NCJ Number
195448
Journal
Forum on Corrections Research Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2002 Pages: 7-12
Date Published
2002
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article summarizes a series of studies exploring the reliability and criterion validity of phallometric testing with sexual offenders against female victims.
Abstract
Phallometric testing is measurement of male erectile responses during the presentation of sexual and non-sexual stimuli. Two hundred eighty incest offenders, 138 extrafamilial child molesters, and 139 rapists were assessed, based on their archival corrections files, using three assessment sets: an age-gender set which presented slides of adults and children; a female sexual violence set which presented audio descriptions of consenting and forced sex between adults; and a child sexual violence set which presented audio descriptions of sexual molestation of children by adults. In order to be valid, results demonstrating differences between groups who are expected to differ need to be consistently replicated, within reason. It was found that phallometric testing did not provide long-term stability in obtaining consistent results. Internal consistency levels for distinct stimulus categories and offender types revealed limited degrees of success, though acceptable internal consistency was found with certain offender types for each assessment set. It is recommended that the responses and sexual history of both offenders and non-offending men need to be examined before issues of inconsistency can be addressed satisfactorily. Tables, figures, notes