Improving Risk Communication: Developing Risk Ratios for the VRAG-R.

We developed a set of risk ratios for the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide-Revised (VRAG-R) to broaden the range of risk communication options available when using this tool and to provide information needed for future efforts to apply The Council of State Governments Justice Center's standardized five-level risk framework to the scale. A slightly reduced version of the VRAG-R normative data set was used for the analyses ( = 1,238). Contrary to previous research developing risk ratios, logistic regression provided a more accurate estimate of observed violent recidivism rates than Cox regression for both total VRAG-R scores and VRAG-R decile bins.

Pragmatic and Darwinian views of the paraphilias.

In this article, I discuss the question of the pathological nature of various sexual orientations and paraphilias and provide arguments for and against the inclusion of various paraphilias in future versions of the DSM. Practically, it is proposed that most of the paraphilias can be usefully conceptualized as involving sexual behaviors directed toward non-consenting individuals. From a Darwinian standpoint, it seems clear that at least some of the paraphilias should not be considered to be pathological because they are potentially associated with enhanced fitness.

Coercive paraphilic disorder.

Sexual coercion is a manifestation of sexual conflict that is not in itself pathological according to Wakefield's (1992) criteria because sexual coercion can increase a man's Darwinian fitness. There are, however, differences among men in their propensity to commit rape and this propensity is linked to antisocial personality characteristics and relatively more sexual interest in brutal rape depictions. If highly rape-prone men were to be considered pathological, it would be possible to develop diagnostic criteria to identify them.

Individual differences in the propensity for partner sexual coercion.

Lalumière, Harris, Quinsey, and Rice (2005) proposed a three-path model (psychopathy, young male syndrome, and competitive disadvantage) of the development of sexually coercive behavior, but none of these individual difference characteristics have been tested among partner rapists. Using a community sample in Study 1, the authors find that psychopathy is the only significant predictor of self-reported propensity for partner sexual coercion. This model is tested in Study 2 by comparing convicted partner rapists, nonsexual partner assaulters, and heterosexual child molesters.

Assessing the propensity for sexual coaxing and coercion in relationships: factor structure, reliability, and validity of the tactics to obtain sex scale.

Although there are measures of sexual interest and sexual conflict in romantic relationships, none discriminate between sexual coaxing and sexual coercion or are sensitive to proximal changes in the propensity to use such strategies. In order to study these changes, we developed the Tactics to Obtain Sex Scale (TOSS) to assess self-reported likelihood of engaging in sexual coercion and sexual coaxing with a romantic partner. In Study 1, a sample of men and women (N = 419) in heterosexual relationships completed the TOSS and measures of its predicted correlates, including antisociality and mating success.

Seeking enlightenment on the dark side of psychology.

A life devoted to the study of antisocial behavior and anomalous sexual preferences is examined. Although successive ontogenetic intellectual metamorphoses have yielded theoretical and applied progress, future reincarnations will be necessary for the achievement of full enlightenment.

Differences in gait across the menstrual cycle and their attractiveness to men.

We investigated variations in gait between women at high and at low conception probability, and how men rated those variations. Women participated in a motion capture study where we recorded the kinematics of their walking patterns. Women who were not using hormonal contraception (n = 19) repeated the study during the late follicular stage and the luteal stage of their menstrual cycle.

Coercive and precocious sexuality as a fundamental aspect of psychopathy.

Sexual behavior is closely associated with delinquency and crime. Although psychopaths, by definition, have many short-term sexual relationships, it has not been shown that sexuality is a core aspect of psychopathy. A Darwinian view of psychopathy led to the hypothesis that psychopaths have a unique sexuality involving early, frequent, and coercive sex.

Cues of high and low body weight negatively influence adults' perceptions and ratings in the hypothetical adoption paradigm.

Infant and child facial cues influence perceptions and ratings in the Hypothetical Adoption Paradigm as well as actual parental care. A previous study demonstrated that infant and child facial cues of low body weight negatively influenced adults' ratings. The current study sought to replicate and expand on those results by presenting adults with normal faces as well as faces that were digitally altered to display high or low body weight.

The dynamic prediction of antisocial behavior among forensic psychiatric patients: a prospective field study.

Staff ratings of 595 supervised forensic psychiatric patients on the Proximal Risk Factor Scale and the Problem Identification Checklist were completed monthly for an average of 33 months. During the follow-up, there were 265 incidents, 86 of which were violent. The average ratings, excluding those from the index month, differentiated patients who had incidents from those who did not.

