Explaining the erectile responses of rapists to rape stories: the contributions of sexual activity, non-consent, and violence with injury.

In phallometric research, rapists have a unique pattern of erectile responses to stimuli depicting sexual activities involving coercion and violence. In this study, we attempted to determine the cues that control rapists' erectile responses to rape stories in the laboratory. A total of 12 rapists and 14 non-rapists were exposed to recorded audio scenarios that systematically varied with regard to the presence or absence of three orthogonally varied elements: sexual activity and nudity, violence and injury, and expression of non-consent.

Adolescents who have sexually offended: is phallometry valid?

It is unclear whether deviant sexual preferences distinguish adolescents who commit sex offenses in the same way that such deviance characterizes adult sex offenders. We compared male adolescents (mean age = 15 at the time of a referral sex offense), matched adult sex offenders, and normal men (adult nonoffenders or nonsex offenders). We hypothesized the following: phallometric responses of the adolescents would be similar to those of adult sex offenders and would differ from normals; adolescents with male child victims would exhibit greater evidence of sexual deviance than those whose only victims were female children; among adolescents who had molested children, those with a history of sexual abuse would exhibit more evidence of sexual deviance than those with no such history; and phallometric measures would predict recidivism.

Sexual preferences and recidivism of sex offenders with mental retardation.

By some accounts, sex offenders with mental retardation commit sex offenses against children because the offenders lack sexual knowledge or are socially and intellectually immature rather than because of sexually deviant interests. By other accounts, these offenders exhibit pedophilic sexual interests. In this study, phallometrically determined sexual interests, recidivism, and choices of victims of 69 sex offenders with mental retardation are examined and compared with those of 69 sex offenders of average or higher IQ.