Critical Review of Two Empirical Papers - Book Report/Review Example

Critical review of two empirical papers CRITICAL REVIEW OF TWO EMPIRICAL PAPERS Titus Rock Manickam Order No. 282904 25March 2009 CRITICAL REVIEW OF TWO EMPIRICAL PAPERS Long Term Recidivism of Child Molesters A Review Studies to examine the long term recidivism rates of child molesters released from prison cannot be expected to show encouraging results. This fact is amply demonstrated by the statement that of the 197 child molesters released from prison between 1958 and 1974, 42% were reconvicted for sexual crimes, violent crimes or both. These studies cover a long period of time and divide the offenders as treatment groups and control groups. The studies are long and drawn out and bear little fruit. They attempt to provide treatment by such methods as Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), Lykken Anxiety Scales, Fenz Anxiety Scales, and Internal-External (I-E) Locus of Control Scale. These methods have their limitations and are not entirely dependable to forecast the behavioral patterns of the offenders. However, they are useful because they reveal the tendencies of the offenders and play a role within their own parameters in highlighting measures such as pedophilia, hostility, neuroticism, physical object anxieties, social object anxieties, muscle tension, feelings of inferiority, and how much the offenders feel responsible for their fate. The study points out that there has been little research that has linked changeable risk indicators to the recidivism of child molesters. Perhaps one of the reasons for this lack of research is the futility of the exercise to make the study that does not go beyond showing the instances of recurrences by the offenders. The studies are not an attempt at drawing conclusions about the regeneration of the offenders. Rather its focus is on highlighting recurrences and the number of times the offender has been convicted in the past for sexual and non-sexual offences. It uses different modes to talk the offenders out of their criminal tendencies. It provides various means by which the offenders shift their way of thinking from fantasizing to moderating their thoughts. It attempts to bring the offenders to realize the draconian consequences of their actions. The studies do not, however, go into the social aspects of the crime as much as it ought to. The report says that the number of sexual crimes is rising. This means that the number of sexual offenders is rising. There must be some weaknesses in the social milieu that is responsible for the increase in sexual offences. Endeavoring to get the offenders to correct themselves is one way of seeking to come to grips with the menace. Sexual feelings and fantasies are present almost everywhere. How or why is it that some people succumb to these feelings and fantasies and seek physical gratification by molesting children There is a saying that while one may not be able to stop crows flying overhead, one can certainly stop them from building nests on one's head. Perhaps this saying is incapable of working on a mind bent on enacting perverse mental fantasies through sexual assaults on children. However, the saying could reflect on the minds of these offenders in confinement. The studies attempt to categorize the offenders' mental faculties. It tries to use treatment and control, and find out how the offenders' behavior changes over a period of time. The severity of each offender's case is also taken into consideration before slotting him into the treatment or controls group. In other words, due care is taken so that offenders are slotted into groups where there is the likelihood that they benefit from the program. The idea is to pattern their way of thinking to conform to those of the mainstream public. The exercise of attempting to draw child molesters into mainstream population is fraught with dangers and risks. The aim must be to reform the offender to a level where they perform better than the average person. The studies extract the current feelings and dispositions of the offenders. Such exercise can only produce statistical results. They do very little by way of reform. They do not sufficiently address moral issues. They do not require the offenders to behave rationally and responsibly at all times. The studies were undertaken to understand the recidivism pattern of the offenders. It is but natural that the results will not be encouraging. The offenders will not be very helpful with the program. In the first place, it takes some time to get them to speak the truth. It is difficult to record information as truthful at least in the initial stages. It takes months before getting the offenders to confirm that they have been giving the right information from the early stages. Child molestation is a deviant sexual behavior. The nature of the crime is such that it affords little opportunity for correction. The offender is like an animal that has tasted blood and will continue to look for the next victim to sate his desires. This craving cannot be exorcised by a few sessions of treatment. The studies do well to keep this fact in mind while carrying out the various treatments, controls and observations. The studies reveal successful outcomes but keep their fingers crossed due to lack of information in areas that the study has not covered. Missing data has to be fixed by the understanding that some available information also must satisfy some other statistic that has not been dealt with. But then, it is difficult to satisfactorily conclude results one way or the other with such assumptions. The study has, however, achieved certain results that prove the hard core nature of some child molesters. It has covered the risk factors of different segments of child molesters quite well. For instance, it has shown that risk factors for offenders against boys were significantly higher than the incest offenders and the offenders against girls. Given that the background of most offenders tended to be disturbing such as poor relationship with either father or mother or both, alcoholism, drug addiction, and even having been at the receiving end of physical abuse, there was the overwhelming wish to thrust responsibility of one's action to such backgrounds. Perhaps the studies could have done better by concentrating on one aspect of the study. They must divide the study and stick to recidivism alone and leave the aspect of reformation to another study group. They