Offenders have many of the characteristics of the conservative personality as defined by Adorno, Collins, Wilson, and Boshier. The characteristics of the conservative personality limit change necessary for rehabilitation. Until that personality is modified, it is difficult to reduce recidivism. Modification of the conservative personality through education and environment can lead to change in the offender's behavior. The model in this paper is based on the concept of a conservative/authoritarian personality as it is found in offenders. The concept of the authoritarian personality remains important as evidenced by coverage in current introductory psychology textbooks (Crooks and Stein, 1991; Dworetzky, 1991; Gleitman, 1991). Boshier states that "It appears that conservatism has pathological dimensions manifested in violence and distorted psycho-sexual development." This is supported by a study conducted by Walker, Rowe, and Quincey (1993) in which there was a direct correlation between authoritarianism and sexually aggressive behavior. An investigation done by Muehlenhard (1988) revealed that rape justification and aggression toward subordinate individuals was much higher in traditional (conservative personality) than nontraditional personalities. This paper postulates that the offender has a conservative personality and therefore manifests that violence. The proposed model is a systematic treatment strategy designed to enhance the ego, social, moral, and positive behavioral growth in a progressive, step-by-step fashion. It is based on the assumption that fully functioning, reasonably content, happy persons have a strong sense of identity and that their behavior and relationships are based upon relatively high levels of moral judgment. Suggestions are offered for future research. 33 references