent editions of the APA Publication Manual (2009, 2019), editorials (Willis & Letourneau, 2018), and ethics discussions (Willis, 2018). In 2016, the United States Department of Justice adopted a policy of referring to their detainees and supervisees using person-first language, such as “individual who has offended,” rather than referring to individuals based on the nature of their offenses. With these developments, recent research has increased our focus on the way professionals identify those involved in the criminal justice system, how our labels impact these individuals, and the sociocultural implications of our language use (e.g., Denver, Pickett, & Bushway, 2017). The poster presents preliminary results of the sexual abuse terminology project, which examines professionals’ use of language to identify and describe individuals who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviors, the sexually abusive behaviors themselves, and sexual interests associated with abusive behavior, between 1981 and 2020. This poster will specifically highlight person identifiers across five-year intervals from 1981 through 2015 (as data collection from publications in 2020 will still be ongoing at the time of presentation), demonstrating trends is language use over time. For this analysis, 1,223 peer-reviewed studies were evaluated for language use. Eighty-three label categories (e.g., abusers, individuals, offenders, etc.) were identified, with 410 specific labels (e.g. intrafamilial child sexual abusers, men with sexual behavior problems, deviant patients, etc.) identified in total. While “offender” labels are the most consistently used terms across all years, trends in term use over time will be presented across five-year intervals. Trends in terminology usage will be graphically depicted, and hypotheses for changes in terminology used will be discussed

Adults With Pedophilic Interests in the United States: Current Practices and Suggestions for Future Policy and Research

Adults with pedophilic interests are often viewed by the public as a homogenous subgroup based on what we know from those who sexually offend against children. The stigma associated with child sexual abuse may serve to deter such behaviors but may also interfere with the person’s stability and willingness to seek assistance in managing pedophilic interests. This article contrasts the sex offender response and prevention efforts typically employed in the U.S. (i.e., containment, registration, and notification policies and public education programs) with treatment programs aimed at preventing child sexual abuse in Germany, Belgium, and Canada. Five major areas are identified that should be further examined with regard to implementing preventative outreach and treatment programs in the U.S.: barriers to outreach and treatment programs, how to expand or reframe current preventative educational programs, implementation of such programs in light of current mandating reporting policies, promising treatment approaches for pedophilic interests among non-offenders, and ethical concerns relevant to preventative psychological interventions

Desistance From Sexual and Other Violent Offending Among Child Sexual Abusers: Observations Using the Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale

Most sex offenders appear to desist from sexual and other violent offending; however, research on this population has historically focused more on the characteristics of individuals who persist offending versus those who desist from offending. The present study examined change patterns of 563 child sexual abusers’ scores on the Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale, a dynamic risk measure, at three points of time over 2 years. Individuals who did versus did not commit a new serious offense, defined as a new sexual or other violent offense, at 5-year follow-up were contrasted. Desisters demonstrated most changes during their first year in treatment, whereas change among persisters more often occurred during their second year in treatment. All classes of offenders made gains in addressing dynamic risk related to sexually specific needs, whereas desisters made significantly greater gains in social stability needs. Findings are discussed in light of treatment dose allocation and community reentry needs

Pedophilic Interests in the United States: Current Prevention Practices and Suggestions for Future Policy and Research

Adults with pedophilic interests are often viewed by the public as a homogenous subgroup based on what we know from those who sexually offend against children. The stigma associated with child sexual abuse may serve to deter such behaviors but may also interfere with the person’s stability and willingness to seek assistance in managing pedophilic interests. This article contrasts the sex offender response and prevention efforts typically employed in the U.S. (i.e., containment, registration, and notification policies and public education programs) with treatment programs aimed at preventing child sexual abuse in Germany, Belgium, and Canada. Five major areas are identified that should be further examined with regard to implementing preventative outreach and treatment programs in the U.S.: barriers to outreach and treatment programs, how to expand or reframe current preventative educational programs, implementation of such programs in light of current mandating reporting policies, promising treatment approaches for pedophilic interests among non-offenders, and ethical concerns relevant to preventative psychological interventions

Old Enough to Know Better? Racial Biases, Perceived Age, and Young Defendants in Tennessee

