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Biomedical subjects

G G Abel

Publications and source records attributed to G G Abel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Classification models of child molesters utilizing the Abel Assessment for sexual interest.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study are to demonstrate 1) the criterion validity of the Abel Assessment for sexual interest (AASI) based on its ability to discriminate between non child molesters and admitting child molesters, and 2) its resistance to falsification based on its ability to discriminate between liar-denier child molesters and non child molesters. METHOD: A group of 747 participants matched by age, race, and income was used to develop three logistic regression equations. The models compare a group of non child molesting patients under evaluation for other paraphilias to three groups: 1) a group of admitting molesters of girls under 14 years of age, 2) a group of admitting molesters of boys under 14 years of age, and 3) a group believed to be concealing or denying having molested. RESULTS: Both of the equations designed to discriminate between admitting child molesters and non child molesters were statistically significant. The equation contrasting child molesters attempting to conceal or deny their behavior and non child molesting patients was also statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The models classifying admitting child molesters versus non child molesters demonstrate criterion validity, while the third model provides evidence of the AASI's resistance to falsification and its utility as a tool in the detection of child molesters who deny the behavior. Results of the equations are reported and suggestions for their use are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Psychometric analysis of the Sexual Interest Cardsort Questionnaire.

Reliability, measured by Cronbach's coefficient alpha, and concurrent validity, measured by Pearson's r and polychoric correlation coefficients, were evaluated in this study. A sample of 371 sexual offenders referred to the Behavioral Medicine Institute of Atlanta for evaluation of sexual interests and behaviors by the courts were assessed using the Sexual Interest Cardsort Questionnaire (SI), a self-report measure of deviant and nondeviant sexual interest, as well as indicator variables obtained from classifications assigned by clinicians as a result of 2 hour-long, semistructured clinical interviews. Internal consistency of 75 items from the SI ranged from 0.71 to 0.96, across 15 categories of sexual interest and behavior. Additionally, the SI was shortened utilizing Cronbach's alphas to maintain a high level of internal consistency. The resulting questionnaire, the shortened SI (SIS), had 45 items and 15 categories. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.78 to 0.97. Utilizing Pearson's r and polychoric correlation coefficients, significant correlations were found for the 11 sexually deviant categories of the SI and indicator variables, and the 10 sexually deviant categories of the SIS and indicator variables. The SI and SIS showed a high level of reliability and concurrent validity. Clinical and research issues pertaining to the clinical assessment of male sexual offenders utilizing self-report and clinical interview data, both obtained as the result of comprehensive evaluations, are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

HIV-seropositive men who engage in high-risk sexual behaviour: psychological characteristics and implications for prevention.

A minority of people who test HIV seropositive continue to engage in sexual behaviour that places their partners at high risk for HIV infection. However, little is known about factors that contribute to sexual risk behaviour among. HIV-seropositive men. In this study, HIV-seropositive men participating in substance abuse support groups and HIV prevention programmes (n = 223) completed measures of demographic characteristics, sexual behaviour history, sensation-seeking (the propensity to seek optimal stimulation), and sexual compulsivity (persistent sexual preoccupations). Twenty-six per cent of the sample reported having recent multiple unprotected sexual intercourse partners. Across support group and prevention programme participants, men with multiple unprotected partners reported greater sexual compulsivity than men with one or no unprotected partners, but groups did not differ in terms of sensation-seeking. Results suggest that intensive therapeutic interventions are needed for a relatively small number of people who may contribute significantly to the HIV epidemic.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Evaluation of the psychosocial impact of the MiniMed variable-rate implantable insulin pump.

We examined the psychosocial impact of treatment with an implantable insulin pump among persons with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Of specific interest was whether use of the MiniMed implantable insulin pump (MIP) resulted in changes in functional status, performance of diabetes self-care behavior, psychologic symptoms, and perceived level of stress. From a sample of 36 patients with IDDM, 10 persons were randomly selected to receive the MIP, while the remaining 26 served as control subjects. Additionally, a nonrandom sample of three MIP recipients from an additional site were included in the MIP group. At regular assessment intervals, all participants completed self-report questionnaires regarding psychosocial functioning and monitored blood glucose levels. After 4 months of MIP use, MIP recipients did not significantly differ from control subjects on any measure of psychosocial functioning; however, MIP use did have an impact on diabetes self-care. The MIP users monitored their blood glucose levels more frequently and had lower average blood glucose levels than control subjects. Additional follow-up is needed to determine the long-term psychosocial impact of implantable insulin pump therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Sexual abuses.

