Engagement in a web-based intervention for individuals who committed sexual offenses against children: observational study.

Abstract

Web-based interventions have been shown to be effective for various health and mental health problems. However, the effectiveness of interventions is often limited by the fact that individuals do not start or complete them. Using data from an intermediate analysis of the randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of @myTabu, the current study investigated engagement with a web-based intervention for 113 individuals convicted of child sexual abuse and/or for child sexual exploitation material. @myTabu is a human-supported, web-based intervention for individuals who have been convicted for sexual abuse of children or the use of child sexual exploitation material with the goal of reducing the risk factors for recidivism and actual recidivism. The results of the present study indicate that (a) 81% of the participants logged into the web-based intervention within 8 weeks after login credentials were sent; (b) there was a trend toward lower treatment readiness and lower belief in their own technical prerequisites in individuals who did not login; (c) 15% of the participants completed all requested sessions within the first 5 weeks of participation, and the average participant logged in on 6 different days and completed two sessions; (d) the number of login days and completed sessions could be predicted by treatment readiness. We discuss these findings and their implications for the development and implementation of further web-based interventions in the forensic context. Trial registration: German Clinical Trial Register (DRKS00021256). Prospectively registered 24.04.2020.