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Dimensional Measurement of Sexual Deviance

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R. Karl Hanson at Carleton University
R. Karl Hanson
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Abstract

There are at least three approaches by which psychopathology can be described in terms of dimensions. Each approach involves counting the number and severity of symptoms, but these scores have distinct meanings based on whether the latent construct is considered to be categorical or dimensional. Given a categorical construct, dimensions can index either diagnostic certainty or symptom severity. For inherently dimensional constructs, the severity of the symptoms is essentially isomorphic with the underlying latent dimension. The optimal number of dimensions for describing paraphilias is not known, but would likely include features related to problems in sexual self-regulation, the diversity of paraphilic interests, and the overall intensity of sexual drive and expression. Complex measures of these (and related) dimensions currently exist, but simplified criteria are needed for routine communication among diverse mental health professionals. Establishing these criteria would requires professional consensus on the nature of the latent dimensions, as well as reliable assessment of the core constructs using non-arbitrary scales of measurement.
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Dimensional Measurement of Sexual Deviance
R. Karl Hanson
ÓAmerican Psychiatric Association 2009
Abstract There are at least three approaches by which psy-
chopathology can be described in terms of dimensions. Each
approach involves counting the number and severity of symp-
toms, but these scores have distinct meanings based on
whether the latent construct is considered to be categorical or
dimensional. Given a categorical construct, dimensions can
index either diagnostic certainty or symptom severity. For
inherently dimensional constructs, the severity of the symptoms
is essentially isomorphic with the underlying latent dimension.
The optimal number of dimensions for describing paraphilias is
not known, but would likely include features related to prob-
lems in sexual self-regulation, the diversity of paraphilic inter-
ests, and the overall intensity of sexual drive and expression.
Complex measures of these (and related) dimensions currently
exist, but simplified criteria are needed for routine communi-
cation among diverse mental health professionals. Estab-
lishing these criteria would requires professional consensus
on the nature of the latent dimensions, as well as reliable
assessment of the core constructs using non-arbitrary scales
of measurement.
Keywords Assessment Paraphilias Dimensional
measurement DSM-V
Introduction
Psychopathology can be conceptualized both in terms of cat-
egories and in terms of dimensions. Most existing nosono-
mies are written in terms of categories, despite the oft-cited
difficulties with categorical descriptions of human behavior
(Brown & Barlow, 2009; Maser et al., 2009;Slade,Grove,&
Teesson, 2009). Categories are justified to the extent that (1)
symptoms are organized in distinct and predictable patterns,
(2) the antecedents and course of the disorder are distinctive
and predictable, (3) the symptom pattern is linked to a theo-
retically coherent account of their development, expression,
and course, and (4) changes in the severity of the disorder can
be observed by deliberate manipulation of the causal factors
articulated in the theoretical model. The final criterion is nec-
essary to distinguish syndromes or symptom patterns that are
purely descriptive from identifiable disorders that are respon-
sible for causing the symptoms.
None of the existing paraphilic disorders fully meet the
criteria for being categorically distinct disorders. Pedophilia
is perhaps the leading contender, given its distinctive expres-
sion and predictable course (e.g., early onset, high stability;
Seto, 2008). There is littleconsensus, however, concerning the
cause of pedophilia.As well, it is common for individualsdem-
onstrating sexual interest in children to have other paraphilic
interests (Abel, Becker, Cunningham-Rathner, Mittelman, &
Rouleau, 1988; Raymond, Coleman, Ohlerking, Christenson,
&Miner,1999). Phallometric profiles of men whose strongest
responseinvolve children typically showsubstantial responses
to other age and gendercategories (Lalumie
`re & Harris, 2008).
In contrast, the profiles of typical heterosexual or homosexual
males are highlydifferentiated, withstrong responses to adults
of their preferred gender and littleresponse to other categories
(Suschinsky, Lalumie
`re, & Chivers, 2009).
Dimensionality of Psychopathology
In order to consider dimensions of psychiatric symptoms, it is
necessary to first consider what these dimensions represent. I
R. K. Hanson (&)
Corrections Research, Public Safety Canada, 340 Laurier Avenue
West, Ottawa, ON K1A 0P8, Canada
e-mail: karl.hanson@ps.gc.ca
123
Arch Sex Behav
DOI 10.1007/s10508-009-9575-6
will discuss three possible meanings: (1) diagnostic confidence,
(2) symptom strength, and (3) latent dimensions.