Sociosexuality in women and preference for facial masculinization and somatotype in men.

Sociosexual orientation reflects individual differences in openness to short-term sexual relationships. We predicted that women with less restricted sociosexuality would be differentially attracted to highly masculinized male faces and bodies. In 2 studies, we investigated preference for male masculinization as a function of female sociosexuality.

Animal behaviour: chimpanzee choice and prosociality.

Silk et al. report that adult chimpanzees show no difference in their choices in a situation where one choice benefits a familiar conspecific and the other does not. From this, they conclude that chimpanzees are indifferent to the welfare of unrelated group members.

Influence of infant and child facial cues of low body weight on adults' ratings of adoption preference, cuteness, and health.

Infant and child facial cues have been shown to influence decisions and perceptions associated with parental care in adults. Low body weight reflects health problems in infants and children; therefore, facial cues associated with low body weight may influence adult cognitive processes associated with parental care and investment. Facial images of infants and children were digitally manipulated to simulate cues of low body weight and presented to adults using a hypothetical adoption paradigm.

The effect of infant fetal alcohol syndrome facial features on adoption preference.

Infant facial characteristics may affect discriminative parental solicitude because they convey information about the health of the offspring. We examined the effect of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) infant facial characteristics on hypothetical adoption preferences, ratings of attractiveness, and ratings of health. As expected, potential parents were more likely to adopt "normal" infants, and they rated the FAS infants as less attractive and less healthy.

A multisite comparison of actuarial risk instruments for sex offenders.

Four actuarial instruments for the prediction of violent and sexual reoffending (the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide [VRAG], Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide [SORAG], Rapid Risk Assessment for Sex Offender Recidivism [RRASOR] and Static-99) were evaluated in 4 samples of sex offenders (N = 396). Although all 4 instruments predicted violent (including sexual) recidivism and recidivism known to be sexually motivated, areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) were consistently higher for the VRAG and the SORAG. The instruments performed better when there were fewer missing items and follow-up time was fixed, with an ROC area up to .

Are rapists differentially aroused by coercive sex in phallometric assessments?

In this chapter we examine whether rapists are sexually aroused by coercive, nonconsensual sex. This question is theoretically important because it speaks to a potential sexual motivation underlying rape. It is also clinically important in that it may reveal an important assessment and treatment target.

The etiology of anomalous sexual preferences in men.

People discover rather than choose their sexual interests. The process of discovery typically begins before the onset of puberty and is associated with an increase in the secretion of sex hormones from the adrenal glands. However, the determinants of the direction of sexual interest, in the sense of preferences for the same or opposite sex, are earlier.

The influence of infant facial cues on adoption preferences.

Trivers's theory of parental investment suggests that adults should decide whether or not to invest in a given infant using a cost-benefit analysis. To make the best investment decision, adults should seek as much relevant information as possible. Infant facial cues may serve to provide information and evoke feelings of parental care in adults.

First report of the collaborative outcome data project on the effectiveness of psychological treatment for sex offenders.

This meta-analytic review examined the effectiveness of psychological treatment for sex offenders by summarizing data from 43 studies (combined n = 9,454). Averaged across all studies, the sexual offence recidivism rate was lower for the treatment groups (12.3%) than the comparison groups (16.

Identifying persistently antisocial offenders using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist and DSM antisocial personality disorder criteria.

Early starting, lifetime criminal persistence has been called sociopathy, antisocial personality disorder, and psychopathy. There is, however, disagreement about its core features and which measure is best for identifying such individuals. In the 1st of 2 studies of male offenders (n = 74), we found a large association between scores on the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R.

Sexual partner age preferences of homosexual and heterosexual men and women.

The sexual age preferences of 192 adults (equal groups of heterosexual men, heterosexual women, homosexual men, and homosexual women) were examined. Participants rated the sexual attractiveness of pictures of 15 male and 15 female faces arranged into five apparent average age categories ranging from 18 to 60 years. It was predicted that homosexual and heterosexual men would prefer younger partners of their preferred sex than would homosexual and heterosexual women and that age preference would not vary with participant age.

Perceived crime severity and biological kinship.

Two predictions concerning the perceived severity of crimes can be derived from evolutionary theory. The first, arising from the theory of inclusive fitness, is that crimes in general should be viewed as more serious to the degree that the victim is genetically related to the perpetrator. The second, arising from the deleterious effects of inbreeding depression, is that heterosexual sexual coercion should be perceived as more serious the closer the genetic relationship of victim and perpetrator, particularly when the victim is a female of fertile age.