Jorge R. Reyes, Timothy R. Vollmer, Kimberly N. Sloman, Astrid Hall, Robert Reed,
Greg Jansen, Sam Carr, Kevin Jackson, & Michael Stoutimore. (2006)
Assessment of deviant arousal in adult male sex offenders with developmental disabilities.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
39, 173-188.
Ten individuals, residing in a treatment facility specializing in the rehabilitation
of sex offenders with developmental disabilities, participated in an arousal
assessment involving the use of the penile plethysmograph. The arousal assessments
involved measuring change in penile circumference to various categories of
stimuli both appropriate (adult men and women) and inappropriate (e.g., 8- to
9-year-old boys and girls). This approach extends the existing assessment
literature by the use of repeated measurement and single-subject experimental
design. Data from these assessments were analyzed to determine if clear and
informative outcomes were obtained. Overall, three general patterns of results
emerged. Some participants showed differentiated deviant arousal or higher
levels of arousal to specific inappropriate stimuli (deviant is a term used in
the existing sex-offender literature to describe this type of arousal). Other
participants showed undifferentiated deviant arousal, in which case they showed
nonspecific arousal to inappropriate stimuli. The remaining participants showed
no arousal to inappropriate stimuli but did show arousal to appropriate stimuli.
Implications for assessment, treatment, and future directions are discussed.
DESCRIPTORS: penile plethysmograph, arousal assessment, repeated measurement, sex offenders with developmental disabilities