Friday, September 21, 2007

More NCJRS Abstracts, Sex Offender Edition

AMONG THE LATEST RESEARCH POSTED AT http://www.ncjrs.gov/. CHECK FOR OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST THERE AS WELL.

NCJ 219528
Robin J. Wilson; Janice E. Picheca; Michelle Prinzo
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Professionally-Facilitated Volunteerism in the Community-Based Management of High-Risk Sexual Offenders: Part One--Effects on Participants and Stakeholders
Howard Journal of Criminal Justice
Volume:46 Issue:3 Dated:July 2007 Pages:289 to 302

This article presents evaluation data from the Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) pilot project in South-Central Ontario, Canada. Evaluation results indicated that the COSA project had a significant effect on all stakeholders: offenders, community volunteers, affiliated professionals, and the community. COSA appeared instrumental in helping released high-risk sexual offenders remain crime-free. Indeed, many of these high-risk sexual offenders reported that they would have reoffended if not for the help they received from the COSA project. Community volunteers and the community in general reported an increased sense of community and personal safety as a result of the COSA project while professionals and agencies, such as police officers and social service personnel, reported an increased sense of responsibility for offender rehabilitation following prison release. The research involved the completion of survey questionnaires by a sample of each of 4 COSA stakeholder groups: core members (released offenders) (N=24), circle volunteers (N=57), professionals affiliated with the project (N=16), and members of the community (N=77). A survey was developed specifically for each group although all surveys collected demographic characteristics. The core member survey focused on criminal history, initial experience with COSA, and attitudes regarding COSA. The professional and agency member surveys focused on experiences and attitudes regarding COSA. Community members were asked to share their feelings and attitudes regarding COSA and life in the community. The analysis specifically focused on the effect of COSA on the community and on those personally involved in the project. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Table, note, references

NCJ 219536
Nancy C. Raymond; Martin D. Lloyd; Michael H. Miner; Suck Won Kim
Preliminary Report on the Development and Validation of the Sexual Symptom Assessment Scale
Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity
Volume:14 Issue:2 Dated:2007 Pages:119 to 129

This article reports on the development and preliminary validation of the Sexual Symptom Assessment Scale (S-SAS). The S-SAS was developed as a 12-item, self-rated scale to measure symptoms of compulsive sexual behavior involving excessive sexual thoughts, sexual urges, or sexual activities that cause distress or impairment. The S-SAS was patterned after the Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale, which assesses the intensity of urges to engage in problematic gambling. Each item on the S-SAS is scored between 0 and 8, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms. Validity testing revealed good test-retest reliability as well as good convergent and divergent validity. The S-SAS demonstrated a strong correlation with the Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory (CSBI) and with clinician ratings of compulsive sexual behavior symptoms. On the other hand, the S-SAS did not demonstrate a significant correlation with ratings on overall psychopathology. Future research on the validity and reliability of the S-SAS should focus on administering the S-SAS repeatedly during a treatment study. Participants were 35 men in group therapy for compulsive sexual behavior at a midwestern sexuality clinic and 8 clinicians familiar with the men and their symptoms. The clinicians completed the clinician-rating scales on their clients and the men completed both the S-SAS and the CSBI. The analysis focused on establishing the reliability and validity of the S-SAS. The validity was tested by examining: (1) agreement with other measures of compulsive sexual behavior and therapists ratings of clients’ symptoms, and (2) divergence from therapists’ ratings of clients’ severity of general psychopathology. Data were analyzed using SPSS and included the calculation of Pearson correlations and Crohnbach’s Alpha. References, appendix

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