Diagnosing heterosexual pedophilia by means of a test for sexual interest

A modification of the penis plethysmograph test of sexual interest is described. The efficacy of this method in the differential diagnosis of heterosexual pedophilia in male adults is discussed. Results obtained from 20 suspected pedophiliacs are presented and compared with those obtained from 20 control subjects.     

The effects of perceptual pretraining on concept identification and preference

The effects of perceptual pretraining on preferences and concept identification performance in five- and eight-year-old Ss were investigated. The results indicated that perceptual pretraining facilitated performance on a concept identification task with a non-preferred relevant cue for the five-year-olds, but not for the eight-year-olds. However, perceptual pretraining did not affect preference in either age group and Ss were as consistent in their preference responding before and after perceptual pretraining as was a control group that had not received perceptual pretraining. Preferences were highly consistent in both age groups over a one week period. Perceptual pretraining was interpreted to increase the usability of the less preferred dimensions for the younger Ss, and to leave the affective preference response unaltered in both groups.     

Homophobia and physical aggression toward homosexual and heterosexual individuals

This study examined the relationship between homophobia (defined as self-reported negative affect, avoidance, and aggression toward homosexuals) and homosexual aggression. Self-identified heterosexual college men were assigned to homophobic (n = 26) and nonhomophobic (n = 26) groups on the basis of their scores on the Homophobia Scale (HS; L. W. Wright, H. E. Adams, & J. A. Bernat, 1999). Physical aggression was examined by having participants administer shocks to a fictitious opponent during a competitive reaction time (RT) task under the impression that the study was examining the relationship between sexually explicit material and RT. Participants were exposed to a male homosexual erotic videotape, their affective reactions were assessed, and they then competed in the RT task against either a heterosexual or a homosexual opponent. The homophobic group reported significantly more negative affect, anxiety, and anger-hostility after watching the homosexual erotic videotape than did the nonhomophobic group. Additionally, the homophobic group was significantly more aggressive toward the homosexual opponent, but the groups did not differ in aggression toward the heterosexual opponent.     

Phallometric diagnosis with 'nonadmitters'

The phallometric method of assessing erotic value of presented stimuli has two main tasks, one is in the breaking down of complex (potentially) sexual stimuli into components, the other is in diagnosing anomalous erotic preferences in ‘Nonadmitters’, i.e. in persons whose behaviour would imply there is such an anomaly, but who deny its presence. Differentiation between Admitters and Nonadmitters was attained by two verbal Admitter scales. Comparison of the scores on these scales with results of phallometric assessment showed (by mutual validation) that the phallometric method diagnoses Admitters more accurately than Nonadmitters. After that, the validity was tested of a new mode of the phallometric method, designed for diagnosing pedo- or hebephilia in Nonadmitters. In cases of homosexual pedophilia or hebephilia (but not in the heterosexual cases) the new Nonadmitter mode was superior to the Standard procedure.     

Die sexuelle Entwicklung Jugendlicher und Heranwachsender im Kontext von Sexualstraftaten und Körperverletzungsdelikten

To find out possible differences concerning the sexual development of juveniles who had committed either sexual or assaultive offenses. In order to reduce confounding variables a defined group of perpetrators was studied during ongoing criminal proceedings: 107 German single perpetrators, of average intelligence, between 14 and 21 years old, committing hands-on offenses, were investigated in respect to their physical-sexual development (i.e. maldescensus testis, orchitis and others), their socio-sexual development (i.e. attitude to masturbation, to sexuality within the family and others), and their psycho-sexual development (i.e. homo- or heterosexual experiences by mutual agreement like petting or sexual intercourse). 38 subjects had sexually forced female juveniles or women, 36 subjects had sexually abused children of both sexes, 33 subjects had committed assaultive offences towards male juveniles or men (control group). No differences were found between the groups concerning their physical-sexual development. The socio-sexual development distinguished between the sexual offender groups and the control group. The outcome concerning the psycho-sexual development was specific for every single offender group. Many of the juveniles who had committed sexual offences were acting like this already before the age of 14 (limit of criminal responsibility in Germany). This was so as well for some few subjects of the control group. After the age of 14 juveniles of the sex offender groups - in contrast to the control group - committed sexual offences which were not reported. Considering further characteristics of the biography and the results of psychometric instruments of the 107 subjects investigated, this study describes early markers of the development of deviant sexual fantasies in juvenile sex offenders.     

