Abstract
Test—retest reliability and concurrent validity studies on the Adolescent Sexual Interest Card Sort (ASIC) were conducted in two samples of 38 juvenile sexual offenders, each. Of the 64 items of the ASIC, 60 were found to be significantly correlated across test administrations. Cronbach's coefficient alpha was employed to determine the internal consistency of ASIC items. Coefficients ranged from .62 to .96 across categories, with an overall alpha of .97. Client ratings of sexual interests via the Card Sort were correlated with phallometric response to similar categories of stimuli. Significant correlations were found for only 4 of the 14 categories examined, suggesting little correspondence between client report of sexual interest on the ASIC and phallometric assessment of the same. Findings are consistent with the adult sex offender literature suggesting that self-report measures are particularly vulnerable to dissimulation and often at variance with more objective measurement. Clinical and research issues pertinent to the measurement of sexual arousal and interest in juvenile sexual offenders are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abel, G. (1979). Assessment and treatment of sex offenders. Unpublished manuscript.
Barbaree, H. E. (1990). Stimulus control of sexual arousal: Its role in sexual assault. In W. L. Marshall, D. R. Laws, and H. E. Barbaree (eds.),Handbook of Sexual Assault: Issues, Theories, and Treatment of the Offender Plenum Press, New York, pp. 115–138.
Becker, J. V. (1992). [Phallometric Assessment of Juvenile Sexual Offenders.] Unpublished raw data.
Becker, J. V., Hunter, J. A., Goodwin, D. W., Kaplan, M. S., and Martinez, D. (1992). Test—retest reliability of audio-taped phallometric stimuli with adolescent sexual offenders.Ann. Sex Res. 5: 45–51.
Becker, J., and Kaplan, M. (1988). The assessment of adolescent sexual offenders. In Prinz, R. J. (ed.),Advances in Behavioral Assessment of Children and Families, Vol. 4, JAI, Greenwich, CT, pp. 97–118.
Becker, J. V., Kaplan, M. S., and Tenke, C. E. (1992). The relationship of abuse history, denial and erectile response: Profiles of adolescent sexual perpetrators.Behav. Ther. 23: 87–97.
Freund, K. (1981). Assessment of pedophilia. In Cook, M., and Howells, K. (eds.),Adult Sexual Interest in children, Academic Press, London, pp. 139–179.
Hunter, J. A., and Becker, J. V. (1994). The role of deviant sexual arousal in juvenile sexual offending: Etiology, evaluation, and treatment.Crim. Justice Behav. 21(1), 132–149.
Koss, M. P., and Harvey, M. R. (1991).The Rape Victim: Clinical and Community Interventions, 2nd ed., Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
Murphy, W. D. (1990). Assessment and modification of cognitive distortions in sex offenders. In Marshall, W. L., Laws, D. R., and Barbaree, H. E. (eds.),Handbook of Sexual Assault: Issues, Theories, and Treatment of the Offender, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 331–342.
Quinsey, V. L., and Earls, C. M. (1990). The modification of sexual preferences. In Marshall, W. L., Laws, D. R., and Barbaree, H. E. (eds.),Handbook of Sexual Assault: Issues, Theories, and Treatment of the Offender, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 279–293.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hunter, J.A., Becker, J.V. & Kaplan, M.S. The Adolescent Sexual Interest Card Sort: Test-retest reliability and concurrent validity in relation to phallometric assessment. Arch Sex Behav 24, 555–561 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541834
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541834