COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL SKILLS PROGRAMS

Efficacy of Cognitive-Behavioral Skills Programs



Efficacy of Cognitive-Behavioral Skills Programs

Introduction

Given the rising concern about the problem of criminal violence, increased attention has been given to the evaluation of existing skill program interventions and the exploration of new skill program models that aim to prevent or reduce future criminal violence. Because the rehabilitation of adult criminal offenders might curb future criminal offending and thus enhance overall public safety, the importance of research that examines the efficacy of adult criminal offender skill program interventions cannot be overstated. To date, the majority of research has been directed at examining whether suitable skill program interventions exist, whether adult criminal offenders are amenable to such skill program, and most important, whether such treatments “work” (Rice, 2003).

Discussion

Numerous skill program models have been used to rehabilitate adult criminal offenders. While some forms of skill program were developed specifically for use with adult criminal offender populations, most have been adopted from the larger class of skill program techniques developed for use with wide-ranging clinical populations. Moreover, while some of these criminal-offender-specific skill program approaches have received at least modest empirical support, others have only limited support or have not yet been subject to any form of systematic evaluation. Indeed, because of the many difficulties in evaluating skill program outcome with this population, considerable work remains with regard to understanding what works for whom and whether this skill program success actually translates into reductions in recidivism (Marshall, 2006).

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy as a Skill program Models

The cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) approach, which involves an integration of both cognitive and behavioral therapy techniques, has been adapted for use with criminal offenders. The central tenet of CBT is essentially that our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions interact with one another in a cyclical manner, such that changing thoughts about a situation or event might change subsequent behaviors that ultimately change our emotions. Purely cognitive interventions used with adult criminal offenders include cognitive restructuring, which is aimed at challenging rationalizations, minimizations, or other offense-supportive beliefs involved in the initiation or maintenance of criminal offending behavior (Marques, 2006). For example, a therapist using a cognitive restructuring technique might challenge an offender's minimization that “no one was hurt,” by having the offender examine the veracity of such belief (Hanson, 2006).

Behavioral approaches have also been used in the skill program of aberrant criminal behaviors. Behavioral therapies are premised on the idea that deviancy is a learned behavior that can be unlearned. Thus, inappropriate (or deviant) criminal desire might be reduced if associated with negative consequences, while appropriate criminal desire might be enhanced if paired with rewards or other positive consequences. Masturbatory satiation, for example, involves having an offender masturbate to deviant fantasies for an extended amount of time through the criminal refractory (i.e., post orgasm) period, with the idea that this unrewarded and perhaps aversive masturbatory experience will reduce or eliminate deviant arousal (Abracen, 2007).

Although procedures might vary, verbal satiation similarly aims to reduce deviant interest by having criminal offender repeataloud deviant criminal fantasies during the ...