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Evaluation of the Implementation of the Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale (SOTIPS), United States, 1978-2017 (ICPSR 37035)

Released/updated on: 2020-10-29
Geographic coverage: New York City, United States, Phoenix, New York (state), Arizona

The purpose of the project was to (1) determine whether the combined dynamic (SOTIPS) and static risk assessment (Static-99R) tools better predicted sexual recidivism than either alone, and (2) determine whether the tools could be implemented successfully in more representative populations. Previous research has established a "status quo" for risk assessments.

This study was set within the context of the developing sexual offender risk prediction field, where investigators explored reliable and valid means to assess what have been termed "dynamic risk factors." Instruments that identify the specific psychological risk factors present in the individual offender ought to allow treatment for that individual to be tailored to these specific needs, thus increasing its effectiveness. Thus, instruments have been designed to:

  • Assess psychological factors that are empirically related to sexual recidivism, thus creating a basis for selecting treatment targets
  • Show robust incremental predictive validity relative to Static-99R or other measures of static risk factors
  • Measure change in a way that is convincingly related to sexual recidivism
  • Incorporate and point risk managers towards some of the factors identified in the desistance literature
  • Improve the effectiveness of treatment in reducing sexual recidivism

Enrollment of sex offenders in the evaluation study began in April 2013. To be included, offenders needed to be Static-99R eligible (an adult male convicted of a contact or non-contact sex offense with an identifiable victim), mentally cognizant, released to community supervision, and at least 18 years old in January 2013 in Maricopa County and April 2013 in New York City.

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Risk Assessment and Schemes for Sexual Recidivism: A 25 Year Follow-Up of Convicted Sex Offenders Referred to the Massachusetts Treatment Center, 1959-1984 (ICPSR 25928)

Released/updated on: 2010-03-31
Geographic coverage: United States, Massachusetts
Time period: 1959-01-01--1984-01-01
The aim of the study was to evaluate and to improve the decision-making algorithms that have been generated to assess risk in sexual offenders. More specifically, it was the task of this research project to evaluate the extant actuarials in a sample of sexual offenders on whom long-term follow-up data were available. Researchers attempted to assess the comparative accuracy of the major risk instruments over time and over subsamples, explore their underlying factor structure, examine the accuracy of a new assessment protocol, and explore the potential for generating improved predictive instruments. The sample was drawn from an earlier study in which researchers had followed 599 offenders who had been referred to the Massachusetts Treatment Center (MTC) for evaluation between 1959 and 1984. Of these, 266 (the Bridgewater Treatment [BT] sample) had been committed to MTC as "sexually dangerous" and subsequently released, and 333 (the Bridgewater Observation [BO] sample) had been determined not to be sexually dangerous and returned to finish their sentences. There were two sources of data for the study. The first source was the offender's MTC clinical and criminal archival records. The second comprised four record sources that were accessed to obtain comprehensive follow-up data. In this study, researchers coded these records both on modern empirically-derived, mechanical actuarials that have been developed since 1997 for predicting sexual recidivism, and on a new experimental measure. Two coding teams were created. In general Team A was responsible for (a) purifying, redacting, and scanning detailed copies of offenders' files, (b) classifying all BO sample using both the MTC typologies and the DSM-IV Conduct Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder categories, and (c) classifying a subset of the BT sample using the DSM-IV Conduct Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder categories. Team B was responsible for coding all actuarials and the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised on all offenders in the study, and for classifying all BT sample using the DSM-IV Conduct Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder categories.
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