The Revised Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests (SSPI-2) May Be a Measure of Pedohebephilia

Autor: James M. Cantor, Michael C. Seto, Martin L. Lalumière, Skye Stephens
Rok vydání: 2019
Předmět:
Zdroj: The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 16:1655-1663
ISSN: 1743-6109
1743-6095
Popis: Introduction The Revised Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests (SSPI-2) was developed as a screening measure for pedophilia (sexual interest in prepubescent children), but the SSPI-2 items reflect offending against both prepubescent and pubescent children, roughly corresponding to victims under age 15. Aim We examined whether the SSPI-2 is better interpreted as a measure of pedohebephilia (sexual interest in both prepubescent and pubescent children) by reanalyzing the original SSPI-2 data and reporting its new psychometric properties. Methods The sample was comprised of 1,900 men whose clinical assessment data were entered into an archival database. All men in the sample had at least 1 child victim. Phallometric indices based on sexual responses to children relative to adults were used to classify individuals as having pedophilia only, hebephilia only (sexual interest in pubescent children), or pedohebephilia. Main Outcome Measure The 5 SSPI-2 items were scored based on official file information sent by the referral source and self-disclosures about offending history made during the assessment. Results The phallometric indices revealed that pedohebephilia was most frequently observed (24%), followed by hebephilia only (16%) and pedophilia only (1%). Classification accuracy analyses suggest that the SSPI-2 may be more appropriately interpreted as a measure of pedohebephilia than hebephilia only; there were too few cases of pedophilia only for classification analysis. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values are presented to assist users in selecting appropriate SSPI-2 cut-offs. Clinical Implications The SSPI-2 should be interpreted as a measure of pedohebephilia when used in clinical practice or research, and test users should select the most appropriate cut-off score based on their assessment context. Classification accuracy results are modest, and the scale may be most appropriately used in research or as a screening measure. Strengths & Limitations The study used a comprehensive clinical database with well-validated measures. A limitation is that the dataset did not contain other assessment measures of sexual interest in children, and we were unable to examine if the SSPI-2 could detect pedophilia only due to its low base rate. Conclusion The SSPI-2 may be best conceptualized as a measure of pedohebephilia. Further, there was significant overlap between pedophilia and hebephilia; pedophilia only was rarely observed.
Databáze: OpenAIRE