The Value of Self-Reports in the Study of Voyeurism and Exhibitionism

Abstract

Self-reports about patterns of sexual behavior among voyeurs and exhibitionists were examined. Some of their reported experiences were compared with those of other sex offenders and community controls. Four hundred and thirty-seven patients, 92 university student controls and 35 controls with a lower educational level were examined. The self-reports of voyeurs were used to construct a scale for the assessment of voyeurism in cooperative individuals. The self-reports of exhibitionists provided information about the development of their pattern of erotic behavior. It was found that: (a) about one third to one half of the exhibitionists masturbated while exposing and during fantasies about exposing; (b) nearly two thirds of them admitted they had also masturbated in a public place though they knew nobody could see; (c) more than half experience the act of exposing as an invitation to intercourse and about one third as a substitute for intercourse with the target person; (d) the desired reaction from the target person was quite diverse although approximately one third wanted to sexually arouse her, and (e) their inclination to see prostitutes is more likely motivated by the impersonal kind of sexual interaction with prostitutes than by a particular preference for fellatio. The study also confirmed that obscene telephone calling, which occurs also with other anomalous erotic preferences, was connected particularly to exhibitionism.