Neural correlates of subliminally presented visual sexual stimuli

In the context of forensic psychiatry, it is crucial that diagnoses of deviant sexual interests are resistant to manipulation. In a first attempt to promote the development of such tools, the current fMRI study focusses on the examination of hemodynamic responses to preferred, in contrast to non-preferred, sexual stimuli with and without explicit sexual features in 24 healthy heterosexual subjects. The subliminal stimulus presentation of sexual stimuli could be a new approach to reduce vulnerability to manipulation. Meaningful images and scrambled images were applied as masks. Recognition performance was low, but interestingly, sexual preference and explicitness modulated stimulus visibility, suggesting interactions between networks of sexual arousal and consciousness. With scrambled masks, higher activations for sexually preferred images and for explicit images were found in areas associated with sexual arousal (Stoleru, Fonteille, Cornelis, Joyal, & Moulier, 2012). We conclude that masked sexual stimuli can evoke activations in areas associated with supraliminal induced sexual arousal.     

The level of organization of the motor schema

The interpretations of Piaget and Schmidt on the level on which the motor schema is supposedly effective were evaluated in pre-school children of different ages in a throwing task. In an analysis of variance on the accuracy scores, significant main effects for age, sex, and throwing arm were found. Further, the results showed no relationship between accuracy scores with the preferred and non-preferred arm in the younger group, while in the older group a moderate relationship was found. This result was interpreted in terms of structural development and as a warning for studies where Schmidt's variability-of-practice hypothesis is tested.     

Types of aggressive behavior among aggressive-preferred, aggressive non-preferred, non-aggressive preferred and non-aggressive non-preferred 14-year-old adolescents

This study examined differences in the types of aggressive behavior among aggressive-preferred, aggressive non-preferred, non-aggressive preferred and non-aggressive non-preferred adolescents. The subjects numbered 839 14-year-old adolescents (408 girls and 431 boys). Aggressive behavior as well as social preference i.e. popularity and rejection, were assessed by peer nominations. The types of aggressive behavior measured were intriguing, arguing, fighting and bullying. The results showed that not only the level, but also the types of aggressive behavior differentiated aggressive adolescents from the non-aggressive ones, and preferred adolescents from the non-preferred ones. The aggression profile of the aggressive and rejected adolescents was characterized more by intriguing and bullying than arguing or fighting. In contrast, that of non-aggressive adolescents was dominated more by arguing and fighting than intriguing. The results pointed to a more complex relationship between aggressive behavior and social preference than the general assumption that there is a higher rate of rejection among aggressive adolescents, and a higher rate of popularity among non-aggressive ones. Significant gender differences were also found.     

Child pornography offenses are a valid diagnostic indicator of pedophilia

This study investigated whether being charged with a child pornography offense is a valid diagnostic indicator of pedophilia, as represented by an index of phallometrically assessed sexual arousal to children. The sample of 685 male patients was referred between 1995 and 2004 for a sexological assessment of their sexual interests and behavior. As a group, child pornography offenders showed greater sexual arousal to children than to adults and differed from groups of sex offenders against children, sex offenders against adults, and general sexology patients. The results suggest child pornography offending is a stronger diagnostic indicator of pedophilia than is sexually offending against child victims. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.     

Attending to the non-preferred hand improves bimanual coordination in children

The effect of attentional focus in bimanual coordination was investigated from a developmental perspective by examining performance of right- and left-handed children, 5-8-years and 9-12-years old, on bimanual reciprocal tapping tasks. Attentional focus was either specified, by asking the children to attend to the preferred or to the non-preferred hand, or unspecified for the execution of the tasks. When attention was oriented to the non-preferred hand we found a reduced movement time and a lower frequency of errors. Performance differences for handedness and age-groups were observed when the children were oriented to attend to the preferred hand or when there was no instruction regarding attention. These differences in performance were eliminated when attention was oriented to the non-preferred hand.     

