International Journal of Of fender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 105 Multisystemic Treatment of Adolescent Sexual Offenders

Abstract: This study compared the efficacy of multisystemic therapy (MST) and individual therapy (IT) in the outpatient treatment of adolescent sexual offenders. Sixteen adolescent sexual offenders were randomly assigned to either MST or IT conditions. Youths in the MST and IT conditions received an average of 37 hours and 45 hours of treatment, respectively. Recidivism data were collected on all subjects at an approximately 3-year follow-up. Between-groups comparisons showed that significantly fewer subjects in the MST condition had been rearrested for sexual crimes and that the frequency of sexual rearrests was significantly lower in the MST condition than in the IT condition. The relative efficacy of MST was attributed to its emphasis on changing behavior and interpersonal relations within the offender's natural environment. The development of effective treatment strategies for adolescent sexualoffenders is important for several reasons. First, arrest data indicate that males under 19 years of age account for 19 % of forcible rapes and 18 % of other sexual offenses (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1987). Second, the rati