Visual Reaction Time and Plethysmography as Measures of Sexual Interest in Child Molesters

It is important to determine the sexual interests of those accused of child molestation. Visual reaction time and plethysmography are two means of measuring sexual interest with some objectivity, but there has been no direct comparison of these methodologies. The reliability and validity of visual r...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sexual abuse 1998-04, Vol.10 (2), p.81-95
Main Authors: Abel, Gene G., Huffman, Jeffrey, Warberg, Brent, Holland, Clarence L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child sexual abuse
Children
Objectivity
Pedophilia
Sex offenders
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:It is important to determine the sexual interests of those accused of child molestation. Visual reaction time and plethysmography are two means of measuring sexual interest with some objectivity, but there has been no direct comparison of these methodologies. The reliability and validity of visual reaction time and plethysmography were evaluated in groups of individuals with sexual interest in children of various ages and genders. Results showed that both methods of assessment had a high reliability and validity. Visual reaction time has the added advantages that it can be used without nude slides and is a briefer assessment.
ISSN:1079-0632
1573-286X
DOI:10.1177/107906329801000202