Diagnostic Confidence
Even if a disorder is a true type or category, it is rare to have
pathognomonic signs that, by themselves, determine the pres-
ence or absence of thedisorder. Instead, clinicians are required
to infer the disorder from indicators, which are usually (but not
necessarily) symptoms. One way of dimensionalizing diag-
nosis is to report the probability that the disorder is present
given a particular set of indicators. For example, based on sex-
ual convictions involving three unrelated boys, self-reported
exclusive sexual interest in adult females, and never lived with
a lover by the age of 40, an evaluator may say that the patient
has a 85% chance of having pedophilia (with confidence
intervals of 76 to 92%). The percentages, of course, are ficti-
tious, but could be empirically established given a‘‘gold stan-
dard’’ against which to evaluate the discriminative properties
of the diagnostic indicators. An example of such an actuarial
approach to diagnosis is the Screening Scale for Pedophilic
Interest developed by Seto and Lalumie
`re (2001). In general,
the more symptoms observed, the greater likelihood of the dis-
order being present. Note, however, that the estimated prob-
ability of the disorder being present is influenced by the base
rate of the disorder in the sample as well as by the discrimi-
native properties of the indicators (i.e., Bayesian posterior
probabilities; Akobeng, 2006).
Symptom Strength
Another sense in which diagnoses can be dimensionalized is in
terms of symptom strength. A group of patients may all have
the same disorder, but some may have it worse than others. As
well, the severity of symptom expression may change over
time (e.g., in response to treatment). For a general discussion
of dimensional measurement in DSM-V, see Helzer et al.
(2008). This conceptualization assumes two decisions: Does
the patient have the disorder? And, if so, at what level of
severity? The criteria used would be different for the two deci-
sions, and evaluators would also have to consider the extent to
which the severity of the symptoms was related to specific
disorders. For example, the severity of impairment from intru-
sive deviant sexual thoughts could berelated to the severity of
the paraphilia as well as to the severity ofa co-morbid anxiety
disorder.
Latent Dimensions
There is a third sense of dimensionality that also should be
considered. It is plausible that certain disorders are best
described as the extreme expressions of inherently continu-
ous distributions. For these disorders, there are no absolute
criteria to determine pathology from normal; the dividing
line is determined by professional and community consensus
concerning the extent to which the behavioral patterns are
sufficiently extreme to be problematic. Although dimen-
sional definitions are vulnerable to criticisms of being arbi-
trary, explicit criteria usually allow evaluators to reliably
classify most cases as problematic or non-problematic, with
relatively few contentious cases. An example of a well-stud-
ied dimensional construct would be an antisocial lifestyle,
which at the extreme end is described as psychopathy (Guay,
Ruscio, Knight, & Hare, 2007).
It would be sensible to diagnosis dimensional constructs
using both the number of different symptoms, as well as their
intensity and duration. Note that, in practical terms, there is
substantial overlap for all three conceptualization. In all three
approaches, clinicians count the number of symptoms (indi-
cators) and judge their intensity. In the first version, high num-
bers of intense symptoms are considered to increase diagnos-
tic certainty; in the second version, the symptoms are consid-
ered to measure the severity of the disorder, provided, of
course, that the patient first meets a preliminary set of criteria
establishing that the disorder is present; in the third concep-
tualization, the symptoms are largely isomorphic with the dis-
order itself: patients with more extreme symptoms are con-
sidered to be worse on the latent dimensional construct than
patients with fewer symptoms.
Dimensions of Sexual Deviance
Given the above considerations, I will propose three dimen-
sions potentially relevant for the diagnosis of paraphilias: (1)
sexual self-regulation, (2) atypical sexual interests, and (3)
overall intensity of sexuality.
