Behavioral and Social Sciences on Sex Offenders - Research Paper Example

Swarna Word count: Order # 297420 d 10th May 2009 Behavioral and Social Sciences on Sex Offenders Introduction Sex offenders are the persons who behave abnormally when interact with the other persons of opposite sex and commit crime by indulging in forceful sex (Anna C. Salter, 2003). They are the persons who are criminally charged and convicted of sex crime. In other words, their behavior is unexpected and deviates significantly from the normal expectation when deal with the other persons. Sex offenders are commonly found in work places, schools and public places (Dennis Stevens, 2001). In USA, the definition of sex offenders differs from state to state. Megan’s law is generally used in USA to punish the sex offenders and to reduce their re offending nature. It is difficult to predict the occurrence of sex offenders in our localities. However, some precautions are to be taken for minimizing their negative effect. In USA, the sex offenders who are convicted for their crime record are restricted to some places after their release from Jail. They are generally kept away from the school premises and day care centers for ensuring the safety of children and patients. Unfortunately, the number and frequency of sex offenders has been on rising trend in the recent years. This is not a healthy trend. There are several reasons or factors that contribute to the development of behavioral changes in sex offenders (Carla Van Dam, 2001). For successful management of these sex offenders one has to thoroughly understand the types of sex offenders and their behavioral trends in society in general and USA in particular. Keeping this in mind, the present study is being undertaken to assess the present scenario of sex offenders in USA, main causes of nature of sex offenders and their management techniques. Methodology The present study has reviewed some studies undertaken on sex offenders in USA and other parts of the world. In this process, different research studies on factors affecting the sex offenders were analysed. The behavioral changes among sex offenders were identified and prioritized based on the extent. At last the management techniques for reducing the problem of sex offenders were chalked out leading to a meaningful conclusion. Results and Discussion It was reported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that approximately 100,000 sex offenders in USA are not living in the places of their registration, which is not an encouraging trend (Abby Goodnough and Monica Davey, 2009). Hence, efforts must be made to identify the floating population of sex offenders so that the negative effects caused by them can be minimized. This also throws a light on the effective methods of psychological counseling and behavioral therapy in controlling the extent of damage caused by sex offenders. One major problem in USA regarding the control methods of sex offenders is difference in opinion among various states in following their own methodologies. Several states in USA still feel that their laws are quite superior and effective in reducing the negative impact of sex offenders compared to federal agencies. Rather, they argue that their right of freedom in setting their own policies is under threat and may come under constitutional void. This has created a problem in application of effective methods of controlling sex offenders in USA. In addition, several legal challenges are being filed by sex offenders themselves which also poses threat in punishing them. In case of law enforcement made by Georgia, there was a clash due to Supreme Court judgment (Brenda Goodman, 2007). Initially, state law of Georgia provided a situation where sex offenders were not allowed to live in a nearby locality of schools and bus stops. In addition, it also forced the mobility of the sex offenders who have been living in the locality for good number of years after the introduction of new school. This has led to a situation of legal clash between the right of sex offenders in safeguarding their property and strict control of sex offenders for protecting the safety of children and general public. This also supports the view that the management approach should focus more on psychological counseling and cognitive methods. Different studies were made to assess the extent of threat by sex offenders in general. The tests like Abel assessment, Level of Service Inventory–Revised (LSI-R) and Static 99 are being used to assess the extent of damage to be caused by sex offenders. AASI (Abel Assessment for Sexual Interest) is an important test for sex offenders which is based on the principle of visual reaction time (Abel et al., 1998 ; Dominique Bourget and John Bradford, 2008). In this test, the visual reaction time can be estimated taking in to consideration of the premise that sexual arousal interferes with cognitive processing. Similarly, visual reaction time responses will be studied in comparison to self-reported sexual interest. However, this test will be effective if it is accompanied by distribution of questionnaire for collecting the necessary information regarding the frequency and extent of sexual thoughts and behavior. The main advantage of AASI over methods like Penile Plethysmography (PPG) is that it can be used for assessment of sex behavior in both male and female where as the latter can be used only for assessment of sex behavior in males. Moreover, the effectiveness of AASI is almost like that of PPG when testing was done to assess the behavior of adult child molesters (Abel et al., 1998) and adolescent child molesters (Abel et al., 2004). However the studies conducted by Smith and Fischer (1999) suggested that the reliability of AASI test is not stable and needs further research investigation. The effectiveness of Abel assessment test was well described by David Thornton and Richard Laws (2009). They described the uses of Abel assessment test among the cognitive tests used for controlling the behavior in sex offenders. Gentry et al. (2005) conducted a study on 30 adult male sex offenders for comparing risk extent posed by the sex offender by using two most important assessment instruments i.e. the Static-99 and the Level of Service Inventory–Revised (LSI-R). Both these tests were found to be highly effective in assessing the risk factors by sex offenders. It was concluded that the Static-99 is a more conservative risk assessment tool