Sexual Offender Treatment Readiness, Responsivity, and Change: Linkages to Treatment Completion and Recidivism

Abstract

This study examined the interrelationship of treatment readiness, responsivity variables, and treatment change to sexual offender treatment outcome, featuring the Treatment Readiness, Responsivity, and Gain Scale: Short Version (TRRG:SV). The sample was composed of 185 Canadian federal offenders who attended a high-intensity sexual offender treatment program and were followed up an average of 9.3 years postrelease. Men with higher levels of education, employment history, and cognitive ability and who were married or equivalent, did not have a serious mental illness or intellectual disability, and were not actuarially high risk tended to show higher levels of treatment engagement across the TRRG:SV subscales. Significant pre–post changes, denoting improvement, were observed on the TRRG:SV. In turn, positive treatment engagement assessed by the TRRG:SV was associated with increased risk-relevant treatment change, decreased program attrition, and reductions in sexual and violent recidivism, even after controlling for baseline risk. The role of attention to responsivity variables and treatment readiness to promote client engagement and maximize therapeutic benefit is underscored.