Sexual Self-Regulation
Sexual self-regulation could be defined as the ability to man-
age sexual thoughts, feelings, and behavior in a manner that is
consistent with self-interest and that protects the rights of
others (minimum criteria for being ‘‘prosocial’’). The lowest
levels of sexual self-regulation will involve indiscriminate,
disorganized sexual behavior. The next lowest level would
involve ineffective attempts to regulate sexual behavior. At
this stage, thepatient would self-identify problems with sexual
behavior, which may not necessarily be seen for the most
highly disorganized cases. The positive end of the continuum
would be expressed by individuals who feel satisfied with their
sexual behavior, their behavior respects the rights of others,
and their strategies for self-control are sufficiently well devel-
oped to be perceived as effortless (no struggles). A number of
sexual self-regulation scales are available (e.g., Carnes, 1989;
Coleman, Miner, Ohlerking,& Raymond, 2001;Kalichman&
Arch Sex Behav
123
Rompa, 1995), which include items related to self-identified
struggles with sexual impulses, sexual activities in response to
negative affect, and a history of high risksexual behavior (e.g.,
unprotected sex with prostitutes).
Atypical Sexual Interests
The secon dd imension is the ext ent of atypical sexua l interests.
Defining such interests has always been a sensitive topic, but
there is a continuum with some individual much more likely to
be interested in, and to engage in, diverse sexual activities than
others. Although most heterosexual and homosexual men are
exclusive in their sexual interests, it is quite common for those
who engage in one type of paraphilic behavior to report other
paraphilic behaviors (e.g., Abel et al., 1988; Heil & English,
2009). Consequently, it would be possible to create a dimen-
sion ranging for multiple paraphilias to exclusive interest in
(‘‘normal’’) sexual behavior with consenting adults. Existing
measures that assess the diversity of sexual interests include
the Clarke Sex History Questionnaire (Langevin & Paitich,
2002) and the Wilson Sex Fantasy Questionnaire (Wilson,
1978).
Intensity of Sexuality
Another simple dimension would be to rate the degree of
sexual interest and activity from ‘‘very low’’ to ‘‘very high.’’
Although itwould be possible to count orgasms (a
`la Kinsey),
a better approach would be to evaluate the degree to which
sexuality consumes resources that otherwise could be devoted
to other, more productive activities (love, work, family). This
definitionwould also be consistent withan evolutionary model
in which the successful use of finite resourcesis judged accord-
ing to reproductive fitness.
Although complex measures of these dimensions currently
exist, simplified criteriaare needed for routine communication
among diverse mental health professionals. The professional
community would need to agree as to the meaningful grada-
tions of the latent dimensions—a consensus which has yet to
be achieved. Inthe future, however, it may be possible to com-
municate using phrases such as the patient has ‘‘moderate
problems with sexual self-regulation’’ or‘‘high levels of para-
philic sexual interests.’’
Conclusion
I believe that describing deviant sexual behavior according
to the dimensions proposed would provide a more useful
and truer description of patients’ problems than does the
current categorical approach involving discrete paraphilias.
Although the dimensions proposed are plausible, consider-
able more research is needed to establish their validity and
clinical utility.
Given the overlap between sexual self-regulation and the
intensity of sexual activity (La
˚ngstro
¨m&Hanson,2006), for
example, it may also be possible to combine these dimen-
sions, leaving two relevant dimensions: paraphilic interests
and sexual self-regulation. Alternately, there may be only one
dimension related to sexuality—the degree of paraphilic inter-
ests. Issues concerning sexual self-regulation may be more
accurately described as part of a core dimension of low self-
control/general self-regulation.
Identifying the most appropriate dimensional structure
requires professional consensus on the nature of the latent
dimensions, as well as reliable assessment of the core con-
structs using non-arbitrary scales of measurement (Blanton &
Jaccard, 2006;Michell,1990). Support for distinct dimensions
(or categories) would be provided by theoretical models artic-
ulating their origins in biology and experience. As well, meta-
analyses of large, empirical studies would be needed to exam-
ine the stability of the proposed latent clustersand factors. This
work is never definitive. Nevertheless, it is work worth doing.
Acknowledgments The author is an advisor to the Paraphilias sub-
workgroup of the DSM-V Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Work-
group (Chair, Kenneth J. Zucker, Ph.D.). This article is a revised version
of a commentary submitted on July 17, 2009 to the Workgroup. I would
like to thank Jobina Li for help with the references. The views expressed
are those of the authorand not necessarily those of PublicSafety Canada.
Reprinted with permission from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders V Workgroup Reports (Copyright 2009), American
Psychiatric Association.
