Treatment acceptability ratings for sexual offenders: effect of diagnosis and offense.

The team mailed a survey to clinicians and other staff. They asked how acceptable different sex-offender treatments are.

The survey listed social-skills lessons, aversive shocks, and mixed packages. Staff rated each one for adults with and without intellectual disability.

Social-skills training got the highest marks overall.

Yet for rape, child fondling, or public masturbation, staff rated skills training no better than shock or foul smell.

Adding a friendly part to an aversive plan did not raise its score.

Bromley et al. (1998) later gave real outpatient behavior therapy. Only one man re-offended in 26 months. Their low recidivism shows the same social-skills approach that looked "acceptable" in 1992 also works in practice.

Reid et al. (1987) proved a multicomponent social-skills package quickly raised positive peer talk in youth with disabilities. Their data back the 1992 view that teaching skills is the preferred path.

Connell et al. (2004) took a different road. They used functional communication training plus extinction to stop a child’s inappropriate sexual behavior. Their single-case success does not clash with A et al.; it simply shows another tool when the client is young and the behavior is attention-driven.

If you write behavior plans for adults with sexual offense histories, lead with social-skills training. Staff will accept it and later evidence says it cuts repeat offenses. For high-risk acts like rape or child fondling, be ready to explain why you still pick skills over aversives—the survey shows staff support is split. When the client is a child, pair your skills plan with a quick functional analysis, borrowing the FCT tactic from Connell et al. (2004).