| |
Clinical Value of the FoSOD The FoSOD holds promise as a measure to assess both current levels of denial and treatment progress in general. "Most therapists agree…that the first goal of treatment is to assist the perpetrator to acknowledge a problem involving sexual behavior." (Schlank & Shaw, 1996, p. 18.) "To be successfully treated, the offender must admit not only to the sexual offense itself, but also to the harmfulness of the offense and his (or her) responsibility for the offense" (Marshall & Barbaree, 1990; McGovern & Peters, 1987). Perhaps even more important, the offender must acknowledge a more pervasive problem with sexually deviant preferences and a tendency to act out in certain situations to satisfy those urges. Each of these prerequisites to successful treatment is measured by the FoSOD. There currently exists ample evidence that denial is not simply a defensive posture evidenced by some offenders at the beginning of treatment. Instead findings suggests that it is a complex pattern of behavior evidenced by offenders throughout treatment, and that it is inversely related to well-established goals of sexual offender treatment programs. In fact, many child molester treatment goals (e.g., Salter, 1988; Green, 1995) are directly related to one or more of the types of denial captured by the FoSOD. The treatment goal of accepting responsibility for the offense, for instance, can be monitored through attention to Denial of Intent (as well as other subscales). Appreciating the harm to the victim can be monitored in the Refutation and Victim Desire scales. Goals focused on understanding the abuse chain and the dynamics of offense behavior are reflected in the Denial of Planning and Risk of Relapse scales. Hence, the scales and subscales of the FoSOD explicitly identify specific domains to be addressed in treatment, and provide a framework that can be used to more clearly articulate the relationship between facets of denial and established treatment goals. Having a quantitative measure of denial, along with a breakdown into its component scales, provides enormous potential for expanding our knowledge of child molesters through research and clinical application. The FoSOD allows us to measure several aspects of denial and to map how each of the types of denial responds to treatment. Eventually, we can characterize common patterns of denial throughout treatment, and provide specific strategies to address particular forms of denial. This type of research will assist in the development of treatment models that will help guide therapists in identifying appropriate, timely, and individualized treatment targets.  Sample Scoring Results | Sample Critical Items List Picture of the Scoring Program Data Entry Window Back to the Products Page |
15436 North Florida Avenue - Suite #102 Tampa, Florida 33613
Phone: (813) 963-7226 Fax: (813) 961-6591