Abstract

While phallometric assessment of sexual offenders logically follows from sexual deviance theories of offending, we conclude that the evidence for this assessment process is inconsistent. A wide variety of methodologies, poorly specified and poorly chosen, or the absence of control groups has resulted in a fragmented literature in this area. Nonetheless, recent meta-analyses continue to portray sexual deviance (usually phallometrically determined) as the best predictor of future sexual violence. Recent studies have suggested that proxy measures of such deviance may provide sufficient evidence of deviance. We suggest that only by the use of research protocols with very rigorous methodology will the validity of phallometry be determined.