Recidivism and treatment behaviour among high-risk/high-need sexual offenders with psychopathic traits

Abstract

Treatment of offenders with psychopathic traits has been a widely debated topic for decades. The current study examined the influence of psychopathy and treatment behaviour on recidivism. The sample included 117 high-risk sexual offenders admitted to the Regional Treatment Centre Sex Offender Treatment Program (RTCSOTP) while serving a federal sentence of two years or more. Offenders were grouped based on their scores on the Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) and treatment behaviour. With an average follow-up time of 82.62 months, sexual and violent recidivism rates of offenders scoring high and low on the PCL-R could not be distinguished posttreatment. When examining general recidivism and any recidivism, recidivism rates of offenders scoring high on psychopathy and who demonstrated good treatment behaviour were not significantly different than those of offenders scoring low on the PCL-R regardless of treatment behaviour. Implications for treatment are discussed.