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Psychosocial Dynamics of Rapists - An Assessment Tool

NCJ Number
98691
Journal
Journal of Offender Counseling Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1984) Pages: 50-61
Author(s)
R L Marowitz
Date Published
1984
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article describes the development of an assessment tool for obtaining information on the psychosocial dynamics of rapists.
Abstract
The interview schedule was adapted from extrapolations of several testing instruments and interview schedules. The Jourard Self-Disclosure Questionnaire (Jourard, 1964) was used as a guide for the proposed interview schedule. Major categories of Vontress' (1976) interview schedule were also incorporated into the proposed interview schedule, along with questions appropriate for rapists. The Purpose-in-Life Test (PIL) (Crumbaugh And Maholick, 1969) and the Seeking of Noetic Goals Test (SONG) (Crumbaugh, 1977) were encompassed in the interview schedule as well. The PIL is an attitude scale specifically designed to evoke responses believed to be related to the degree to which the individual senses a purpose to his/her existence. The SONG is an attitude scale used as a complementary scale to the PIL to measure the strength of motivation to find meaning in life. Due to the substantial overlap among the questions derived from the four sources, duplicates were eliminated, and questions were sorted into groupings. The interview schedule was revised under evaluations from three staff correctional psychologists and a professor in human development, as well as seven volunteer inmates from a counseling group. The final instrument focuses on (1) the causes and reasons for rape, (2) feelings and thoughts reflecting the effect of body image on self-worth, (3) interpersonal relationships and attitudes toward work, (4) racial issues and concerns, (5) motivation to find meaning in life, (6) sexuality, and (7) life purpose. The interview schedule has only been used with a small sample of black men, ages 21 to 24, from a lower socioeconomic background. Similar studies should be conducted, using larger samples containing geographic diversity, racial and cultural distribution, and varying socioeconomic backgrounds. The developed interview schedule is compared with the clinical assessment guide of Groth and Birnbaum. The interview schedule is appended; nine references are listed.

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