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... Many adults in the general population have fantasies about, and/or experience with, sexual behaviors that are considered anomalous or atypical by current psychiatric nosology (Joyal & Carpentier, 2017;Joyal et al., 2015). However, such sexual behaviors as exhibitionism, voyeurism, masochism (including submission), sadism (including domination), and fetishism are dimensions, not categories (Hanson, 2010). Hair pulling, bondage, and spanking, for instance, can be placed near the center of a domination continuum running from absent (e.g., constant sexual mutuality) to problematic (coercive sexual sadism). ...
... First, sexual interest for children (usually defined as aged 12 years or under) is statistically rare or atypical (less than 10%) among adults recruited in non-forensic/non-clinical populations (Ahlers et al., 2011;Dawson et al., 2016;Dombert et al., 2016;Joyal & Carpentier, 2017;Santtila et al., 2015;Wurtele et al., 2014). Second, in opposition to the dimensional aspect of more common paraphilic behaviors (i.e., voyeurism, sadomasochism, fetishism, frotteurism, exhibitionism; Thompson, 2016), child sexual molesting has distinct, categorical properties; it is either present or absent (Hanson, 2010;McPhail et al., 2018). Third, contrarily to adult sexual offending (19%) and non acted-out sexual interest in youth aged 15 or less (14.6%), genetic factors explain nearly half (46%) of variance for child sexual offending (Alanko et al., 2013;Långström et al., 2015). ...
... Similarly, is a person aged 70 years old paraphilic because they are mostly attracted sexually to other 70 year-old persons? Therefore, for most sexual interests (except, as mentioned above, child sexual abuse) boundaries are a matter of degrees rather than of type (Hanson, 2010). ...
View
... Many adults in the general population have fantasies about, and/or experience with, sexual behaviors that are considered anomalous or atypical by current psychiatric nosology Joyal & Carpentier, 2017). However, such sexual behaviors as exhibitionism, voyeurism, masochism (including submission), sadism (including domination), and fetishism are dimensions, not categories (Hanson, 2010). Hair pulling, bondage, and spanking, for instance, can be placed near the center of a domination continuum running from absent (e.g., constant sexual mutuality) to problematic (coercive sexual sadism). ...
... Similarly, is a person aged 70 years old paraphilic because he/she is mostly attracted sexually toward other 70 year old persons? Therefore, for most sexual interests (except, as abovementioned, child sexual abuse) boundaries are a matter of degrees rather than of type (Hanson, 2010). ...
... Karl Hanson, an advisor to the paraphilias subworkgroup of the DSM-5, suggested using dimensions to diagnose paraphilias (Hanson, 2010). This suggestion is interesting because it fits with the dimensional latent structure of paraphilias (at least in males; Thompson, 2016). ...
CHAPTER 7 Problems and controversies with psychiatric diagnoses of paraphilia
Preprint
Full-text available
  • Jun 2021
This is the preprint version of a chapter published in: L. A. Craig & R. M. Bartels (Eds.) 2021. Sexual Deviance: Understanding and Managing Deviant Sexual Interest and Paraphilic Disorders. Wiley. https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/Sexual+Deviance%3A+Understanding+and+Managing+Deviant+Sexual+Interests+and+Paraphilic+Disorders-p-9781119705833
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... Pedophilia, a sexual interest in prepubescent children, is an important construct in understanding, predicting, and preventing sexual offending against children (McPhail et al., 2017;Seto, 2008). Theoretical models predict that while most paraphilias in men are dimensional, pedophilic interest is likely to be taxonic and that men are either pedophilic or non-pedophilic (Hanson, 2010). The prediction for taxonic structure is based on the early onset of pedophilic interest and high stability over the life course (Bailey, Hsu, & Bernhard, 2016;Hanson, 2010;McPhail, 2018;Seto, 2012;Tozdan & Briken, 2015). ...
... Theoretical models predict that while most paraphilias in men are dimensional, pedophilic interest is likely to be taxonic and that men are either pedophilic or non-pedophilic (Hanson, 2010). The prediction for taxonic structure is based on the early onset of pedophilic interest and high stability over the life course (Bailey, Hsu, & Bernhard, 2016;Hanson, 2010;McPhail, 2018;Seto, 2012;Tozdan & Briken, 2015). Gradient models of erotic age interests can be though to conceptualize pedophilic interest as a dimension . ...
