NCJ Number
113037
Journal
Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science Volume: 18 Issue: 4 Dated: (1986) Pages: 424-439
Date Published
1986
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study examines erectile responses of 21 incest offenders, 40 nonfamilial offenders, and 22 nonoffenders to sexual stimuli, including pictures of nude females from ages 3 to 24, and audiotaped verbal descriptions of both consenting and nonconsenting sex with children.
Abstract
The study sample included heterosexual child molesters who were outpatients at the Sexual Offenders' Clinic and chronically unemployed men recruited from local employment agencies or training programs. The subjects were matched on intelligence, socioeconomic status and age. Erectile responses were measured by penile plethysmography. The stimuli included sexually explicit color slides of nude female 'children' ranging in age from 3 to 11 years in 2-year increments, 'adolescents' from ages 12 to 14 in 1-year increments, and 'adults' ages 16 to 24 in 2-year increments. Nonfamilial child molesters showed greater arousal to stimuli involving children than did either incest offenders or nonoffenders. Incest offenders exhibited less arousal to adult females than the child molesters or the nonoffenders. Child molesters responded more to verbal descriptions of sexual interactions with children than either of the other groups, and some of them showed less discrimination between consenting and nonconsenting episodes than the nonoffenders or the incest offenders. Number of victims predicted high deviant sexual interests, and low IQ child molesters showed more deviant arousal than average IQ child molesters. These results are discussed in terms of their impact on the assessment and treatment of men who molest children.