Predictors of Sex Offender Treatment Completion

While most research on sex offenders addresses recidivism of treatment completers, there has been little attention in the literature devoted to those who do not complete treatment. Records of 126 incarcerated offenders who participated in a prison-based sex offender treatment program were reviewed. Treatment completers (N = 63) were compared to offenders who did not complete treatment (N = 63) using demographic variables, criminal variables, psychiatric variables and sex offense variables. Discriminant function analysis revealed that offenders who completed treatment were more often diagnosed with a substance abuse disorder, had a history of nonviolent offenses, and were less often diagnosed as having antisocial personality disorder. Descriptive statistics of treatment completers and dropouts are included.