... As a result, the use of relative measures of sexual interest may make it difficult to infer latent structure of sexual interest in children via taxometric analysis. Conceptualizing pedophilic interest as the sexual interest in children, without a comparison with sexual interest in adults, is consistent with relevant theory (e.g., Hanson, 2010;Seto, 2017) and may improve clarity of taxometric results. 3 1 Using DSM-5 criteria, clinicians make a first categorical decision, whether a client has Pedophilic Disorder or does not have the disorder. ...
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  • Nov 2018
  • ARCH SEX BEHAV
The present study examined the latent structure of pedophilic interest. Using data from phallometric tests for pedophilic interest across four samples of offenders (ns = 805, 632, 531, 261), taxometric analyses were conducted to identify whether pedophilic interest is best characterized as taxonic or dimensional. Across the samples, the majority of analyses supported taxonic latent structure in pedophilic interest. Visual inspection of taxometric curves indicated trichotomous latent structure (i.e., three-ordered classes) may characterize pedophilic interest in these samples. In a second step of taxometric analysis, the results supported trichotomous latent structure, indicating the presence of a complement taxon and two pedophilic taxa. In comparison to the complement taxon, the men in the first pedophilic taxon were non-exclusively pedophilic and had similar rates of sexual recidivism and sexual compulsivity. The men in the second pedophilic taxon were exclusively pedophilic, had more child victims and total victims, sexually re-offended at a higher rate, and were more sexually compulsive. The finding of trichotomous latent structure in pedophilic interest is both consistent and inconsistent with previous taxometric studies and has implications for research, assessment, and treatment of pedophilic interest.
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... Henkilöt, joilla lapsikohteinen seksuaalinen kiinnostus ei ole johtanut lapsen seksuaaliseen hyväksikäyttöön, on hyvä itsesäätely ja he ovat integroineet lapsikohteisen seksuaalisen kiinnostuksen osaksi identiteettiään ja elämäänsä tavalla, joka ei johda muita vahingoittavaan toimintaan. (Hanson 2010.) Miten toteutuu väkivaltaa kokeneen lapsen psykososiaalinen tuki? ...
... Mielikuva pedofiileistä lapsia raiskaavina hirviöinä on yhteiskunnassa niin voimakas, että monet yrittävät selviytyä lapsikohteisen seksuaalisen kiinnostuksen kanssa yksin. Tilanne on ongelmallinen, sillä riskit syyllistyä seksuaalirikokseen nousevat, kun keinoja rikoksettomaan elämään mieltymyksen kanssa ei opita (Hanson, 2010). Lapsikohteiseen seksuaalisuuteen liittyvää 6 Potentiaalisten lapsiin kohdistuvien seksuaalirikosten tekijöiden hoito, tuki ja kuntoutus C-osa stigmaa ja vääriä uskomuksia tulisi purkaa, jotta kiinnostuksestaan huolissaan olevat henkilöt uskaltaisivat hakeutua avun piiriin. ...
Potentiaalisten lapsiin kohdistuvien seksuaalirikosten tekijöiden hoito, tuki ja kuntoutus
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Lapsiin ja nuoriin kohdistuvan seksuaaliväkivallan ennaltaehkäisyssä on perinteisesti panostettu erityisesti lasten suojelemiseen ja heidän turvataitojensa parantamiseen. Myös seksuaalirikokseen syyllistyneiden kuntoutuksessa on painotus ollut pitkään uusintarikollisuuden ehkäisemisessä. Tehokkainta lastensuojelua ja lapsiin kohdistuvien seksuaalirikosten ennaltaehkäisyä on painopisteen siirtäminen suojelukeskeisyydestä ja korjaavasta toiminnasta preventiivisen tuen tarjoamiseen henkilöille, joiden seksuaalinen kiinnostus kohdistuu lapsiin ja/tai joilla on riski syyllistyä lapseen kohdistuvaan seksuaalirikokseen. Artikkelissa esitellään suunnitelma näille henkilöille suunnatuista primaari-, ja sekundaaritasojen ehkäisevistä hoitopoluista sekä ehdotus hoitopolkujen intergroimisesta osaksi julkista sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon palvelujärjestelmää.
