ASSESSMENT2

ASSESSMENT INTERVIEWS WITH PARENTS OF ADOLESCENT SEX OFFENDERS

SUGGESTED FORMAT FOR INTERVIEWS AND SUGGESTED QUESTIONS

INTRODUCTION

These questions are designed to gather general information about the family and specific information about the young abuser. Parents are best interviewed as a couple. However, if you feel one parent is controlling the discussion you will may need to have separate interviews also.

GENERAL INFORMATION

How long have you lived at your current address?

How many children do you have and what are their names?

What are your occupations?

PARENTS DESCRIPTION & VIEW OF THE SEXUAL OFFENCES

Describe in your own words the sexual offences committed by your son. *Make note of any tendencies to deny their son's guilt, to minimize the offences, to blame the victim, etc. Also, any differences in the attitudes of both parents.

What was your response when you found out about the offences?

What was your reaction to your son?

Whom have you told about the offences?

How have the charges affected you?

How has your family been affected?

How have they responded to your son?

If intrafamilial abuse, how have family members responded to the victim?

How do you feel about your son since learning of the sexual offences?

How has the sexual abuse affected the victim?

What controls have you placed upon your son to prevent him re-offending?

Can you think of any warning signs that indicated your son would have been capable of sexual offences?

Are there any incidents that you now look back on as early warning signs?

Are you willing to participate in your son's treatment as a couple and as a family?

How do you think you can help your son deal with these charges and learn not to re-offend?

PARENT'S VIEW OF OFFENDER'S LEVEL OF FUNCTIONING

How does he get on with other family members?

How does he feel about school - performance - teachers?

Tell me about his friends - male - female - what are they like?

Does he have a best friend?

How long does he tend to keep friends?

How does he get along with girls?

Has he ever had a girlfriend? (Explore)

Does he get on with neighbours

How did he find out about sex?

What are your son's interests and hobbies? (Explore)

Has he ever been involved with the law before - how did you deal with it?

Does he tend to bully or boss around others - how do you deal with it?

Is he bullied by others - how does he cope with it - what approach do you take?

Who is he closest to in the family?

Who is he least close to?

How do you cheer him up when he is unhappy or discouraged?

PARENTING ABILITIES AND MARITAL RELATIONSHIP

What approach do you take to discipline in your family?

Who tends to enforce the rules most often?

What do you do if you disagree about discipline?

Who does your son take most notice of in terms of discipline?

What do you do together as a family - how frequent - does your son join in?

What time do you spend together as a couple without your children - what interests do you share?

HISTORY OF PHYSICAL OR SEXUAL ABUSE

Has your son ever been touched inappropriately or made to carry out sexual acts by another person - baby-sitter - friend - relative?

Has you or anyone else in your family been the victim of sexual or physical abuse and if so were your parents told and what was their reaction?

Did you or whoever else was abused receive support or counselling?

Was the abuser charged?

Tick off chart to aid assessment

*LOW RISK*		HIGH RISK
One victim.		Numerous assaults on one victim or has a number of victims.
No violence.		Used physical force, weapon, or threat of violence.
No compulsive fantasies about the offences.		Compulsive fantasies about the offences.
Terminated assault when victim protested or showed distress.		Disregard for victim's objections.
Only committed one type of assault.		A broad range of assaults.
No escalation in offence patterns & frequency.		Escalation in offence patterns & frequency.
Abuse stopped after contact with the law.		Abuse continued after contact with the law.
No previous sex offender treatment.		Has received sex offender treatment.
Admits offences.		Denies offences.
Accepts full responsibility for the abuse.		Blames or partly blames the victim.
Has some empathy for the victim.		None/limited remorse or empathy for victim.
Understands why the abuse was morally and legally wrong.		Does not understand why the abuse was wrong.
Willing to discuss the abuse.		Reluctant to talk or tries to conceal facts.
Has some awareness of how to prevent further sexual offending.		Limited awareness of how to prevent further sexual offending.
Understands he will need help to change.		Resistant to becoming involved in treatment.
No history of physical aggression..		History of physical aggression.
No substance abuse.		History of substance abuse.
Not a victim of abuse - particularly sexual.		Victim of abuse - particularly sexual.
No history of fire setting or animal cruelty.		History of fire setting or animal cruelty.
No substantial delinquent history.		History of delinquent behaviours.
Able to identify and express emotions.		Deals with emotions by suppressing them.
Reasonable social skills.		Limited social skills.
Has no other significant emotional, psychological or behavioural problems.		Have other significant psychological or behavioural problems.
Co-operative during assessment process.		Resistant to the assessment process.
Have many social supports.		Is a loner with few social supports.
Parents acknowledge their son's abusive behaviour and hold him responsible.		Parents are highly defensive and unwilling to accept facts.
Family reasonably functional.		Dysfunctional or multi-problem family.
Family supportive of helping process and willing to participate in treatment plan.		Family not supportive of treatment and unwilling to participate in treatment plan.
Parents and/or siblings have no history of being abused - particularly sexually.		History of abuse of any family member - particularly sexual.

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