On the association between sexual attraction and adolescent risk behavior involvement: Examining mediation and moderation

On the basis of a large-scale survey of high-school youth, the authors compared adolescents reporting exclusively heterosexual, mostly heterosexual, bisexual, and predominately same-sex attraction based on high-risk involvement across a range of risk behaviors. Bisexual and same-sex attracted groups were characterized by heightened high-risk involvement relative to the other two groups. Mediation analysis was used to determine whether these group disparities were explained by a set of normative predictive factors spanning multiple life domains. Differences among a combined exclusively/mostly heterosexual attraction group and both the bisexual and same-sex attraction groups were attenuated (66% and 50%, respectively) after incorporating the hypothesized intervening predictive factors, providing evidence of partial mediation. Primary mediators included intrapersonal (attitudes toward risk-taking; academic orientation), interpersonal (peer victimization; parental relationships; unstructured activities), and environmental (substance availability) factors. Mediation results were consistent across participant age and sex. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Could sex difference in color preference and its personality correlates fit into social theories? Let Chinese university students tell you

The unclear picture of the sex difference in color preference might result from personality variations. We invited 359 Chinese university students (166 men and 193 women) to undergo a color preference test and the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ), a five-factor model test. Depressive trends were measured by the Plutchik-van Praag Depression Inventory (PVP). There was no significant difference between men and women regarding either ZKPQ or PVP scale scores. However, men preferred blue and green significantly more, and their preference order of yellow was negatively correlated with ZKPQ Sociability. Women preferred purple, pink and white significantly more, their preference order of gray was positively correlated with Neuroticism-Anxiety, and the order of orange negatively with Aggression-Hostility. Our results suggest that, partly from a biological layout, men as hunters and women as gatherers prefer some different colors on the one hand, but from a social structural layout, they might try to adjust some personality traits by preferring other colors on the other, in order to attain a sex-equality but polychromatic world.     

FEMINISM AND WOMEN'S FRIENDSHIPS

The ideology of "sisterhood" within the feminist movement suggests that feminists' and nonfeminists' same–sex friendships would differ profoundly. This assumption was tested by examining the friendships of 45 heterosexual nonfeminists, 43 heterosexual feminists, and 38 lesbian feminists from a large midwestern city. Participants ranged in age from 19 to 46. Using objective measures, differences were found between feminists and nonfeminists for some structural dimensions of friendship, including number of cross–generational friendships, degree of equality, and amount of privacy preferred with a best friend. Lesbian feminists preferred more privacy with their friends than nonfeminists, but rated their friends as lower on relationship quality and degree of equality than heterosexual feminists and nonfeminists. The three groups did not differ on the affective content of friendship, including liking, loving, satisfaction and commitment. However, feminists subjectively perceived their feminism as having contributed to both structural and affective changes in their friendships.     

A Comparison of Self-Referred Counselees and Non-Counseled Junior High School Students

A population of 315 ninth grade students was separated into two groups consisting of those who had made voluntary counselor appointments during the preceding two years, and those who had not. The two groups were compared in terms of sex, general ability, achievement, and personality ratings. There were no significant differences between the groups except for the sex ratio. All ninth grade students and all incoming seventh graders were also surveyed regarding their preference toward voluntary or required programs of counseling. Both grade levels generally preferred the voluntary approach.     

Assessment of sexual preference using a choice reaction time task

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of a choice reaction time task, during which slides of sexually explicit and neutral stimuli were used as an interference task, to differentiate between groups of individuals on the basis of their sexual preference. Twenty subjects, in each of the four groups (heterosexual males, heterosexual females, homosexual males, and homosexual females), participated in this study. Sexual orientation was determined by self-report. Subjects were given a choice reaction time with interference task, followed by a recall incidental learning task. A significant higher-order interaction was found among gender, orientation, and stimulus type for all four groups. This interaction indicated a longer reaction time to slides depicting preferred sexual partners than to nonpreferred sexual partners or neutral scenes. These results indicate that sexual arousal does interfere with cognitive processing. A main effect for gender was found for the incidental learning task, with males having the fewest errors.     

Cognitive and physiological indices of sexual arousal in homosexual,bisexual, and heterosexual males

Cognitive and physiological indices of sexual arousal were investigated utilizing groups of homosexual, bisexual, and heterosexual subjects (ten subjects per group) who were presented both homosexual and heterosexual films and slides. The results indicated that both homosexual and heterosexual subjects were able to estimate accurately their degree of erection to the erotic stimuli. Bisexual subjects, however, showed a large discrepancy between the magnitude of actual erection and verbally reported estimates of penile tumescence. In terms of physiological arousal, the erectile responses of the homosexual and bisexual groups were indistinguishable, a finding which questions the existence of male bisexuality as distinct from homosexuality or as a different sexual orientation in males.     

