The sexual abuse of children has received a tremendous amount of attention in recent years. Accordingly, both the criminal justice and mental health systems deal with child molesters. Since much of the public concerns revolve around the potential dangerousness of any given child molester, practitioners are frequently responsible for making…

Reviews literature concerning buspirone's effect on sexual functioning. Presents three hypotheses: that buspirone's facilitation of sexual functioning is not solely a result of its anxiolytic effects; that buspirone facilitates nonparaphilc arousal but inhibits paraphilic sexual arousal; and that buspirone's efficacy in reducing paraphilic arousal…

Attempts to define the optimal sex offender treatment program based on a review of the empirical literature and on personal clinical experience with sex offenders. Discusses the use of the penile plethysmograph and the polygraph as methods of psychosocial assessment used in conjunction with antiandrogen medication to dampen the offender's libido…

Provides an overview of physical and chemical castration and its use in controlling sex offenders. Discusses castration and sexual aggression, then focuses on the use of therapeutic physical castration in dealing with those who display unacceptable sexual behaviors. Details legal and ethical issues and the efficacy of testosterone-lowering…

Delineates a typology for sexual aggressors involved in dating relationships. Sexual aggressors involved in "date" or "acquaintance" rape fall into two categories, each with three subtypes. Is designed to assist in the implementation of treatment and prevention programs and lead to a better understanding of the differential…

Reviews methods of treatment used with sex offenders, each based on the erroneous belief that sex offenders constitute a relatively homogeneous taxonomic class. Asserts that sex offenders are people with a sad personal history, in which their deviant sexual behavior represents an effort to banish the pain they experienced during their developing…

Presents an assessment that examines prominent factors from the professional literature describing background and clinical characteristics of paraphilic individuals and sex offenders. Reliability and validity of measures in use are reviewed with suggestions for a battery of measures that offer some index of dangerousness and target for treatment.…

Anatomically detailed dolls have become a most popular clinical tool in the validation of child sexual abuse allegations. However, widespread use of these dolls is not supported by empirical literature. Issues associated with the standardization of the dolls, norms for their use in validation interviews, and training of doll users need to be…

Outlines and discusses the rationale for each of the 10 steps recommended in the initial stages of treatment for survivors of sexual abuse, especially when victimization occurred in childhood or adolescence, and offers abbreviated case illustrations. (Author/LKS)

From referral on, clinicians need to orchestrate treatment maneuvers which help facilitate a therapeutic relationship in working with mandated juvenile sex offenders along with the other "clients" in the system: the family, the referent, probation and/or child protective services and society at large. Considers reintegrating the…

State responses to child maltreatment are reviewed: magnitude and extent of the problem, how states have addressed the problem through reporting laws and special courtroom procedures. Limits of state approaches to child maltreatment and the potential for an increased federal role in establishing child maltreatment policy are considered.…