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Incidents of male exhibitionism in the United States as reported by victimized female college students
international Journal of Law and Psychiatry, Printed in the U.S.A. All rights reserved
Vol. 1, pp. 453-457.
1978
0160.2527/78/040453-05$02.00/O Copyright 0 1979 Pergamon Press Ltd
Incidents of Male Exhibitionism in the United States as Reported by Victimized Female College Students
Daniel J. Cox*, and Betsy McMahon**
On the basis of legal conviction rates during the 1950s and 196Os, it has been estimated that approximately one third of the sexual offenses in England, Wales, Canada and the United States (Rooth & Marks, 1974) involve indecent exposure. However, Rooth (1971) points out that the conviction rate for indecent exposure bears an unknown relationship to the true offense rate. In a study conducted in Great Britain, Gittleson, Eacott and Mehta (1978) report that only 18% of the women who had ever been victimized by an exhibitionist made statements to the police. Hendrix and Meyer (1975) described an American exhibitionist who reportedly exposed himself to women between 600 to 700 times without ever being apprehended by the police. On the basis of these considerations, it may be fairly concluded that the true incidence of exhibitionism is not known, but may thus far have been grossly underestimated. The only attempt to assess frequency of exhibitionism in the natural environment was made by Gittleson, et al. (1978) who interviewed 100 nurses working in a psychiatric hospital in Great Britain. Of these women, 44% had encountered an exhibitionist, 29 on one occasion and 15 multiple times. No such data are currently available for the United States, however. The purpose of this study was to document the frequency of occurrence and the nature of exhibitionism in the United States, and to compare this to available data from Great Britain. In doing this, an attempt was made to secure a larger, more representative sample than that reported by Gittleson, et al. (1978).
*Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Dept. of Psychiatry, Box 190, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 22901. **Department of Psychology, Case Western University. The authors are grateful for the crucial cooperation provided by: Drs. Beckie Hollitield of the University of Louisville, Roger Jennings of Portland State University, Howard H. Hughes of North Texas State University, Jerome A. Cerny of Indiana State University and Charles Allen from the University of Montana.
453
454
DANIEL
J. COX and BETSY
McMAHON
Method Subject The questionnaire (See Table 1) was administered to 405 United States college females who were taking a general psychology course. To correct for possible sampling bias, responses were obtained from different geographical areas of the United States from women who were attending the University of Louisville (Kentucky). University of Montana, Portland State University (Oregon) Indiana State University, and North Texas State University. The mean age of respondents was 19.9 years and their mean estimated family income was $19,000. Further analysis revealed that 269 were raised Catholic, I’;{ Jewish and 50% Protestant. 80% were single and 14% married.
Procedure One author (DJC) contacted by telephone faculty members teaching general psychology from each University sampled. These faculty members were then mailed a package of computerized answer sheets and “Women’s Event Questionnaire” forms to be administered voluntarily and anonymously to female students in the spring of 1978. Subjects were informed that the questionnaire (only 8 of 90 items referring to exhibitionism) was intended to document the frequency of various events in the life of modern women. AJlsWer sheets were thereafter returned to the authors for computer scoring and analyzing.
Results FrequencyTo the question “Have you ever been a victim of indecent exposure by a man?” one third (32%) responded positively (See Table 1. Question 2). Of these victims, 37%’ had been exposed to more than once. Fourty-four percent of the initial exposure incidences occurred when victims were between the ages of 10 and 16, while 30%’ of the initial incidences occurred between the ages of other women 17 and 19 years (see Question 3). To the question “How many other than yourself do you know who have been victims of indecent exposure by a man?” 57% of the sample reported they knew other victims. 63’/: of these knew of more than one woman. Exhibitioblists Exhibitionists who were strangers to their victims accounted for 62% of the exposure events which were most distressing to the women, while acquaintances, good friends or relatives, brothers. or fathers accounted for 22%. 13%, 29’ and 1% respectively. Only 16% of the victims reported their exposure experiences to the police; 95% of these reports involved strangers and 5%’ involved “relatives or good friends”.
INCIDENTS
Table 1.
1. Responses to exhibitionism
How many women,
OF MALE
items appearing
other than yourself,
EXHIBITIONISM
in the “Women’s
do you
E
=
455
Event Questionnaire.”
Father
(0.8%)
know who have been victims of indecent exposure by a man (a “flasher”)?a A
=
5.
Did you report your exposure experience
0 (43.4%)
police?
B
=
1 (21.1%)
A
=
Yes (15.9%)
C
=
2 (16.3%)
B
=
No (84.1%)
D
=
3 (8.7%)
F
=
4 or more (10.4%)
6.
to the
How distressing was your first exposure experience?
2.
Have you ever been a victim
of indecent
expo-
A
=
sure by a man (a “flasher”)?
B
=
Slightly
A
=
Never (67.7%)
C
=
Moderately
B
=
Once(21.1%)
D
=
Severely
C
=
Two times (5.7%)
E
=
Very severely (3.8%)
D
=
Three times (3.0%)
E
=
Four or more times (2.5%)
7.
