The Revised Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests (SSPI-2) May Be a Measure of Pedohebephilia.
INTRODUCTION
The Revised Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests (SSPI-2) was developed as a screening measure for pedophilia (sexual interest in prepubescent children), but the SSPI-2 items reflect offending against both prepubescent and pubescent children, roughly corresponding to victims under age 15.


AIM
We examined whether the SSPI-2 is better interpreted as a measure of pedohebephilia (sexual interest in both prepubescent and pubescent children) by reanalyzing the original SSPI-2 data and reporting its new psychometric properties.


METHODS
The sample was comprised of 1,900 men whose clinical assessment data were entered into an archival database. All men in the sample had at least 1 child victim. Phallometric indices based on sexual responses to children relative to adults were used to classify individuals as having pedophilia only, hebephilia only (sexual interest in pubescent children), or pedohebephilia.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
The 5 SSPI-2 items were scored based on official file information sent by the referral source and self-disclosures about offending history made during the assessment.


RESULTS
The phallometric indices revealed that pedohebephilia was most frequently observed (24%), followed by hebephilia only (16%) and pedophilia only (1%). Classification accuracy analyses suggest that the SSPI-2 may be more appropriately interpreted as a measure of pedohebephilia than hebephilia only; there were too few cases of pedophilia only for classification analysis. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values are presented to assist users in selecting appropriate SSPI-2 cut-offs.


CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
The SSPI-2 should be interpreted as a measure of pedohebephilia when used in clinical practice or research, and test users should select the most appropriate cut-off score based on their assessment context. Classification accuracy results are modest, and the scale may be most appropriately used in research or as a screening measure.


STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS
The study used a comprehensive clinical database with well-validated measures. A limitation is that the dataset did not contain other assessment measures of sexual interest in children, and we were unable to examine if the SSPI-2 could detect pedophilia only due to its low base rate.


CONCLUSION
The SSPI-2 may be best conceptualized as a measure of pedohebephilia. Further, there was significant overlap between pedophilia and hebephilia; pedophilia only was rarely observed. Stephens S, Seto MC, Cantor JM, et al. The Revised Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests (SSPI-2) May Be a Measure of Pedohebephilia. J Sex Med 2019;16:1655-1663.
['Stephens|Skye|S|', 'Seto|Michael C|MC|', 'Cantor|James M|JM|', 'Lalumière|Martin L|ML|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D002648:Child D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual D057237:Criminals D006801:Humans D008297:Male D010262:Paraphilic Disorders D010378:Pedophilia D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales D011594:Psychometrics D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity D012742:Sex Offenses D012725:Sexual Behavior D055815:Young Adult
SSPI-2 Pedohebephilia Pedophilia Hebephilia Sexual Offending