The Predictive Validity of the SAPROF-SO for Success on Supervised Release From a Secure Treatment Center

Area of Science:

• Forensic Psychology
• Criminology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Strengths-based treatment approaches are increasingly used for adult males convicted of sexual offenses.
• A gap exists between these approaches and structured methods for assessing protective factors.
• The Structured Assessment of PROtective Factors against Sexual Offending (SAPROF-SO) was developed to address this gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the Structured Assessment of PROtective Factors against Sexual Offending (SAPROF-SO) instrument.
• To determine if SAPROF-SO scores predict supervised release success in adult males.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective rating of the SAPROF-SO for 170 adult males released on supervised release from a US secure treatment center.
• Analysis of SAPROF-SO total and subscale scores in relation to revocation outcomes.

Main Results:

• SAPROF-SO total scores significantly predicted supervised release success (i.e., absence of revocation).
• The SAPROF-SO Resilience subscale predicted overall revocation, while the Adaptive Sexuality subscale predicted sexual revocations.
• SAPROF-SO demonstrated incremental validity over the Static-99R, which was not predictive of outcomes.

Conclusions:

• The SAPROF-SO is a valid instrument for assessing protective factors in sexual offenders.
• Findings support the use of SAPROF-SO in managing sexual offense risk during release planning and administration.
• The instrument offers enhanced predictive utility compared to existing risk assessment tools.