Implicit sexual interest in children: does separating gender influence discrimination when using the Implicit Association Test?

Abstract

The current study examined the discriminative and convergent validity of three Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures designed to assess sexual interest in girls, in boys or in children. Sex offenders against children (n =29) did not differ from non-sex offenders (n=28) on these IAT measures. The IAT measures were related to a physiological measure of sexual interest in children, but not to a file-based measure of sexual interest in children or the sexual preference item of the STABLE-2007. The relationship between the IAT measures and risk scales designed to predict sexual recidivism was counter-intuitive. Greater sexual interest in boys, as assessed by the IAT measure, was related to lower risk of sexual recidivism. The current study did not provide compelling evidence for the validity of IAT measures designed to assess sexual interest in children. A better understanding of construct validity of IAT measures is needed before their use in the assessment and management of sexual offenders against children.

Keywords:

• Sexual interest
• paedophilia
• sex offenders
• Implicit Association Test
• penile plethysmography
• construct validity

Notes

1. The interaction between compatibility of the order of blocks (i.e. ADULT and sexy presented first versus CHILD and sexy presented first) was also not statistically significant for each of the IAT measures.