The development and evaluation of an emotion control training programme for sex offenders

Abstract

Purpose. This study was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of an emotion control training programme for sex offenders. Methods. A pilot study was conducted using a sample of 18 inmates from HMP Wakefield, all of whom completed the Emotion Control Questionnaire (ECQ; Roger and Najarian, 1989) and the Coping Styles Questionnaire (CSQ; Roger, Jarvis and Najarian, 1993) before and after training. The main study included 52 inmates from the same institution. To avoid singling out sex offenders, participants either volunteered themselves or were referred by prison staff, and the sample included 29 sex offenders and 23 murderers. Participants were assessed before training, immediately afterwards and again six weeks later, and behaviour ratings by prison staff were included in the main study in addition to the emotion control and coping scales. Results. Results from the pilot study showed significant increases in adaptive coping and a reduction in impulsiveness following training. Results from the main study showed significantly less emotional rumination and inhibition and more adaptive coping immediately after the training, and there were also significant changes amongst selected behaviour rating dimensions. Conclusions. The results confirmed that the training programme was effective in modifying both attitudes and behaviour amongst sex offenders, and that effects were replicated for a group of inmates with other offences who were included in the sample.