Profiling Child Sexual Abusers

Abstract

Mental health professionals are increasingly being asked to provide expert testimony in the area of child sexual abuse. One controversial area is the provision of legal testimony regarding profiles of child sexual offenders. The current article addresses the scientific evidence of such testimony with a specific focus on current research with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and penile plethysmography. A companion article, by Peters and Murphy (in this special issue), addresses the legal issues surrounding such testimony. Conclusions from reviewing the existing literature suggest that there is limited empirical data to support contentions that mental health professionals can provide such testimony.