compared to that of LSI-R test. However, LSI-R provides useful information about the present needs of sex offenders which is not the case with the Static-99. Their research investigation recommends both the Static-99 and LSI-R methods for effective risk assessment of sex offenders. Moreover, the use of both these assessment methods would be of tremendous help in reducing the criminological risk in future. Review of literature suggests that various therapies are being used to reduce the extent of damage to be caused by the sex offenders in our society. Various behavioral programmes are being worked out for effective management of sex offenders. Various principles of applied behavioral science are being used to correct the problem of sex offenders in society (Rudy Flora, 2001). These include the operant conditioning approach which acts like a carrot and stick policy and aids the sex offenders in problem solving exercise and respondent conditioning that stresses on utilization of aversion therapy in reducing the problem of sex offenders. The recidivism caused by sex offenders can be reduced up to 18 % by using aversion therapy, however, it has negative effects on society too due to its non compatibility with ethical principles. Due to this reason, the aversion therapy has drawn controversy in USA and other parts of the world to a significant extent. The pharmacological methods for reducing the sexual interest have to be explored for reducing the recidivism of sex offenders. The use of drugs may reduce the sexual interest of the sex offenders, but their use requires continuous monitoring. In addition, the legal measures, administrative measures and legislative measures would help in reducing the rate of sex offenders and they also aid in reducing the extent of damage caused by sex offenders. For example, sex offender registration is compulsory in some countries like USA. The sex offenders involved in downloading child pornography, child sexual abuse, rape and statutory rape must register themselves under sex offender registration in USA. The level of sex offenders will also be indicated in sex offender registry. In general, the highest level sex offender would be required to be registered for total life where as low level people may register for some specified time period. The general public can have a free access to see the details of the sex offenders which would provide valuable help to them in preventing interaction with the sex offenders. This will also help in proper counseling of the registered sex offenders. Lastly, the electronic monitoring and residential preventions certainly helped in reducing the recidivism caused by sex offenders in California (Peckenpaugh, 2006), hence it can be implemented using modern software for accurate detection of sex offenders and their successful management. Conclusion The problem of sex offenders is on rising trend in the recent years in USA and other nations. There are several factors that affect the behavior of sex offenders. The assessment tests of sex offenders like AASI, LSI-R and static-99 are highly effective in analyzing the nature and extent of sex offenders. However, the ethical problems of managing sex offenders have to be taken in to consideration while selecting the control method. Where ever there is possibility of reducing the recidivism by behavioral therapy and psychological counseling, enough opportunities have to be explored with out depending wholly on legal action. The recidivism caused by sex offenders can be effectively controlled by operant conditioning approach and aversion therapy. Moreover, the strong legislation for implementing the sex offender registry strictly is highly essential for reducing the negative impact of sex offenders. References Abby Goodnough and Monica Davey. (2009). Efforts to draw sex offenders draws resistance. The NewYork Times. Dated 8th February 2009. Abel, G.G., Becker, J.V., Cunningham-Rathner, J. and Mittleman M, Rouleau J. (1998). Multiple paraphilic diagnoses among sex offfenders. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 16:153–168. Abel, G.G., Huffman, J., Warberg, B. and Holland, C.L. (1998). Visual reaction time and plethysmography as measures of sexual interest in child molesters. sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 10:81–96. Abel, G.G., Jordan, A., Rouleau, J.L., Emerick, R., Barboza-Whitehead, S. and Osborn, C. (2004). Use of visual reaction time to assess male adolescents who molest children. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 16:255–265. Anna C. Salter. (2003). Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders: Who They Are, How They Operate, and How We Can Protect Ourselves and Our Children. Basic books publication. P: 272. ISBN-10: 0465071724. Brenda Goodman. (2007). Georgia justices overturn a curb on sex offenders. The New York Times. Dated 22nd November 2007. Carla Van Dam. (2001). Identifying Child Molesters: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse by Recognizing the Patterns of the Offenders. Routledge publication. P:248. ISBN-10: 0789007436. David Thornton and Richard Laws. (2009). Cognitive Approaches to the Assessment of Sexual Interest in Sexual Offenders. P: 256. ISBN: 978-0-470-05781-0. Dennis Stevens. (2001). Inside the Mind of Sexual Offenders: Predatory Rapists, Pedophiles, and Criminal Profiles. IUniverse publication. P:228. ISBN-10: 059520046X. Dominique Bourget and John M.W. Bradford. (2008). Evidential basis for the assessment and treatment of sex offenders. Brief treatment and Crisis Intervention. Oxford University Press. Online publication on 16th January 2008. Gentry, A.L., Dulmus, C.N. , and Theriot, M.T. (2005). Comparing Sex Offender Risk Classification Using the Static-99 and LSI-R Assessment Instruments. Research on Social Work Practice, Vol. 15, No. 6, 557-563. Peckenpaugh, J. (2006) Controlling sex Offender Reentry: Jessicas Law Measures in California. Dated 27th January, 2006). Social Science Research Network. http://ssrn.com/abstract=977263. Rudy Flora. (2001). How to Work With Sex Offenders: A Handbook for Criminal Justice, Human Service, and Mental Health Professionals (Haworth Marriage and the Family). Routledge publication. P: 274. ISBN-10: 0789014998. Smith, G. and Fischer, L. (1999). Assessment of juvenile sexual offenders: Reliability and validity of the Abel Assessment for Interest in Paraphilias. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 11:207–216. Read More