Sexual abuse : a journal of research and treatment, 2012
In this study the authors assessed a Good Lives model (GLM) approach to sex offender treatment an... more In this study the authors assessed a Good Lives model (GLM) approach to sex offender treatment and compare it to a standard Relapse Prevention program. The comparisons examined (a) attrition rates, (b) treatment change in areas targeted in treatment and achievement of a posttreatment treated profile, and (c) views of offenders and facilitators. There were no differences in the attrition rates or the rates of treatment change between the two programs, indicating that they were equally effective at retaining participants and achieving change on areas targeted within treatment. Both facilitators and program participants reported the Good Lives approach module's impact in a positive, future-focused manner. In contrast, those who attended the Relapse Prevention module did not report their perceptions and motivations in a manner that was focused on the positives in their future as frequently as those who attended the module with the Good Lives model approach.
This thesis investigates Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) procedure as a tool to evaluate ... more This thesis investigates Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) procedure as a tool to evaluate sexual interest in child sex offenders. Data examined derived from: convicted child sex offenders, convicted non-sexual offenders, released child sex offenders, men with children under the age of two and 'normal' males and females. Chapters 1 and 2 evaluate sexual interest in child sex offenders and explore the RSVP's attentional blink theories. Chapter 3 examines RSVP in child sex offenders and a group of offenders with no sexual offence history, showing child sex offenders did display enhanced attentional blink towards images of children. Chapter 4 examined released child sex offenders who did not show the hypothesised attentional blink effect. Chapter 5 looked into RSVP responses of fathers with children under two, and shows an opposite pattern of response to child sex offenders. Chapter 6 showed that RSVP, using male and female images, elicited heightened attentional blink in a normative sample of females, but not the male sample. Chapter 7 examined the RSVP using erotic images of males and females on a sample of heterosexual males and females with no significant effect. Chapter 8 tested the reliability and validity of the RSVP in a subsample using the procedure twice, with a lapse of 1-2 weeks in-between and shows significant improvement from Session 1 to Session 2, Condition 1. This shows practice effect can influence performance on the RSVP. The main discussion will evaluate the results in terms of implications for the utility of the RSVP. To my beautiful boys, Tomas and Elias. I would like to thank my family, my mother, Gretha Hallaren, and father, Steinar Flak, for always being there for me and my boys and supporting us in every possible way. I also want to thank my brother, Kenneth Flak, for always having time for me and for being there. A special thank you goes to my partner in love and life, Harvey Robert Klyce, for all the help and unwavering support you have shown me. Your acts of love and kindness have carried me through, you always believed and had faith in me, for that, I will always be grateful. Finally, but not least, to my two beautiful sons, Tomas and Elias, who have been my sole reason for having completed this journey in my life. You two will always be my inspiration, this is for you.
The attentional blink (AB) is a robust phenomenon that has been consistently reported in the cogn... more The attentional blink (AB) is a robust phenomenon that has been consistently reported in the cognitive literature. The AB is found when two target images (T1, T2) are presented within 500 ms of each other and errors are induced on the perceptual report of T2. The AB may increase when T1 has some salience to the viewer. This study examined the effects of using pictures of children as T1 on the AB in a sample of child molesters. A larger AB emerged in this sample when T1was a picture of a child compared with when T1 was a picture of an animal. It is argued that this task may be potentially useful to assess child molesters' level of interest in children.
Prepulse inhibition and the suppression of reflexive saccades on the antisaccade task are thought... more Prepulse inhibition and the suppression of reflexive saccades on the antisaccade task are thought to tap inhibitory function. Reports of a lack of association between these measures suggest that they reflect different facets of inhibition. This study aimed to reexamine this relationship in a large sample and investigate the association of prepulse inhibition with oculomotor tasks that require inhibition of a reflexive saccade with lower concurrent processing demands than antisaccades, namely the oculomotor delayed response and fixation with distractors tasks. One hundred and seven healthy volunteers took part. Prepulse inhibition was uncorrelated with oculomotor performance. The error rate was highest for antisaccades, intermediate for the delayed response task, and lowest for fixation with distractors, and was correlated across tasks. These findings provide no evidence of a relationship between prepulse inhibition and oculomotor inhibition. Failure in suppressing reflexive saccades toward a peripheral target may represent a common inhibitory component underlying these oculomotor tasks.
We investigated the relationships of anti-and prosaccades with psychometric schizotypy. One aim w... more We investigated the relationships of anti-and prosaccades with psychometric schizotypy. One aim was to estimate the role of negative emotionality and general psychopathology (i.e. neuroticism) in this relationship. 115 non-clinical volunteers underwent infrared oculographic assessment of antisaccades and prosaccades. Schizotypy was assessed with the Personality Syndrome Questionnaire (PSQ-80), the Rust Inventory of Schizotypal Cognitions (RISC), and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R) Psychoticism. Higher positive schizotypy scores predicted increased antisaccade errors (RISC) and greater prosaccade spatial error (PSQ-80 Unreality). Greater thought disorder (PSQ-80 Activity) predicted shorter prosaccade latencies. EPQ-R Neuroticism was substantially correlated with schizotypy but was not related to saccadic measures and did not account for their relationship with schizotypy. We conclude that saccadic performance patterns in schizotypy are not due to negative emotionality or general psychopathology, but specific to schizophrenia spectrum signs and symptoms.
