ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This study was investigated to prove the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavior Treatment Program in mentally ill sex offenders and to be used as basic data for development of optimized treatment program for mentally ill sex offenders. METHODS: Cognitive Behavior Treatment Program was carried out over 10 weeks for 30 mentally ill sex offenders. With Interpersonal Responsiveness Index (IRI), UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLALS), Coping Using Sex Inventory (CUSI) and Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (RMAS), the effectiveness of the treatment programme was evaluated. The data was analyzed with paired t-test. RESULTS: The results with 23 subjects showed no significant score changes after treatment program in IRI and UCLALS. However, there was a statistically significant improvement in the scores of CUSI and RMAS. CONCLUSION: Despite several limitations, this study showed significant effects of Cognitive Behavior Treatment Program on mentally-ill sex offenders. Therefore, treatment focused on the changes of cognitive and emotional characteristics of sex offenders along with the treatment for main psychiatric illness should be provided for mentally ill sex offenders to prevent recidivism. More studies to develope optimized treatment programme for mentally ill sex offenders are needed in the future.