Measuring sexual interest using a pictorial modified Stroop task, a pictorial Implicit Association Test, and a Choice Reaction Time task

Tasks that can successfully measure sexual interest have utility in forensic settings. Prior to use with problematic sexual interest however, work is needed in validating such tasks. This study focused on the measurement of non-deviant sexual interest. Eleven gay and fourteen straight participants each completed a pictorial Implicit Association Test (IAT), a pictorial modified Stroop task (P-MST) and a Choice Reaction Time (CRT) task. Each task was designed to tap into the sexual interest of participants. Stimuli were of males and females in bathing suits along with control images and sexual and non-sexual words. The IAT was most successful in differentiating between gay and straight participants. The P-MST also performed well, though the task’s position in the battery of tasks seemed to affect the results. The CRT tasks did not successfully show group differences. Theoretical and methodological implications of the effectiveness of the three tasks in tapping into sexual interest are discussed

The Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests (SSPI): Construct, Predictive, and Incremental Validity

This study of 410 adult male sex offenders against children, using data from the Dynamic Supervision Project (Hanson, Harris, Scott, & Helmus, 2007), examined the construct, predictive, and incremental validity of the Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests (SSPI; Seto & Lalumière, 2001), a brief proxy measure of phallometrically assessed sexual response to children that is based on sexual victim characteristics. As predicted, the SSPI was significantly related to the Deviant Sexual Interests item on the STABLE-2007 (Hanson et al., 2007), a dynamic risk measure encompassing multiple domains, and with the Deviant Sexual Interests item from its predecessor, the STABLE-2000 (Hanson et al., 2007). The SSPI was unrelated (or more weakly related) to items measuring general antisociality. In addition, the SSPI significantly predicted sexual recidivism, defined as new charges or convictions for sexual offenses, and a broader sexual recidivism outcome that included breaches of community supervision conditions that might involve sexually motivated behavior (e.g., being in the presence of children unsupervised). The SSPI did not add to the predictive accuracy of 2 actuarial risk measures, the Static-99R and Static-200R (Helmus, Thornton, Hanson, & Babchishin, 2012), but it did add to the predictive accuracy of the STABLE-2007. Additional analyses suggest the SSPI can serve as a substitute for the STABLE-2007 Deviant Sexual Interests item, if necessary (e.g., in archival research), when assessing sexual offenders against children

A descriptive model of the offence chain for imprisoned adult male firesetters (descriptive model of adult male firesetting)

Purpose: Firesetting has devastating consequences. Although some theoretical efforts have been made to explain firesetting (i.e., a small number of multi- and single-factor theories), little effort has been devoted to understand how deliberate firesetting unfolds across time (i.e., micro or offence chain theories). This research aimed to produce the first descriptive offence chain theory for incarcerated adult male firesetters.Methods: Thirty-eight adult male firesetters—recruited from prison establishments in England and Wales—were interviewed about the events, thoughts and feelings leading up to, surrounding, and immediately following a deliberate incident of firesetting. Results: Using Grounded Theory analysis, the Descriptive Model of Adult male Firesetting (DMAF) was developed documenting the cognitive, behavioural, affective and contextual factors leading to a single incident of deliberate firesetting. Conclusions: New information generated from the DMAF is presented and its contributions to the current evidence base are highlighted. Clinical implications, limitations and future research directions are also discussed

Pupillary Response as an Age-specific Measure of Sexual Interest

In the visual processing of sexual content, pupil dilation is an indicator of arousal that has been linked to observers’ sexual orientation. This study investigated whether this measure can be extended to determine age-specific sexual interest. In two experiments, the pupillary responses of heterosexual adults to images of males and females of different ages were related to self-reported sexual interest, sexual appeal to the stimuli, and a child molestation proclivity scale. In both experiments, the pupils of male observers dilated to photographs of women but not men, children or neutral stimuli. These pupillary responses corresponded with observer’s self-reported sexual interests and their sexual appeal ratings of the stimuli. Female observers showed pupil dilation to photographs of men and women but not children. In women, pupillary responses also correlated poorly with sexual appeal ratings of the stimuli. These experiments provide initial evidence that eye-tracking could be used as a measure of sex-specific interest in male observers, and as an age-specific index in male and female observers

The Prevalence of Sexual Interest in Children and Sexually Harmful Behavior Self-Reported by Men Recruited Through an Online Crowdsourcing Platform

This study examined the feasibility of using crowdsourcing to recruit men who self-report sexual interest in children or sexually problematic behavior involving children. Crowdsourcing refers to the use of the internet to reach a large number of people to complete a specific task. A non-representative sample of males (n = 997) participated in a brief self-report survey examining age of attraction, sexual interest in children, proclivity toward sexual offenses involving children, and history of sexual offending. Almost a quarter of the sample (23.1%) indicated some degree of sexual interest in children, propensity to sexually offend against children, and/or actual offending behavior. We present our data broken down by type of interest or behavior, and examine the frequency of these outcomes. Findings are likely to be of value to those considering the viability of crowdsourcing to overcome the limitations or challenges of face-to-face research on stigmatizing interests and behaviors. Findings also contribute to estimating prevalence of self-reported sexual interest in children, and sexual offending behavior towards children, across different countries

