The written expression of designated sexually violent persons: a linguistic analysis of treatment journals

Abstract The present research examined if cognitive restructuring was evident in the writing samples of individuals engaged in full-disclosure therapy at a treatment and detention center for sexually violent persons (SVPs). Residents in therapy are required to journal during the therapeutic process. Written disclosure is a highly cognitive process that fosters cognitive restructuring, which allows individuals to think about experiences in a new way. Cognitive restructuring can be evaluated in written samples by the use of perspective switching, which is linguistically represented by a variation in pronoun use (e.g., from I to he). Previous research has demonstrated that the criminal population lacks executive control. The lack of executive control was expected to be identifiable in written journal entries. Written samples obtained from residents were subjected to a linguistic analysis to determine if residents displayed an increase in pronoun variation indicative of cognitive restructuring throughout the treatment and journaling process. Planned analysis revealed nonsignificant trends in the expected direction. Exploratory analyses of higher-order language categories revealed an increase in categorical thinking and decreases in complex thinking, honesty, and social-emotional style. Examining the writings of SVPs provides insights into the effectiveness of treatment strategies in fostering cognitive change in this class of offenders.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Justice, Opportunities, and Rehabilitation

• Publication date

  2025-08-20

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1080/2997965X.2025.2537638
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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