Erectile responses among heterosexual child molesters, father-daughter incest offenders, and matched non-offenders: Five distinct age preference profiles.

Abstract

Erectile responses to pictures of nude females ranging in age from 3-24 years were studied in a group of 21 incest offenders, 40 non-familial child molesters, and a group of 22 non-offender subjects approximately matched on socioeconomic status, intelligence, and age. Profiles of erectile responses, plotting percent of full erection over age of target stimulus, were drawn for each individual subject. These profiles were sorted reliably by judges, and later by computer, into five distinct profile shapes reflecting: (1) a failure to discriminate among the stimuli; or a clear preference for either (2) adults, (3) adults and teens, (4) children, or (5) children and adults. Non-offenders primarily showed 'adult' profiles, while incest offenders displayed either a non-discriminating profile or an 'adult' preference pattern. The non-familial child molester group was heterogeneous in that members of this group were distributed among the five profile shapes. Offenders who displayed a 'child' profile reported a greater number of victims and were found to have used a greater degree of force in the commission of their most recent offence compared with other offenders. Further, offenders whose profiles were classified in the 'child' profile group were lower in socioeconomic status than offenders in the adult profile category.