Measurement of sexual arousal in several paraphilias: The effects of stimulus modality, instructional set and stimulus content on the objective

doi:10.1016/0005-7967(81)90109-1

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Volume 19, Issue 1, 1981, Pages 25-33

https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(81)90109-1 Get rights and content

Abstract

The effects of instructional set (become aroused or suppress arousal), stimulus modality (videotape, audiotape, slides, free fantasy) and stimulus content (paraphilic or non-paraphilic) on sexual arousal, as measured by penile plethysmograph, of six different groups of paraphilics, pedophiles, rapists, exhibitionists, homosexuals, sado-masochists and fetishists, were determined. The results showed significant main effects of instructional set and of stimulus modality (videotape was clearly more arousing) as well as several complex interactions of diagnostic group with the other independent variables.

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This special feature of Cognitive and Behavioral Practice serves to remind psychological scientists and other mental health clinicians of the importance of understanding our responsibilities in the field with specific reference to sexual orientation and gender identity “conversion therapy” efforts: from considering our ethical responsibilities in our practice (Davison) to understanding the widespread iatrogenic impacts of “conversion therapy” practice in all its subtleties (Anderson et al.), from staying abreast of the contemporary anti-LGBTQ+ talking points (Haldeman) to understanding how this rhetoric targets specific subpopulations in the U.S. currently (Hope & Puckett). We conclude this special series by reminding the reader that structures within our institutions and day-to-day functioning uphold and foster an unethical and iatrogenic practice. We point out the need to be alert. Clinical psychological science is not value-free. Pretending that it is serves the obfuscation of scientific findings and equips scholars who hold vested interests in seeing the dangerous practice of “conversion therapy” legitimized and disseminated in a larger scale.
Pedophilia is associated with lower sexual interest in adults: Meta-analyses and a systematic review with men who had sexually offended against children
2023, Aggression and Violent Behavior
Sexual interest in children is an important factor contributing to sexual (re)offending against children. The current state of research makes it difficult to conclude if people with pedophilia are overly interested in children, or have lower interest in adults, or both. This is relevant knowledge in treatment for preventing sexual (re)offenses against children. This study aimed to systematically analyze sexual interest in both children and adults in samples of men with pedophilia and comparison groups. A total of 55 studies (N = 8465) were included in four meta-analyses and a systematic review. Most included studies considered people who had sexually offended against children (PSOC; n^PSOC = 5213). Results indicated that PSOC with pedophilia did not have a clear sexual preference for either children or adults. Compared to comparison groups, they had more absolute sexual interest in children and lower sexual interest in adults. We conclude that the lack of sexual interest in adults may be a relevant factor in PSOC with pedophilia. More studies are needed to disentangle sexual interest in children from sexual interest in adults, while using carefully matched comparison groups and appropriate research designs.
Assessment of sexual interest towards children
2016, Anuario de Psicologia Juridica
El interés sexual hacia menores ofrece numerosas dificultades para su evaluación, principalmente, la motivación para ocultarlo en contextos forenses. Su asociación con la reincidencia en delitos sexuales y su utilidad como medida del éxito terapéutico han impulsado el desarrollo de distintas técnicas de evaluación. En este artículo se revisan los autoinformes, la pletismografía peneana y varias medidas cognitivas basadas en la latencia de respuesta. Aunque todas las técnicas presentan limitaciones en cuanto a su manipulación y a su capacidad discriminativa, las baterías multimétodo parecen ofrecer la mejor alternativa y son una vía de investigación futura.
Sexual interest in children involves many difficulties for a reliable assessment, mainly dissimulation in forensic contexts. The association of deviant sexual interest with sexual reoffending and its usefulness as an index of therapeutic success have encouraged the development of several assessment techniques. This article includes a review of self-report instruments, penis pletismography, and latency-based measures. Although all techniques show limitations regarding manipulation and discriminative power, multi-method batteries appear to be the most reliable and comprehensive assessment alternative, as well as a relevant line of future research.
Penile Plethysmography
2014, Toolkit for Working with Juvenile Sex Offenders
A critical appraisal of the uses of penile plethysmography (PPG) with adolescent sexual offenders is presented. Information concerning the evolution of PPG during the past half century is reviewed, ranging from an analysis of the sexual preference hypothesis that underlies the use and development of PPG, to the psychometric properties of the PPG, as well as the procedural elements of conducting a PPG evaluation with adolescents. The differences between adolescent and adult sexual development with regard to conducting PPG evaluations are also analyzed. Implications for using PPG as a part of an overall and comprehensive psychosexual evaluation of adolescent sexual offenders are detailed, including resources for learning more about PPG and its application in this special clinical population.
Phallometric assessment of rapists: A critical review of the research
2009, Aggression and Violent Behavior
Citation Excerpt :
Participants voluntarily agreed to let their results be used anonymously for research purposes. The audiotapes were used in previous research by (Abel, Blanchard, & Barlow, 1981) and consisted of 120 s vignettes varying in age, gender, and degree of consent, coercion, and/or violence. Neither warm-up stimuli nor a semantic tracking task were used.
There is disagreement in the literature as to utility of phallometry with rapists. The present article attempts to shed light on the basis for these contradictory conclusions. First, the theoretical rationale for assessing sexual interest via phallometry is discussed. Second, all the recent (i.e., since 1994) studies that have used phallometric assessment to measure sexual arousal in convicted rapists or self-identified sexual aggressors are individually reviewed and critiqued. Following critiques of individual studies, strengths and weaknesses of the literature are listed and overall conclusions are drawn. Lastly, needed improvements and directions for future research as to sexual preferences of rapists are discussed.
Developmental Psychopathological Perspectives on Sexually Compulsive Behavior
2008, Psychiatric Clinics of North America
Citation Excerpt :
Puberty activates the “love map” established throughout childhood. Abel and colleages70 evaluated 411 adult sex offenders in an outpatient clinic. Of this sample, 58% reported that their deviant sexual arousal began before age 18.
Highly pernicious events can result in a variety of severe adult psychiatric manifestations, including pedophilia in select individuals with a history of prior “at-risk factors.” Influences such as social isolation can either increase or decrease the outcome. This article reviews some of the other sequential developmental factors that might contribute to sexual compulsivity in such biographies, including temperament, early attachment, family influences, trauma re-enactments, affect dysregulation, social isolation, vandalized love maps, self-formation, sexualization in families, and addictive cycles.

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Measurement of sexual arousal in several paraphilias: The effects of stimulus modality, instructional set and stimulus content on the objective

Abstract

Assessment of sexual deviation in the male

The components of rapists' sexual arousal

Archs gen. Psychiat.

Measurement of sexual arousal in male homosexuals: effects of instructions and stimulus modality

Archs sex. Behav.

The measurement and generation of sexual arousal

Identifying specific erotic cues in sexual deviations by audio taped description

J. appl. Behav. Anal.

Assessment of sexual behavior

A mechanical strain gauge for recording penile circumference change

J. appl. Behav. Anal.

Elimination of a sadistic fantasy by a client-controlled counterconditioning technique: a case study

J. abnorm. soc. Psychol.

Homosexual behavior: Theory and Assessment

A laboratory method for diagnosing prodominance of homo- or hetero-erotic interest in the male

Behav. Res. Ther.

Laboratory differential diagnosis of homo- and hetero-sexuality: an experiment with faking

Rev. Czech Med.