The sexual abuses described in this article are occurring so frequently that they constitute a public health problem. Superficially they appear to be quite dissimilar because they involve individuals of different ages, different settings, and different power relationships. Basic to each of them, however, is an absence of consent by the victim and the misuse of power by the perpetrator in order to accomplish the abuse. We now have an adequate understanding of each of these abuses and it is now time to make a concerted effort to stop these abuses. This will require the combined efforts of the education of the public, improved identification of the abuses, treatment of the victims, and an appropriate criminal justice response combined with treatment of the perpetrator.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The paraphilias. The extent and nature of sexually deviant and criminal behavior.

This article presents data that indicate that paraphiliacs tend to carry out a variety of paraphilic behaviors and cross a number of boundaries within individual paraphilias. These data contradict earlier theories that postulated that paraphiliacs compulsively repeat the same category of paraphilia over time without crossing into other categories of paraphilic acts as a result of specific early life experiences or specific emotional conflicts. This article suggests that a more parsimonious explanation is that individuals with paraphilias have a general deficit of control, leading them to carry out a variety of paraphilic behaviors with a variety of victims.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Behavioral treatment of angina-like chest pain in patients with hyperventilation syndrome.

The hyperventilation syndrome is present in as many as 50% of patients with non-cardiac chest pain. This study evaluated a behavioral treatment of this disorder in three adult females. They had long histories of chest pain and were documented to be free of coronary artery disease. Each subject met the DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder. Following treatment, all subjects showed a marked decrease in the frequency and intensity of chest pain episodes and in the frequency of shortness of breath episodes. Two subjects maintained their progress at one-year follow-up. The results lend support to the efficacy of controlled breathing and relaxation training for the treatment of hyperventilation-related chest pain and to the inclusion of a hyperventilation provocation test in the diagnosis of the syndrome as well as its role in changing cognitions regarding cardiac status. Also discussed is the rationale for treating hyperventilation related chest pain in a medical care setting.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1988

Assessment of psychosocial functioning of patients with sickle cell disease.

The Chronic Illness Problem Inventory (CIPI) was used to assess level of psychosocial functioning in 89 patients with sickle cell disease. The results indicated that sickle cell patients have significant psychosocial distress in the areas of employment and finances, sleeping and eating, and performance of normal daily activities. Fear and anxiety regarding body deterioration, and lack of assertiveness in social relationships were also found. These findings suggest that depression may be a common problem among sickle cell patients. Treatment alternatives that address these areas are reviewed.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1988

Multiple paraphilic diagnoses among sex offenders.

The psychiatric literature suggests that paraphiliacs can be expected to participate in only one type of deviant sexual behavior. Using self-reports gathered with assured confidentiality from 561 nonincarcerated paraphiliacs, we discovered that most paraphiliacs have had significant experience with as many as ten different types of deviant sexual behavior without regard, in many cases, to gender, age, and familial relationship of the victim. The relevance of these findings to our understanding of paraphiliacs and their treatment is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Level of postassault sexual functioning in rape and incest victims.

In a systematic study, 372 sexual assault survivors and 99 women with no history of sexual assault were interviewed with regard to their sexual histories to determine the incidence and types of sexual dysfunctions in these two samples. The women also completed the Sexual Arousability Inventory. Of the sexual assault survivors, 58.6% of the women were experiencing sexual dysfunctions, with 71% of them reporting that their sexual assaults were related to their development of sexual problems. In contrast, only 17.2% of the nonassaulted women reported experiencing any sexual problems. Differences in the types of sexual problems experienced by the two samples are noted, as are treatment implications. The sensitivity of the Sexual Arousability Inventory to assault-related sexual dysfunctions was affected by the educational level of the sexual assault survivors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Depressive symptoms associated with sexual assault.

The Beck Depression Inventory was used to assess depressive symptoms in 178 sexual assault survivors and 50 control subjects who had never been sexually assaulted. The sexual assault survivors reported significantly more depressive symptoms than the control subjects, and further analyses strongly suggested that the depressive symptoms were caused by the sexual assault. Investigation of the relationships between depression scores and survivor and assault characteristics indicates that the nonspecifics of the assault and the use of a weapon by the assailant were most highly correlated with development of depressive symptoms.

Adaptation, Psychological↗