Identifying the Coping Strategies of Nonoffending Pedophilic and Hebephilic Individuals From Their Online Forum Posts

Individuals who identify as pedophilic or hebephilic, and who do not offend, are increasingly visible in online discourse and as a focus of research. Developing knowledge about this population will offer insights into their psychological needs and, potentially, into the mechanisms and strategies individuals use to live offense-free lives. This study examined coping strategies among members of an online forum supporting pedohebephilic individuals who do not wish to offend. Forum users’ posts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Eleven themes emerged which were classifiable into three superordinate themes around (1) the acceptance of pedophilia, (2) strategies to stay safe, and (3) dealing with sexual arousal. These themes offer insight into the varying strategies used by these individuals to cope with stress and/or to remain offense free. Understanding whether these strategies are adaptive or maladaptive may help develop better support services for those who have not offended and may inform prevention efforts

A practical guide to assessing adult firesetters’ fire-specific treatment needs using the Four Factor Fire Scales

Objective: Practitioners working with offenders who have set fires have access to very few measures examining fire-specific treatment needs (e.g., fire interest, fire attitudes). In this paper, we examine the new Four Factor Fire Scales (Ó Ciardha et al., 2014), which may be used by practitioners to examine fire-specific treatment needs for offenders who have set deliberate fires. We present a standardized scoring procedure when using these scales, as well as an associated scoring template for practitioner use. Method: Norm data are based on male and female firesetters (n=378) and non-firesetters (n=187) recruited from 19 prison establishments (including 6 female establishments, 1 Young Offender Institutions) and 12 secure mixed gender mental health settings. Results: We present a full overview of all data we have collected to date relating to the Four Factor Fire Scales across prison, mental health and young offending participants. For each population, we present mean scores as well as associated cut off scores and reliable change indices to aid practitioners in their interpretation of scores. Conclusions: The Four Factor Fire Scale provides professionals working in the area with a robust template for administering, scoring, and interpreting the fire-specific factors currently identified as playing a role in deliberate firesetting behavior. Strengths and limitations of the measure are discussed

Theory of Mind in Offending: A Systematic Review

Theory of Mind (ToM) impairment is associated with poor social functioning in some psychological disorders (e.g., autism and schizophrenia). ToM deficits have also been linked with offending behavior in the theoretical literature. However, no review has examined the empirical evidence for such a link. We carried out a systematic review to provide a critical overview of studies involving ToM ability in offenders. We included studies published in English that used an instrument to measure at least one aspect of ToM. Twenty-eight eligible studies were identified and coded. Our findings reveal a generally mixed literature. Taking study quality into account, our findings suggest that offenders and non-offenders do not differ in their first-order ToM. For second-order ToM, findings are mixed, even when only the highest quality studies are examined. Studies exploring advanced ToM showed mixed results overall, though the highest quality research appeared to indicate that offenders have impairments in advanced ToM which means that they may have difficulty understanding various mental states such as pretense, white lies, irony, double bluffs, and sarcasm. We suggest that well-controlled future studies, which also measure other facets of ToM (e.g., distinguishing between cognitive and affective ToM, or examining ToM content), are needed to fully understand the role of ToM in offending

An Evaluation of Polygraph Testing by Police to Manage Individuals Convicted or Suspected of Sexual Offending

This report presents results of research commissioned by the police to evaluate their use of polygraph testing with individuals convicted or suspected of committing a sexual offence. Police areas involved in this research were: Greater Manchester (GMP), Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, South Yorkshire, and Northumbria. Additional areas (i.e., Lancashire, Norfolk, and Staffordshire) supplied data on polygraph tests conducted for them. The University of Kent was commissioned to evaluate police use of polygraph testing from 3rd July, 2017 to 15th July, 2019. The evaluation described in this report refers to analyses of: • Strand 1 (Supervisees): 557 individuals convicted of sexual offending and undergoing police supervision who were randomly assigned to polygraph testing (voluntary or mandatory1 depending on police area) or comparison groups. • Strand 2 (Suspects): 142 individuals suspected of committing online sexual offences and undergoing police investigation who were assigned to polygraph or comparison groups. • Strand 3 (Applicants): 104 individuals convicted of sexual offending who applied for removal of notification requirements and were assigned to polygraph or comparison groups

Deliberate firesetting: an international public health issue

Deliberate firesetting represents a prominent and enduring problem worldwide. In the past 10 years, deadly large-scale fires, involving deliberate ignition, have been seen across Europe, South America, Australasia, Russia, and the Middle East. These fires have resulted in hundreds of human injuries (such as burns and smoke inhalation) and fatalities, as well as widespread psychological trauma for communities—including fire service professionals—who have witnessed or been victims of these blazes. Yet, deliberate firesetting presents a much wider international public health concern outside of these large-scale incidents. For example, each year in England, there are approximately 76 100 deliberately set fires, 1030 fire-related casualties, and 50 fire-related deaths.In the USA, an estimated 261 330 deliberate fires were reported annually between 2010 and 2014, resulting in 440 deaths and 1310 casualties, with similarly high annual rates reported in Australia