Assessment and Modification of General Criminal Attitudes Among Men Who Have Sexually Offended.

General criminal attitudes have been well established as a dynamic risk factor for the origin, maintenance, and continuation of criminal behavior. Guided by the risk–need–responsivity (RNR) framework, this study examined self-reported change on a measure of general criminal attitudes in a sample of incarcerated men who participated in a sexual offense treatment program. Participants were administered the original version of the Criminal Sentiments Scale (CSS) and other measures at pretreatment and posttreatment and followed up in the community an average 14 years post-release. The results demonstrated that CSS total and subscale scores predicted general and violent recidivism, showed convergence with actuarial measures of criminogenic need, and had clinically meaningful associations with responsivity considerations. Pre–post changes on the CSS were associated with decreased general and violent recidivism controlling for pretreatment score and baseline risk. Implications for forensic assessment and correctional intervention are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]