Sexual abuse : a journal of research and treatment, 2012
In this study the authors assessed a Good Lives model (GLM) approach to sex offender treatment an... more In this study the authors assessed a Good Lives model (GLM) approach to sex offender treatment and compare it to a standard Relapse Prevention program. The comparisons examined (a) attrition rates, (b) treatment change in areas targeted in treatment and achievement of a posttreatment treated profile, and (c) views of offenders and facilitators. There were no differences in the attrition rates or the rates of treatment change between the two programs, indicating that they were equally effective at retaining participants and achieving change on areas targeted within treatment. Both facilitators and program participants reported the Good Lives approach module's impact in a positive, future-focused manner. In contrast, those who attended the Relapse Prevention module did not report their perceptions and motivations in a manner that was focused on the positives in their future as frequently as those who attended the module with the Good Lives model approach.
This thesis investigates Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) procedure as a tool to evaluate ... more This thesis investigates Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) procedure as a tool to evaluate sexual interest in child sex offenders. Data examined derived from: convicted child sex offenders, convicted non-sexual offenders, released child sex offenders, men with children under the age of two and 'normal' males and females. Chapters 1 and 2 evaluate sexual interest in child sex offenders and explore the RSVP's attentional blink theories. Chapter 3 examines RSVP in child sex offenders and a group of offenders with no sexual offence history, showing child sex offenders did display enhanced attentional blink towards images of children. Chapter 4 examined released child sex offenders who did not show the hypothesised attentional blink effect. Chapter 5 looked into RSVP responses of fathers with children under two, and shows an opposite pattern of response to child sex offenders. Chapter 6 showed that RSVP, using male and female images, elicited heightened attentional blink in a normative sample of females, but not the male sample. Chapter 7 examined the RSVP using erotic images of males and females on a sample of heterosexual males and females with no significant effect. Chapter 8 tested the reliability and validity of the RSVP in a subsample using the procedure twice, with a lapse of 1-2 weeks in-between and shows significant improvement from Session 1 to Session 2, Condition 1. This shows practice effect can influence performance on the RSVP. The main discussion will evaluate the results in terms of implications for the utility of the RSVP. To my beautiful boys, Tomas and Elias. I would like to thank my family, my mother, Gretha Hallaren, and father, Steinar Flak, for always being there for me and my boys and supporting us in every possible way. I also want to thank my brother, Kenneth Flak, for always having time for me and for being there. A special thank you goes to my partner in love and life, Harvey Robert Klyce, for all the help and unwavering support you have shown me. Your acts of love and kindness have carried me through, you always believed and had faith in me, for that, I will always be grateful. Finally, but not least, to my two beautiful sons, Tomas and Elias, who have been my sole reason for having completed this journey in my life. You two will always be my inspiration, this is for you.
The attentional blink (AB) is a robust phenomenon that has been consistently reported in the cogn... more The attentional blink (AB) is a robust phenomenon that has been consistently reported in the cognitive literature. The AB is found when two target images (T1, T2) are presented within 500 ms of each other and errors are induced on the perceptual report of T2. The AB may increase when T1 has some salience to the viewer. This study examined the effects of using pictures of children as T1 on the AB in a sample of child molesters. A larger AB emerged in this sample when T1was a picture of a child compared with when T1 was a picture of an animal. It is argued that this task may be potentially useful to assess child molesters' level of interest in children.
Prepulse inhibition and the suppression of reflexive saccades on the antisaccade task are thought... more Prepulse inhibition and the suppression of reflexive saccades on the antisaccade task are thought to tap inhibitory function. Reports of a lack of association between these measures suggest that they reflect different facets of inhibition. This study aimed to reexamine this relationship in a large sample and investigate the association of prepulse inhibition with oculomotor tasks that require inhibition of a reflexive saccade with lower concurrent processing demands than antisaccades, namely the oculomotor delayed response and fixation with distractors tasks. One hundred and seven healthy volunteers took part. Prepulse inhibition was uncorrelated with oculomotor performance. The error rate was highest for antisaccades, intermediate for the delayed response task, and lowest for fixation with distractors, and was correlated across tasks. These findings provide no evidence of a relationship between prepulse inhibition and oculomotor inhibition. Failure in suppressing reflexive saccades toward a peripheral target may represent a common inhibitory component underlying these oculomotor tasks.
We investigated the relationships of anti-and prosaccades with psychometric schizotypy. One aim w... more We investigated the relationships of anti-and prosaccades with psychometric schizotypy. One aim was to estimate the role of negative emotionality and general psychopathology (i.e. neuroticism) in this relationship. 115 non-clinical volunteers underwent infrared oculographic assessment of antisaccades and prosaccades. Schizotypy was assessed with the Personality Syndrome Questionnaire (PSQ-80), the Rust Inventory of Schizotypal Cognitions (RISC), and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R) Psychoticism. Higher positive schizotypy scores predicted increased antisaccade errors (RISC) and greater prosaccade spatial error (PSQ-80 Unreality). Greater thought disorder (PSQ-80 Activity) predicted shorter prosaccade latencies. EPQ-R Neuroticism was substantially correlated with schizotypy but was not related to saccadic measures and did not account for their relationship with schizotypy. We conclude that saccadic performance patterns in schizotypy are not due to negative emotionality or general psychopathology, but specific to schizophrenia spectrum signs and symptoms.
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Papers by Vanja Flak