Discuss two treatments for sex offenders. How effective are these treatments?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

One approach is surgical or chemical castration to reduce the urge for sex and to make impulses more manageable. Recidivism rates are much lower for those who have been castrated. In addition to the extreme approach of castration, there are numerous other approaches. Aversion therapy, in which aversive consequences are linked to deviant sexual arousal, is one key component of cognitive-behavioral treatment. In early forms of the treatment, electric shocks were used. Now therapists rely on imagined consequences (covert sensitization) or foul odors paired with the images (assisted covert sensitization). Other aspects of treatment include social skills training and the restructuring of cognitive distortions. Maletzky reports that out of nearly 1,500 offenders treated with this form of therapy, at least 79 percent reported no covert or overt deviant sexual behavior or repeat charges at one-year follow-up. GRADING RUBRIC: 8 points total, 2 for each of two treatments, and 2 for explaining how effective each is.