| Summary: | 碩士 === 高雄醫學大學 === 醫學研究所 === 89 === Objectives: The objective of the present study was to take a data sample from sex offenders incarcerated in the Kaohsiung Jail and classify it into categories based on demographic characteristics, background variables, past criminal & offense histories, psychosocial variables measured through survey questionnaires, and sentences by juries. Sex offense recidivism was then assessed by using the Chinese version of the Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool-Revised (MnSOST-R), and scale reliability & validity were established. The cut-off score was determined for early detection of a moderate level of recidivism, an important reference point for parole or advanced therapy. The study also ascertained predictable factors that may be used to discern and predict possible recidivism in sex offenders.
Methods: A data set was collected from two hundred and eighteen sex offenders incarcerated in the Kaohsiung Jail. Data and records regarding demographic characteristics, background variables, past criminal & offense histories were collected through survey questionnaires & corrected by means of using sentences by juries as comparison. The 218 sex offenders were divided into 11 groups and sessions, with about 20 persons for each session. Sessions for all of the 218 sex offenders were administered collectively in the psychological testing room. The recidivism risk was assessed by using MnSOST-R. Data entry, processing, and statistical analysis were performed using SPSS for Windows.
Findings: Among the 218 sex offenders, 121 were rapists, 24 were child molesters, and 30 were guilty of incest. According to the classification developed by Groth, 164 exhibited a powerful pattern, and 54 were pervasively angry. The most distinct demographic characteristics among 218 sex offenders were that they tended to be Taiwanese, single, of a lower educational level, religious, and having a stable work pattern. The offenders’ background variables, psychosocial variables, and past offense histories revealed that most of the sex offenders did not complete junior high school, and the main victims of their offenses were premature females. Among the three types of sex offenders, the age of first offense was generally higher for child molesters than for those guilty of rape or incest. However, incest had the highest risk level of recidivism. As well, those guilty of two or more offenses had a higher risk level of recidivism than first time offenders. Of the 218 sex offenders screened by the MnSOST-R, using a cut-off score set at 4, 17% were found with moderate risk level of recidivism.
Conclusion & Suggestions: This study reveals that the distinct demographic characteristics among these 218 sex offenders are that they are Taiwanese of a low educational level, aged between 20 and 40 years old, single, laborers in occupation, with a stable job, education interrupted in junior high school, and religious. Histories of drinking, drug abuse, sexual assault, and sex offense history were found in a few cases. When the risk of re-offense was assessed by using MnSOST-R, we found child molesters had a higher level of recidivism than rapists and incest; and the re-offense risk of those already guilty of two or more offenses were higher than that of the first offenders. Among the 218 sex offenders, we found 37 (17%) with moderate and high level of risk for recidivism, and further therapies and counseling were found to be mandatory. It is also advised that those offenders with higher risk of recidivism be given increased levels of therapies and counseling, and be held to stricter parole conditions. Furthermore, we advise that the accuracy of the risk assessment protocols can be increased through an inclusion of materials taken from the standard repertoire used by personnel in psychiatric medicine. Finally, we hope it will be possible to establish a hospital or correctional institution specializing in psychological treatment within the judicial system, in order to address the problems of social crime at the fundamental level of prevention.
Keywords: sex offenders, MnSOST-R, recidivism
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