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... (p. 23) Despite the call for a greater role for taxometrics in sexual science, taxometrics was mostly absent from mainstream sexual science for nearly the next two decades (for an exception, see Haslam, 1997), eventually reemerging within the clinical literature on sexual offenders (Hanson, 2010;Knight, 2010;Mackaronis, Strassberg, & Marcus, 2011;Seto, 2008) and debates regarding gender identity and sexual orientation (Lawrence & Bailey, 2009;Veale, Clarke, & Lomax, 2008). Perhaps as a result of taxometric analyses becoming easier to conduct in statistical software (Ruscio et al., 2006), there appears to be a recent increase in the frequency of taxometric analyses appearing in journals like ASB and JSR. ...
... For taxometric analyses, the most pressing need appears to be within the study of nonclinical constructs. Clinical sexual scientists appear to already have dipped their toes in the pool of evaluating latent structure, at least with respect to the study of sexual offenders (Hanson, 2010;Knight, 2010;Mackaronis et al., 2011;Seto, 2008). For the sexuality-related measures that were developed with more basic research purposes in mind, the question of latent structure has gone almost entirely untested. ...
Expanding Statistical Frontiers in Sexual Science: Taxometric, Invariance, and Equivalence Testing
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Sexual scientists must choose from among myriad methodological and analytical approaches when investigating their research questions. How can scholars learn whether sexualities are discrete or continuous? How is sexuality constructed? And to what extent are sexuality-related groups similar to or different from one another? Though commonplace, quantitative attempts at addressing these research questions require users to possess an increasingly deep repertoire of statistical knowledge and programming skills. Recently developed open-source software offers powerful yet accessible capacity to researchers wishing to perform strong quantitative tests. Taking advantage of these new statistical opportunities will require sexual scientists to become familiar with new analyses, including taxometric analysis, tests of measurement variability and differential item functioning, and equivalence testing. In the current article, I discuss each of these analyses, providing conceptual and historical overviews. I also address common misunderstandings for each analysis that may discourage researchers from implementing them. Finally, I describe current best practices when using each analysis, providing reproducible coding examples and interpretations along the way, in an attempt to reduce barriers to the uptake of these analyses. By aspiring to explore these new statistical frontiers in sexual science, sexuality researchers will be better positioned to test their substantive theories of interest.
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... Pedohebephilia connotes a sexual interest in prepubescent and/or early pubescent children, while pedophilia connotes more precisely a sexual interest in prepubertal children. However, the science of latent structure in pedohebephilia is far from settled, with multiple studies reporting the gamut of possible latent structures and with theoretical models predicting pedohebephilic interest to represent a taxon (Hanson, 2010) and others predicting these interests will be continuously distributed (Finkelhor & Araji, 1986). Providing robust empirical evidence for the latent structure that best fits pedohebephilic interest is currently required and answering this question will guide future research into etiology, onset, course, and correlates, as well as clinical classification, assessments, and interventions with pedohebephilic individuals (Ruscio et al., 2006). ...
Latent structure of sexual maturity interests: Pedophilic, pedohebephilic, and teleiophilic preferences in community adult males
Preprint
Full-text available
  • Mar 2023
The latent structure of individual difference constructs is a core concern in psychological science. Understanding latent structure has wide-ranging implications for measurement practices, statistical modelling choices, clinical/applied practice, and research examining etiology and causation. Most constructs in psychological science tend towards dimensional latent structure and can be accurately characterised as continua. One exception to this general rule is human sexual attraction. Within this area of psychological science, the status of sexual preference for children over adults is contested, with different studies suggesting varying latent structures. Using a large sample of males living in the community (N = 8,776), the current research aims to provide a robust evaluation of the latent structure of sexual maturity interests. Evidence for a three-taxa latent structure was confirmed in the sample. This study demonstrates human sexual maturity preference is populated with categorical constructs and has wide-ranging implications for future research in this area.
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... Our finding with pedophilic interest was not without empirical, theoretical, or clinical precedent. Theory has posited that pedophilic interest is the most likely of the paraphilias to have a taxonic structure (Hanson, 2010) and diagnostic assessment conceptualizes pedophilic disorder as trichotomous (America Psychiatric Association, 2013). Further, Schmidt, Mokros, and Banse (2013) found in their latent profile analysis that a three-class model fit the data equally as well as a two-class model. ...
Of Dimensions, Dichotomies, and Trichotomies: Comments on the Taxometric Ghost that Haunts Longpré, Guay, Knight, and Benbouriche (2018)
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2019
  • ARCH SEX BEHAV
This article is a Letter to the Editor examining some potential issues with a taxometric analysis that Longpre and colleagues conducted on sexual sadism. My aim for this paper was to present a pointed critique of Longpre et al.'s interpretation of their results in order to prompt more discussion of how we explore latent structure in sexuality constructs.
