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Self‐efficacy and sexual offending against children: Construction of a measure and changes following relapse prevention treatment
Author(s) -
Pollock Philip H.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
legal and criminological psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.65
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 2044-8333
pISSN - 1355-3259
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8333.1996.tb00320.x
Subject(s) - recidivism , psychology , relapse prevention , clinical psychology , self efficacy , coping (psychology) , sex offender , developmental psychology , psychotherapist
The enhancement of self‐efficacy beliefs is considered a pivotal aspect in the successful treatment of sex offenders and represents a central feature in the relapse prevention model of sexual crimes (Hall, 1989). The possible relationship between self‐efficacy and recidivism has not been investigated. The paper describes a relapse prevention treatment study of 50 male sex offenders against children employing a new measure of self‐efficacy which applies to sexual crimes. The test was constructed based on Kirsch's (1985) causal model of self‐efficacy. The three subscales of the test represent: 1. demands of high‐risk situations; 2. efficacy of coping skills and ability; 3. appreciation and expectation of rewards. Treatment outcome showed significant changes for the three self‐efficacy test subscales. A preliminary analysis demonstrated that subscale 3 and the speed at which a coping response was produced accurately classified recidivist and non‐recidivist participants at a three‐year follow‐up period. The findings suggest the importance of assessing self‐efficacy beliefs when treating child sex offenders and their relevance to treatment is discussed.