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Barriers to Seeking Help Among Registered Sex Offenders

Presentation Type

Poster (Electronic Copy Not Available)

Keywords

Recidivism--Prevention; Sex offenders--Services for--Iowa; Psychotherapy;

Project Summary

Rationale Certain types of psychotherapy are effective tools in reducing recidivism among registered sex offenders. Because of this, psychotherapy is often a mandated part of parole for registered sex offenders. However, after mandated treatment ends, recidivism rates begin to rise as registered sex offenders must seek out treatment on their own. Psychotherapy also can help re-mediate some of the negative psychological consequences of the heavily stigmatized label of "registered sex offender" and provide a support system. Purpose/method This study was completed as part of the degree requirements for a Masters in Psychology. The big-picture goal of this project was to reduce recidivism and improve overall well-being among Iowa's registered sex offender population by identifying barriers to treatment with the hope that policymakers and treatment providers will use the results of this study to dissolve identified barriers. Specifically, this research study determined if registered sex offenders pursue psychological help on their own, and what barriers to seeking professional psychological help exist among registered sex offenders. To do this, a mail survey was sent to 944 of Iowa's registered sex offenders. The mail survey included questionnaires assessing various barriers to help-seeking that were identified in the literature, as well as perceived public stigma of registered sex offenders. A total of 89 completed surveys were returned. Results were analyzed and are currently in the process of being disseminated to local treatment providers and people/public parties that express interest.

Start Date

19-4-2018 9:00 AM

End Date

19-4-2018 10:30 AM

Event Host

UNI Office of Undergraduate Studies

Department

Department of Psychology

Award Category

Research-Based Project Award

Award Category

Social Justice Award (Theme-Based)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

File Format

application/pdf

Electronic copy is not available through UNI ScholarWorks.

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Apr 19th, 9:00 AM Apr 19th, 10:30 AM

Barriers to Seeking Help Among Registered Sex Offenders

Rationale Certain types of psychotherapy are effective tools in reducing recidivism among registered sex offenders. Because of this, psychotherapy is often a mandated part of parole for registered sex offenders. However, after mandated treatment ends, recidivism rates begin to rise as registered sex offenders must seek out treatment on their own. Psychotherapy also can help re-mediate some of the negative psychological consequences of the heavily stigmatized label of "registered sex offender" and provide a support system. Purpose/method This study was completed as part of the degree requirements for a Masters in Psychology. The big-picture goal of this project was to reduce recidivism and improve overall well-being among Iowa's registered sex offender population by identifying barriers to treatment with the hope that policymakers and treatment providers will use the results of this study to dissolve identified barriers. Specifically, this research study determined if registered sex offenders pursue psychological help on their own, and what barriers to seeking professional psychological help exist among registered sex offenders. To do this, a mail survey was sent to 944 of Iowa's registered sex offenders. The mail survey included questionnaires assessing various barriers to help-seeking that were identified in the literature, as well as perceived public stigma of registered sex offenders. A total of 89 completed surveys were returned. Results were analyzed and are currently in the process of being disseminated to local treatment providers and people/public parties that express interest.