A defendant’s age can be an important determinant of judicial outcomes, but the perception of a defendant’s age can have implications for how these outcomes are determined. Research has suggested a connection between racial bias and age perception. This study sought to describe an age bias against African-Americans, and to connect this to jury sentencing outcomes. Undergraduate participants (N = 318) were recruited from university in the Appalachia region. First, participants estimated the ages of individuals in photographs. Analyses primarily focused on 18 and 19-year-old African-American and Caucasian males, but included a number of photographs from older males and females. Then, participants suggested a prison sentence in a mock jury sentencing task. African-Americans were estimated to be older than Caucasians by nearly four years (d = 1.75). This difference was present when controlling for exposure to African Americans, but with a negligible effect (d = 0.17). A modest increase (0.5 years, d = 0.32) was found in the sentence lengths assigned to African-American defendants. Discrepancies between age estimates and Page 112 2015 Appalachian Student Research Forum sentence lengths were not correlated. However logistic regression analyses found that age estimates of African-Americans were predictive of sentences exceeding state guidelines for this group, and the difference in age estimates between African-Americans and Caucasians was predictive of excessive sentences for both groups. While these regressions produced statistically significant (p \u3c 0.05), the effect sizes of these regressions were negligible (d \u3c 0.20). These findings suggest age bias is present and may have implications for juveniles and young adults in criminal proceedings

Sex Offender Modus Operandi Stability and Relationship With Actuarial Risk Assessment

Three studies conducted in Vermont yielded data on 82 sexual recidivists’ index offenses (Time 1) and sexual reoffenses (Time 2) across 16 modus operandi (MO) characteristics. The current study examines the stability of these 16 characteristics between Time 1 and Time 2 offenses. Probabilities of Time 1–Time 2 characteristic combinations are reported, including when controlling for static risk as measured by the Static-99R and Vermont Assessment of Sex Offender Risk–2 (VASOR-2). Overall, considerable stability of offenders’ MO was evident between Time 1 and Time 2 offenses. Victim characteristics and offense behaviors were the most stable MO characteristics, and degree of force used and victim injury were less stable and trended toward less forceful and less injurious reoffenses. Controlling for static risk had little impact on the patterns of MO stability

Challenges in Rural Re-Entry: Mental Health Providers’ Perspectives on Interprofessional Relationships With Criminal Justice Professionals

Criminal justice professionals like probation and parole officers draw from psychologists, social workers, and other mental health treatment providers to improve offender outcomes. The value of mental health interventions for offenders has been well documented in the literature. However, the values, roles and responsibilities, and goals for offender outcomes may differ for these professional groups. Probation and parole officers prioritize safety through the specific mechanisms of deterrence, control, punishment, and restoration. Officers meet these goals by some combination of law enforcement and case management roles. Mental health treatment providers, in contrast, are concerned with the individual offender’s perspectives, values, and needs, and reducing symptoms or behaviors associated with criminal activity. Providers’ roles are often defined by their background and training. However, in rural areas where specialized providers are less available, professional roles may become blurred. Given the differences between the criminal justice and mental health professions, the quality of these interprofessional relationships is an area ripe for study. This qualitative study examines the experiences of mental health professionals providing services to offenders in a rural area of south-central Appalachia. Participants (N= 38) include professionals from the fields of psychology, psychiatry, counseling, and social work. Services provided by these individuals include, but are not restricted to, forensic evaluation, adult and juvenile offender treatment (i.e., sex offender treatment, anger management, substance abuse treatment, and domestic violence counseling), prosocial psychoeducation, and traditional psychotherapy with offenders. Providers from multiple agencies participated in individual or focus group interviews and completed a pre-interview questionnaire about their training background, services provided, and caseload. This exploratory study uses thematic analysis to identify important themes and subthemes related to the following aims: to identify characteristics of interprofessional interactions and partnerships between rural community treatment providers and agents of the criminal justice system, as perceived by treatment providers, to examine if interprofessional partnerships reflect best practice competencies identified in healthcare research (i.e., values and ethics, roles and responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams and teamwork), and to establish the impact of interprofessional partnerships on offenders’ success in rural communities. Future directions, including the examination of perceptions of probation and parole officers and other risk management agents, will be discussed

Addressing Social Anxiety Concurrently With Prison-Based Sex Offender Treatment: A Case of Individual Needs in an Era of Manualized Treatment

Emotional regulation may be an underaddressed therapeutic target in sex offender treatment. This article presents a case report of “Adam,” a Caucasian male referred to a prison-based sex offender treatment program. Adam’s social anxiety was recognized as an antecendent to his sexual offending, and treatment of such, as a critical adjunct to sex offender treatment, is discussed herein. Adam’s individualized treatment included aspects of rational emotive behavior therapy and time-limited dynamic psychotherapy. Adam showed an increased understanding of his anxiety and improvement in his social interactions, both in the context of treatment groups and with female staff, and was willing to continue follow-up care in the community. This case provides support for the individualized treatment of incarcerated offenders as opposed to exclusively utilizing manualized psychoeducational interventions