Assessment and Treatment of a Foot Fetish Exhibited by an Adolescent With Autism

Hodges, Ansley; Wilder, David A.; Ertel, Hallie

doi:10.1007/s40617-020-00468-1

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Published: 13 August 2020

Assessment and Treatment of a Foot Fetish Exhibited by an Adolescent With Autism

Behavior Analysis in Practice volume 13, pages 961–965 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

We conducted a functional analysis to identify the specific features of feet responsible for evoking inappropriate sexual behavior (ISB) by an adolescent male with autism. Results showed that bare female and male feet evoked ISB. We then evaluated a treatment consisting of a rule describing appropriate and inappropriate behavior in the presence of bare feet and a verbal reprimand contingent on ISB; the combination of these was effective. Finally, as an additional treatment option, we evaluated an environmental enrichment procedure, which also reduced ISB to low levels.

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Affiliations

Nemours Children’s Hospital, Orlando, FL, USA
Ansley Hodges & Hallie Ertel
Florida Institute of Technology, School of Behavior Analysis, 150 w. University Blvd., Melbourne, FL, 32901, USA
Ansley Hodges, David A. Wilder & Hallie Ertel

Authors

Ansley Hodges
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David A. Wilder
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Hallie Ertel
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Correspondence to David A. Wilder.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to report.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Research Highlights

• According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), a fetishistic disorder is diagnosed when an individual experiences sexual urges focused on a nongenital body part or inanimate object and acts on those urges, which causes distress.

• Fetishistic behavior is often a harmless form of sexual activity, but it can be socially inappropriate, particularly when it occurs in public.

• In some cases, the specific stimuli that evoke inappropriate sexual behavior (ISB) can be identified via a functional analysis.

• Behavioral interventions including rules, reprimands, and environmental enrichment can be effective to reduce ISB.

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Hodges, A., Wilder, D.A. & Ertel, H. Assessment and Treatment of a Foot Fetish Exhibited by an Adolescent With Autism. Behav Analysis Practice 13, 961–965 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00468-1

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Published: 13 August 2020
Issue Date: December 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00468-1

Keywords

Autism
Behavioral assessment
Fetish
Inappropriate sexual behavior