Sexual maturity as a criterion for classification of phallometric stimulus slides.

With the acceptance of behavior modification techniques in the 1970's as the standard modality of treatment of sex offenders, the ability to diagnose the paraphilic arousal patterns became of primary importance. The use of the penile plethysmograph in the assessment of sex offenders is regarded as the most accurate measure of these sexual arousal patterns. This method measures the vasocongestive engorgement of the penile corporea while the offender is exposed to deviant and nondeviant sexual stimuli. The stimuli may be slides of nude males and females of varying ages, audiotaped descriptions of erotic scenarios or videotaped scenes of sexual interaction. Researchers who have used slides to determine the age and gender preference of the sex offenders have typically categorized the slides in arbitrarily established age categories that have varied from one research study to another. The use of age as a criterion does not take into account the variation in growth and maturation among children and adolescents. To increase reliability and standardization of research techniques, the authors propose that the stages of sexual maturity as set forth by Tanner (1962, 1978) be used in lieu of age.