The Relationships between Sex Offender Treatments, Callousness, Childhood Trauma, and Victim Empathy - Abstract
The current study sought to determine whether male juveniles’ with sexual behavior problems participation in the Integrated Sex Offender Treatment Program (ISOTP) resulted in a decrease in interpersonal callousness, as measured by the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits-Youth Version, as well as an increase in victim empathy, as measured by the Levinson Victim Empathy Scale. Multiple regression analyses were conducted with age, duration of treatment, and childhood trauma identified as the predictor variables, and scores on the interpersonal callousness and victim empathy instruments identified as the criterion variables. Results did not confirm that age, duration of treatment, and childhood trauma predict a decrease in interpersonal callousness or an increase in victim empathy. The study’s limitations and recommendations for future research are given.