How
Not at all (30.1)
severely
attitudes 3.
(26.3%)
(I 1.3%)
did
toward
this experience
men &/or
At what age were you first exposed to?
A
=
Not at all (68.7%)
A
=
l-6
6
=
Slightly
B
=
7-9 years (8.6%)
C
=
Moderately
C
=
D E
years (13.7%)
=
Severely (3.0%)
=
17-19
years (30.2%)
E
=
Very severely (I .5%)
=
20 or older (3.6%) How
severely
attitudes
incident,
did
toward
this experience
yourself
A
=
Not at all (70.1%)
A
=
Stranger
B
=
Slightly
B
=
Acquaintance
C
=
Moderately
C
=
Relative
or good friend
D
=
Severely
D
=
Brother
(2.3%)
E
=
Very severely (1.5%)
aPilot that
adding b
research the
Percentage
indicated
term of
(21.8%)
the
the
(12.8%)
term
“exhibitionists”
“flasher”
clarified
the
meaning
sample
selecting
this
response.
was of the
unclear
to
your
as a woman?
who was the “flasher”? (62.4%)
affect
(8.2%)
D
your most distressing exposure
your
(18.7%)
years (43.9%)
During
affect
sex?
lo-16
8. 4.
(28.6)
(14.9%) (6.0%)
(7.5%)
many
female
college
students,
and
question.
Effects Although 59% of the victims rated their experience as either “not at all” or “slightly” distressing, 15% rated the experience as “severely” or “very severely” distressing (Question 6). Only 14% rated their experience as “severely” or “very severely” affecting their attitude toward men or sex (Question 7), while 9% similarly described its effect on their attitude towards themselves as women (Question 8). Socioeconomic Socioeconomic status was significantly (chi square, P < .002) related to whether or not a woman knew of other women who had been exposed to but unrelated to whether the woman had been victimized herself. Thus, lower class (average family income less than $8,000) and upper class (average family income more than $45,000) females were more likely to personally know other women who had been victimized than were middle class women.
DANIEL
466
J. COX and BETSY
McMAHON
Discussion On the basis of these data, the authors conclude that exhibitionism is an extremely prevalent event in the United States. Considering that one third of the respondents reported being victimized by an exhibitionist, it is interesting that the mean age of sample was young, approximately 20 years. It seems likely, therefore, that some of the women who did not report exposure episodes will be victims of exhibitionism in future years. This speculation is further supported by the finding that nearly 60% of the repondents indicated they knew other women - possibly older ~ who had been victimized. The relative youth of repondents in the present sample may also account for a victimization rate of only 32%, while Gittleson, et al. (1978) reported an incident of 44% for a sample of females whose mean age was 32.8 years. A vast majority (84%) of the present victimized sample, as well as Gittleson’s (1978) sample (88%), did not report the exposure incident to the police. Since police-reported exhibitionism is in turn only ,partially reflected in arrest and conviction rates, it follows that speculation based upon such data grossly underestimates the true incidence of exhibitionism, perhaps even beneath the 16% report rate indicated in the current sample. Police records may further distort the true situation insofar as they imply that exhibitionists are typically strangers to their victim. Forty percent of the exhibitionists in the current sample were known to their victims. Yet 95% of the police-reported incidents involved exhibitionists who were strangers to the women. Thus it appears that women in the current sample generally did not report the event when it involved individuals familiar to them (5%). When reviewing Table 2, it is striking how similar the findings of the present survey are to Gittleson’s in Great Britain. While Rooth (1971) indicates that there may be significant transcultural variation as reflected by differences in the report frequency of exhibitionism, at least within similar Western cultures such as the United States and Great Britain there appears to be remarkable similarity . The present findings parallel those of Gittleson, et al. (1978) in terms of the significant impact of being victimized by an exhibitionist and lend further support to Rooth’s (1971) and Gum’s (1976) conclusion that for the majority of
Table
2. Comparison
Gittleson,
of the current
findings with those from the Great Britain survey by
et al. (1978). Great Britain Psychiatric
nurses
United
States
College females
Mean age of sample
32.8 years
Sample victimized
44%
32%
Victims
exposed to once
66%
62%
Victims
exposed to more than once
34%
38%
Victims
who made police statements
18%
16%
15%
38%
Exhibitionists* lGittleson’s while most
the
38%
distressing
known 15% figure
to victim reflects
reported
exposure
the
total
by the
experience.