can rope in the services of some good religious group for the purpose. Sexual Fantasies of Adolescent Male Sex Offenders in Residential Treatment: A Descriptive Study A Review Sexual offences always have their sources in deviant sexual fantasies. This statement is not an exaggeration. Think about it. A male child grows to be an adolescent. In the process, he starts to become sexually aware. This sexual awareness pushes him into committing acts over which he has control sometimes, and sometimes he has no control. If the child is from a healthy background, it will show in his sexual life. If he does not come from a healthy background, this will also show in his sexual life. Study on sexual offences has proven the role of deviant sexual fantasies in the lives of the offenders. They say idle mind is the devil's workshop. This saying cannot be truer in any other aspect of a man's life. Once thoughts of perversion have taken roots in the mind, they can be pushed out only through self-discipline and self-will. But it is difficult to expect self-discipline and self-will in teenagers from unhappy backgrounds. In many cases before the person has had any chance at discipline and self-will, he has settled down to committing sexual offences. Over a period of time, he has become so enmeshed in committing these acts that finally the law takes over. The nature of sexual offences is such that not all such acts turns out to be litigation. Many times the victim may choose to remain silent after subsequently outmaneuvering the offender. In many cases, the victim may choose to grin and bear it. However, the time comes when push comes to a shove and the victim may no longer choose to bear the sexual assaults. Once a sexual offender is apprehended and handed over to the police, it depends on the law of the land to reform the offender or make him worse. A jail term alone cannot reform a person. There must be regular counseling sessions to help turn around the offender. The counseling sessions need to be individualized because every individual will respond in his own way to the sessions. Also, there is no way of telling how long the counseling will take to produce the desired results. The nature of the crime also plays a pivotal role in the selection of counseling program. In the cases of hardcore rapists and serial sex killers, it may not be possible to apply the routine counseling program. In the cases of less serious offences too, the counselor must keep some tabs on the offenders to match facts with information that the offender provides. It is a difficult and thankless task. Treatment providers have the daunting task of keeping tabs on the offender and counsel the offender at the same time. On the offender's part, it can be irritating to find oneself at the receiving end of the reformation program. It is not possible to guarantee that the offender is telling the truth all the time in the initial stages. That is why it is so important to win the confidence of the offender. The treatment provider has to be prepared to accept some wrong information in the initial stages. Gradually, as the offender begins to accept the treatment provider he will open up with more accurate information regarding his behavior. The treatment provider's approach plays an important role in winning the confidence of the offender. The first impression is the final impression. It is advisable to take time and allow the offender to open up without being harsh or using force. By experience, the counselor can understand when the offender is telling the truth and when he is telling lies. By studying the nature of the crimes committed by the offender, the counselor can draw his own conclusions regarding many questions. However, he may have to ask these questions even if they are routine. The studies are quite clear that in majority of the cases, the offenders began opening up after the passage of a few months. Invariably after the fifth month, the results of the treatment programs started showing positive results. That is, the results showed that the offenders were benefiting from the program and were beginning to react more responsibly towards deviant sexual fantasies. However, there is a word of caution and the study makes no claim about the reliability of the treatment program. It mentions that definitions of "normal" and "deviant" are somewhat arbitrary and needs to be improved upon. Actually, the study is aimed at understanding the normal sexual fantasies and deviant sexual fantasies of the offenders. But if the terms "normal" and "deviant" have to be more clearly defined then the report is still preliminary and cannot be taken as final. It is also difficult to point out if the study has helped the process of law. One can only hope that the positive results of the study helps the offender who has benefited from the program get some relief from the court. Nonetheless, the study is a step in the right direction. On the basis of this study, it is now possible to undertake more studies with better understanding of the subject. The treatment program is a well thought out strategy to get the most accurate information data from the offenders. It seeks to promote better mental health, improve general adjustment, and ultimately reduce recidivism. The task consisted of having the offender keep track of his sexual fantasies and note them down as they happened. If they were normal sexual fantasies, the offender was to write them down as such. In case they were deviant sexual fantasies, the offender had to write them down along with other details such as masturbation if they occurred. In many cases, the information was not entirely truthful. However, as time passed, the offenders turned more forthcoming and began providing more accurate information. The study is intended to make a descriptive study of the sexual fantasies of the adolescent male sex offenders. The study was undertaken at a prolonged period of time so that the offender gets time to reflect on his past misdeeds and the study gets better idea about the events and circumstances that lead to sexual crimes. Insofar as these purposes are concerned the study has done a good job. Sources: Aylwin, A. Scot et al; Sexual Fantasies of Adolescent Male Offenders in Residential Treatment: A Descriptive Study, http://academia-research.com/files/message/1172426_text1.pdf Hansen, R. Karl et al, Long Term Recidivism of Child Molesters, http://academia-research.com/files/message/1172432_text2.pdf Read More