Penile Responses of Child Molesters and Normals to Descriptions of Encounters with Children Involving Sex and Violence

Abstract

In total, 14 heterosexual, 7 homosexual, and 4 bisexual child molesters from a maximum security psychiatric institution were compared with 8 low SES men from the local community and 6 nonsex offenders from the same institution. Penile tumescence changes were measured in response to 22 audiotaped descriptions involving consenting sex with an adult partner, sex with a child (at 3 levels of force and violence), nonsexual violence with a child victim, and neutral interactions with a child. Half of the target persons in the stories were male and half female. Child molesters preferred stories depicting sex with children to sex with adults, showed sexual interest in children of both genders, and did not respond to depictions of nonsexual violence. Compared to other child molesters, those who had physically injured their victims responded relatively more to children than adults and to coercive sex with children. Comparison subjects showed no sexual interest in any of the stories involving children.