The Use of Penile Plethysmography in SVP Assessment and Treatment Decision-Making

Abstract

The use of clinical tools in the evaluation and treatment of sexual offenders take on special analytical and ethical scrutiny when the target population concerns those who are involved in sexually violent predator (SVP) legal proceedings. Even before the advent of SVP laws in 20 American states, the District of Columbia, and within the federal judicial system, penile plethysmography (PPG) was no stranger to controversy as a research instrument, as an evaluation tool, and as an adjunct to cognitive-behavioral sexual offender treatment. SVP laws have only broadened the questions and concerns about the ethical, reliable, and valid use of PPG in assessment and treatment decision-making, as well as the manners in which PPG data influences decision-makers in this process. This chapter discusses penile plethysmography and SVP sexual offense risk assessment. It discusses the relevance of penile plethysmography to psychodiagnosis and to treatment decisions, as well as to SVP decision-making in the courtroom and concludes with the discussion of PPG evaluations in SVP proceedings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)