Why Therapy Fails with Some Sex Offenders

Abstract A total of 203 men accused of sexual offenses were compared on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R), the Halstead-Reitan Battery, school grade repeats and therapy outcome measures that included desire for treatment, attendance, and attitude to treatment. There were 75 intrafamilial and 54 extrafamilial child sexual abusers, 41 sexual aggressives and 43 miscellaneous sex offenders. Results showed that 52% were school dropouts and 53% had failed at least one grade in school. Although the group's intelligence was in the average range, 33% scored in the impaired range of the Halstead-Reitan Battery. Of the therapy outcome measures, only attitude to therapy was related to the Reitan Impairment Index, with more impaired individuals evincing a more negative attitude to therapy. Sex offenders with and without learning problems did not differ in desire for treatment, but those with learning problems had better attendance. Approaches to improving therapy success with clients who have learning difficulties are discussed.