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... Bei verurteilten Kindesmissbrauchern im Hellfeld liegen die Prävalenzraten einer pädophilen Präferenzstörung zwischen 40% und 50% (Seto, 2009). Im Vergleich zu den dargestellten Befunden weicht die Häufigkeit einer pädophilen Präferenzstörung in der erhobenen Stichprobe katholischer Geistlicher nicht wesentlich von der nach Ahlers et al. (2011) erhobenen Prävalenz in der Allgemeinbevölkerung ab und liegt deutlich unter der Prävalenz von verurteilten Kindesmissbrauchern. Hanson, 2010;Marshall, 2006;Prentky et al., 2006;Feelgood & Hoyer, 2008) der pädophilen Präferenzstörung im DSM-IV-TR und der ICD-10 und der daraus resultierenden geringen Reliabilität von empirischen Befunden (z.B. Wollert, 2007;Kingston et al., 2007;O'Donohue, Regev & Hagstrom, 2000). ...
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Understanding the lived experience of British non-offending paedophiles
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2020
Purpose Research into paedophilia mainly uses offender samples; thus, little is understood about non-offending paedophiles. The limited body of research has been conducted in North America or Europe whose health and legal systems differ from those in the UK. Using semi-structured interviews, the purpose of this study is to explore the experience of three non-offending British paedophilic males. Design/methodology/approach The interview discussed their paedophilia, refraining from offending and perspectives on treatment initiatives. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings Three superordinate themes emerged: “paedophilia as more than a sexuality,” “acceptance leads to management” and “barriers to support.” These encapsulated how paedophilia was understood, how accepting one’s sexual attraction is tantamount to well-being and the various obstacles to providing support were discussed. Research limitations/implications Acknowledging the sampling considerations (size and recruitment), the results implicate research into paedophilia. The onset of paedophilia was chronologically associated with typical sexual attraction, and not the result of sexual abuse as some theories suggest. Furthermore, the tenets of attraction to children extending beyond sexual desire were highlighted. Practically, the results influence future research into the area and highlight the dearth in our understanding of diverse behavioural management techniques (i.e. computerised images of children or human-like dolls). Originality/value This paper presents novel insight into the aspects of paedophilia, excluding offensive behaviour and highlights the need for affordable, UK-based services targeted towards people with a paedophilic attraction to manage child sexual abuse preventatively and not reactively.
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Psychiatric Nosology Is Ready for a Paradigm Shift in DSM‐V
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2009
Data since 1980 demonstrate that the DSM-III model requires revisions in its assumptions and format. Problems inherent in the DSM-III model are considered and a paradigm shift toward a mixed categorical–dimensional classification system for DSM-V is recommended. This will reduce comorbidity, allow symptom weighting, introduce noncriterion symptoms, eliminate NOS categories, and provide new directions to biological researchers. We suggest reevaluating the threshold concept and use of quality-of-life assessment. A framework for such a revision is presented. Drawbacks to change include retraining of clinicians, administrative and policy changes, and possible reinterpretation of data collected under the DSM-III model. Nevertheless, clinicians and clinical researchers are ready for a diagnostic system that more accurately reflects the patients that they treat and study.
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A Proposal for a Dimensional Classification System Based on the Shared Features of the DSM-IV Anxiety and Mood Disorders: Implications for Assessment and Treatment
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2009
A wealth of evidence attests to the extensive current and lifetime diagnostic comorbidity of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., DSM-IV) anxiety and mood disorders. Research has shown that the considerable cross-sectional covariation of DSM-IV emotional disorders is accounted for by common higher order dimensions such as neuroticism/behavioral inhibition (N/BI) and low positive affect/behavioral activation. Longitudinal studies indicate that the temporal covariation of these disorders can be explained by changes in N/BI and, in some cases, initial levels of N/BI are predictive of the temporal course of emotional disorders. The marked phenotypal overlap of the DSM-IV anxiety and mood disorders is a frequent source of diagnostic unreliability (e.g., temporal overlap in the shared features of generalized anxiety disorder and mood disorders, situation specificity of panic attacks in panic disorder and specific phobia). Although extant dimensional proposals may address some drawbacks associated with the DSM nosology (e.g., inadequate assessment of individual differences in disorder severity), these proposals do not reconcile key problems in current classification, such as modest reliability and high comorbidity. This article considers an alternative approach that emphasizes empirically supported common dimensions of emotional disorders over disorder-specific criteria sets. Selection and assessment of these dimensions are discussed along with how these methods could be implemented to promote more reliable and valid diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment planning. For instance, the advantages of this system are discussed in context of transdiagnostic treatment protocols that are efficaciously applied to a variety of disorders by targeting their shared features.