Vergleich zweier diagnostischer Ans?tze zur Erfassung der Sexualfantasien p?dophiler M?nner

Two diagnostic approaches to measure sexual fantasies, the Wilson Sexual Fantasy Questionnaire (WSFQ; Wilson 1988, Sex Marital Ther 3:45) as a quantitative self-report measure and the qualitative content analysis categories for the fantasy content, have been examined regarding their quality and capability for identifying pedophilic fantasies. For this purpose 33 men from the general community were selected and compared with 24 adult men from the project ??Kein Täter werden?? (avoid being a perpetrator) at the Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine, Charité Clinical Center, Berlin, all fulfilling diagnostic criteria of pedophilia according to DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision) (American Psychiatric Association 2000, Washington). The examination revealed that the reliability of the WSFQ scales (Cronbach??s ??) varied between moderate and good. The interrater reliability coefficients of content analysis categories ranged between moderate and predominantly good and very good. The WSFQ identified a generalized impersonal character only as a main feature of pedophilic fantasies and proved to have limited capability for identification of specific contents of sexual fantasies of persons with these diagnoses. In contrast, content analysis categories allowed identification of a set of specific features of the fantasized partners, pedophilic men and the sexual contacts in addition to the age and prepubertal body of a preferential partner which might be traced back to the preference for prepubertal age. Replication studies are necessary for evaluation of the current findings on the basis of a representative sample of men with pedophilia. These findings might be of primary use for the diagnosis of pedophilia.     

A choice technique to assess the effects of selective punishment on fixed-ratio performance

The emission of a fixed number of responses by rats was followed by food reinforcement. This fixed number could be accumulated in any way from two continuously available but mutually incompatible response classes, bar pressing, and not bar pressing for a fixed time period. A preference for one response class was arranged by specifying different maximum reinforcement rates for the two classes. Under selective punishment conditions, the preferred response occasionally led to both food and electric shock, while the non-preferred response led only to food. Selective punishment effects were measured through changes in the preference to the two responses in the sequence. The actions of shock intensity, deprivation, the specification of the non-preferred response, and three drugs were investigated. The results were broadly similar to the work reported by Dardano and Sauerbrunn (1964), who found localized increases in interresponse times before punished responses in fixed-ratio schedules. Performance under this procedure was found to be stable and sensitive to each of the experimental variables examined.     

Sexual preference,feminism, and women's perceptions of their parents

In an attempt to clarify the relation between parental variables, sexual preference, and sex-role attitudes, three groups of women were studied: lesbian feminists, heterosexual feminists, and heterosexual traditional women. The women were asked about their perceptions of their parents when they were in high school. The groups differed more from each other with respect to their perceptions of their fathers than their mothers. The perceived attitudes of the father were much more important in differentiating lesbian feminists from heterosexuals than in differentiating heterosexual feminists from heterosexual traditionals. Both the heterosexual groups (feminist and traditionals) reported having a more affectionate and involved father who also encouraged them more in the expression of anger than the lesbian feminists reported. The results suggest women's father relationships must not be obscured in research and support Johnson's hypothesis that the father relationship is more central than the mother relationship in sex typing and especially in the specifically sexual aspects of sex typing.     

Learned preference for a hedonically negative flavor is observed after pairings with positive post-ingestion consequences rather than with a palatable flavor

In two experiments, thirsty rats consumed a compound of sucrose and a non-preferred flavor. In Experiment 1, a conditioned preference was observed in the experimental group when animals were tested both thirsty and hungry, but not when they were tested just thirsty. Animals in the control group, which experienced the flavor and the sucrose unpaired, never showed a preference. Experiment 2 replicated the absence of a preference in the experimental group when rats were tested thirsty, but provided evidence that a flavor-taste association had been formed during training. After conditioning, sucrose was paired with LiCl in group Dev whereas it was unpaired in group NonDev. The sucrose devaluation produced a decrease in CS preference in group Dev, and an increment in group NonDev. Taken together, these results show that preference for a non-preferred flavor can be readily observed after pairings with the positive consequences of the US (calories or absence of an expected illness) rather than with a palatable flavor.