Psychopathy and alcohol abuse in relation to the recidivism of sexual offenders

Abstract

The abuse of alcohol is a fundamental component to consider when assessing the risk of reoffending in sexual offenders. Previous research with sexual offenders has demonstrated that being diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder almost doubles their chance of reoffending. While there has been much research on alcoholism and sexual offenders, there remains a gap in literature considering the impact of alcohol abuse and drug abuse with psychopathic sexual offenders. A review article briefly indicated that elevated scores on the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) might moderate the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) ability to predict recidivism. No, follow up study was discovered to observe further results. The current study evaluated the impact of these findings using a long-term recidivism database collected in the Ontario Region of Correction Service Canada (CSC). The database included over 500 high-risk sexual offenders from the Regional Treatment Center, Sex Offender Treatment Program (RTCSOTP). The database contained information on men, over 18 years of age, who had served at least two years in custody for a sexual offense. The PCL-R, MAST, and DAST were utilized to measure psychopathy, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse, respectively. A Cox regression analysis revealed that the PCL-R and the DAST were significant predictors of sexual and violent recidivism, but the MAST was not a significant predictor of sexual and violent recidivism. The MAST did not impact the PCL-R’s capability of predicting recidivism in a moderate to high-risk sample, as previously observed. While the result of non-significant MAST prediction was contrary to previous findings, these results indicate that targeting drug abuse should continue to be a component in sexual offender treatment programs. Alcohol abuse cannot be excluded definitively from the study of recidivism.