The Application of the Dual Control Model (DCM) on Individuals Convicted of Sexual Offenses and the Relevance of the Concepts of Sexual Excitation and Sexual Inhibition

One of the most important theoretical developments in the last decades in the field of sex research was the introduction of the Dual Control Model (DCM) by John Bancroft and Erick Janssen. The DCM postulates that the degree of sexual arousal depends on the individual responsiveness of two distinct neurophysiological systems: sexual excitation and sexual inhibition. In the present study, we present results about the first empirical study, which applies the DCM in the research about the etiological roots of sexual offending behavior. This approach seems to be promising for at least the following reasons: On the one hand, it could allow the connection between the findings of DCM-related research with non-forensic samples. On the other hand, the theoretical underpinnings of the DCM could provide a basis for the conjunction of the manifold empirical neuropsychological findings in samples consisting of individuals convicted of sexual offenses and a theory-based explanation of these diverse results. For the present study, the German version of the Sexual Inhibition/Sexual Excitation Scales-Short Form (SIS/SES-SF) was used in a total sample of N = 359 individuals convicted and incarcerated because of the commission of at least one sexually motivated offense. All participants were comprehensively assessed at the Federal Evaluation Centre for Violent and Sexual Offenders (FECVSO) in the Vienna, Austria, between 2018 and 2022. The findings underline particularly the relevance of sexual excitation by showing significant and substantial relationships with a number of constructs relevant for the explanation of sexual crimes (e.g., hypersexuality, cognitive distortions, sexual anxiety, and sexual deviance).