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A Brief Screening Scale to Identify Pedophilic Interests Among Child Molesters
Article
  • Jan 2001
Among child molesters, phallometrically measured sexual interest in children is associated with having male victims, multiple victims, younger victims, and extrafamilial victims. These sexual offense history variables are also associated with risk for sexual recidivism. The present study of 1,113 child molesters was conducted to determine if these sexual offense history variables could be used as items in a brief screening scale to identify pedophilic interests (SSPI: Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests). Using a cutoff score that classified 90% of a sample of 206 nonchild molesters as not having pedophilic interests, SSPI scores identified pedophilic interests among child molesters significantly better than did chance. In phallometric testing, individuals with the highest SSPI score were more than 5 times as likely to show pedophilic interests than individuals receiving the lowest score. The SSPI is not intended to be a substitute for phallometric testing, but it may be useful for triage and risk management when testing is difficult to conduct, or as a research instrument when phallometric data are unavailable.
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An Introduction to the Logic of Psychological Measurement
Article
  • Jan 1990
This book is written as a text for a one semester course introducing students to the foundational issues involved in psychological measurement. It is not intended to compete with traditional textbooks on psychometrics, but rather to supplement them, by bringing to students in a critical way some of the recent advances made in our understanding of measurement by theorists such as S. S. Stevens, P. Suppes and R. D. Luce. The theory of conjoint measurement shows how non-extensive forms of measurement can be incorporated within a single, neo-traditional conception, one which has number as part of the empirical realm. In this book I have sought to present conjoint measurement as part of such a theory, one consonant with the development of quantitative science and consonant with an empirical realist theory of number. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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A Brief Screening Scale to Identify Pedophilic Interests Among Child Molesters
Article
  • Dec 2000
Among child molesters, phallometrically measured sexual interest in children is associated with having male victims, multiple victims, younger victims, and extrafamilial victims. These sexual offense history variables are also associated with risk for sexual recidivism. The present study of 1,113 child molesters was conducted to determine if these sexual offense history variables could be used as items in a brief screening scale to identify pedophilic interests (SSPI: Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests). Using a cutoff score that classified 90% of a sample of 206 nonchild molesters as not having pedophilic interests, SSPI scores identified pedophilic interests among child molesters significantly better than did chance. In phallometric testing, individuals with the highest SSPI score were more than 5 times as likely to show pedophilic interests than individuals receiving the lowest score. The SSPI is not intended to be a substitute for phallometric testing, but it may be useful for triage and risk management when testing is difficult to conduct, or as a research instrument when phallometric data are unavailable.
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A taxometric study of alcohol abuse and dependence in a general population sample: Evidence of dimensional latent structure and implications for DSM-V
Article
  • Mar 2009
  • ADDICTION
To explore, with the aid of taxometric analysis, whether alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are each conceptualized most effectively as single latent dimensions or distinct latent categories. Data were taken from a nationally representative cross-sectional epidemiological survey of psychiatric and substance use disorders. General population of Australia. A subsample of all respondents who had consumed at least 12 drinks in the year prior to the survey and who had consumed at least three drinks on at least one single day (n = 4920 of a possible 10,641). DSM-IV criteria for alcohol abuse and dependence were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, version 2.1. Two independent taxometric procedures, MAXimum EIGenvalue (MAXEIG) and mean above minus below a cut (MAMBAC), together with analysis of simulated dimensional and categorical data sets, were carried out. Findings Consistent evidence was found for a single latent dimension underlying the symptoms of alcohol dependence. Less consistent evidence of dimensionality was found for the symptoms of alcohol abuse. These findings support the growing consensus regarding the need for continuous measures of alcohol use disorders to complement the traditional categorical representations in upcoming versions of the major psychiatric classification systems.
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