Effective intervention with sexual offenders requires the targeting of appr
opriate risk factors. In this study, information on dynamic (changeable) ri
sk factors was collected through interviews with community supervision offi
cers and file reviews of 208 sexual offense recidivists and 201 nonrecidivi
sts. The recidivists were generally considered to have poor social supports
, attitudes tolerant of sexual assault, antisocial lifestyles, poor self-ma
nagement strategies, and difficulties cooperating with supervision. The ove
rall mood of the recidivists and nonrecidivists was similar, but the recidi
vists showed increased anger and subjective distress just before reoffendin
g. The dynamic risk factors reported by the officers continued to be strong
ly associated with recidivism, even after controlling for preexisting diffe
rences in static risk factors. The factors identified in the interview data
were reflected (to a lesser extent) in the officers' contemporaneous case
notes, which suggests that the interview findings cannot be completely attr
ibuted to retrospective recall bias.