Abstract
Computer-assisted psychological assessment has been operational for 25 years. It has been well received by patients and shows a degree of reliability that is comparable to that of conventional testing. The authors report on the development of a computerized psychosexual assessment laboratory in a forensic facility housing convicted sex offenders who volunteered for treatment. The development of the laboratory was in response to the need for uniform psychosocial data on each resident that can be used for making better diagnoses, developing personalized treatment programs, and assessing treatment outcome.
The process of selecting the psychological tests and programming them for interactive administration is described, as are the testing procedures using the penile plethysmograph with stimuli based on the Tanner developmental stages. A computer-assisted psychosocial assessment that produces a psychosocial history was developed. The laboratory’s overall value in the treatment program is assessed.
Footnotes
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Dr. Barnard, Ms. Robbins, Dr. Tingle, and Dr. Newman are from the Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Mr. Shaw is director, Sex Offender Treatment Unit, North Florida Evaluation and Treatment Center, Gainesville, FL.
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Based on a paper presented at the Seventeenth Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 18, 1986.
- Copyright © 1986, The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
