An investigation of response interference in penile plethysmography
A well-documented problem of sex-offender assessment is dissimulation in the form of defense responding on three instruments widely used for this population: (a) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), (b) Multiphasic Sex Inventory-2 (MSI-2), and (c) Penile Plethysmograph (PPG). Although the MMPI-2 and the MSI-2 both consist of reliable validity scales, validity indices continue to be researched for the PPG. Response interference is a term that can be used to describe numerous causes for low-level responses on response interference indicators of the Monarch PPG and includes event markers, penile response, galvanic skin response, respiration, and respiration amplitude. Convergent validity data are suggested when assessing sex offenders; therefore, it would be useful to identify corresponding indicators of defensiveness. The purpose of this study was to utilize empirically established validity scales of the MMPI-2 and MSI-2 to investigate response interference or defense responses on the PPG using data from a sex-offender treatment facility. This investigation was an exploratory study. The sample consisted of data from 145 archival data files. Data analysis methods included correlation and multiple regression. It was hypothesized that response interference indices would correlate with other validity indicators. It was also hypothesized that due to the similar nature of PPG response interference and MMPI-2 and MSI-2 defensive responding, response interference indices could predict high-defensive responding on the MMPI-2 and the MSI-2. Results showed a mild correlation among the PPG indices of response interference and the self-report validity scales that were no more than could be expected by chance. The results are discussed with attention to prior PPG research with offenders and implications for clinical assessment and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)
https://www.upress.umn.edu/test-division/bibliography/2000-2009/2006/montano_investigation_2006
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Denise E Montano
(2006)
An investigation of response interference in penile plethysmography
PhD thesis.