number current
of
study
exhibitionists reflects
that
19.9 years
known information
to
the for
victim, only
the
INCIDENTS
OF MALE
EXHIBITIONISM
457
victims, the long term effects are minimal. However, in this regard, one must consider the sobering findings in the current U.S. survey that 15% of the sample found their experience “severely” ( 1 1%) or “very severely” (4%) distressing, affecting attitudes of the victim toward herself as a woman, and towards men or sex in 5% and 10% of the sample respectively. If one extrapolates these findings to the United States female population generally, millions of women, by implication, are significantly negatively affected by exhibitionism during their lifetimes. These findings should rally the mental health and legal professionals to take a more active look at both the treatment of exhibitionists and their victims. Such has not been done in the past as is evident by the paucity of relevant scientific and legal literature. References Gittleson, N. L. Eacott, S. T. & Mehta, B. M. “Victims of Indecent Exposure,” British Journal of Psychiatry, 1978,132. 61-66. Hendrix, E. M., & Meyer, R. G. “Toward more comprehensive and durable client changes: A case report,” Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice, 1976, 13, Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice, 1976, 13, 263-266. Rooth, F. G. “Indecent exposure and exhibitionism.” British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 1971, 5, 521-533. Rooth, F. G., & Marks, I. M. “Persistant Exhibitionism: Short-term response to aversive therapy, selfregulation and relaxation treatment.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1974,3, 227-248.
Vol. 1, pp. 453-457.
1978
0160.2527/78/040453-05$02.00/O Copyright 0 1979 Pergamon Press Ltd
Incidents of Male Exhibitionism in the United States as Reported by Victimized Female College Students
Daniel J. Cox*, and Betsy McMahon**
On the basis of legal conviction rates during the 1950s and 196Os, it has been estimated that approximately one third of the sexual offenses in England, Wales, Canada and the United States (Rooth & Marks, 1974) involve indecent exposure. However, Rooth (1971) points out that the conviction rate for indecent exposure bears an unknown relationship to the true offense rate. In a study conducted in Great Britain, Gittleson, Eacott and Mehta (1978) report that only 18% of the women who had ever been victimized by an exhibitionist made statements to the police. Hendrix and Meyer (1975) described an American exhibitionist who reportedly exposed himself to women between 600 to 700 times without ever being apprehended by the police. On the basis of these considerations, it may be fairly concluded that the true incidence of exhibitionism is not known, but may thus far have been grossly underestimated. The only attempt to assess frequency of exhibitionism in the natural environment was made by Gittleson, et al. (1978) who interviewed 100 nurses working in a psychiatric hospital in Great Britain. Of these women, 44% had encountered an exhibitionist, 29 on one occasion and 15 multiple times. No such data are currently available for the United States, however. The purpose of this study was to document the frequency of occurrence and the nature of exhibitionism in the United States, and to compare this to available data from Great Britain. In doing this, an attempt was made to secure a larger, more representative sample than that reported by Gittleson, et al. (1978).
*Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Dept. of Psychiatry, Box 190, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 22901. **Department of Psychology, Case Western University. The authors are grateful for the crucial cooperation provided by: Drs. Beckie Hollitield of the University of Louisville, Roger Jennings of Portland State University, Howard H. Hughes of North Texas State University, Jerome A. Cerny of Indiana State University and Charles Allen from the University of Montana.
453
454
DANIEL
J. COX and BETSY
McMAHON
Method Subject The questionnaire (See Table 1) was administered to 405 United States college females who were taking a general psychology course. To correct for possible sampling bias, responses were obtained from different geographical areas of the United States from women who were attending the University of Louisville (Kentucky). University of Montana, Portland State University (Oregon) Indiana State University, and North Texas State University. The mean age of respondents was 19.9 years and their mean estimated family income was $19,000. Further analysis revealed that 269 were raised Catholic, I’;{ Jewish and 50% Protestant. 80% were single and 14% married.
Procedure One author (DJC) contacted by telephone faculty members teaching general psychology from each University sampled. These faculty members were then mailed a package of computerized answer sheets and “Women’s Event Questionnaire” forms to be administered voluntarily and anonymously to female students in the spring of 1978. Subjects were informed that the questionnaire (only 8 of 90 items referring to exhibitionism) was intended to document the frequency of various events in the life of modern women. AJlsWer sheets were thereafter returned to the authors for computer scoring and analyzing.
Results FrequencyTo the question “Have you ever been a victim of indecent exposure by a man?” one third (32%) responded positively (See Table 1. Question 2). Of these victims, 37%’ had been exposed to more than once. Fourty-four percent of the initial exposure incidences occurred when victims were between the ages of 10 and 16, while 30%’ of the initial incidences occurred between the ages of other women 17 and 19 years (see Question 3). To the question “How many other than yourself do you know who have been victims of indecent exposure by a man?” 57% of the sample reported they knew other victims. 63’/: of these knew of more than one woman. Exhibitioblists Exhibitionists who were strangers to their victims accounted for 62% of the exposure events which were most distressing to the women, while acquaintances, good friends or relatives, brothers. or fathers accounted for 22%. 13%, 29’ and 1% respectively. Only 16% of the victims reported their exposure experiences to the police; 95% of these reports involved strangers and 5%’ involved “relatives or good friends”.
INCIDENTS
Table 1.
1. Responses to exhibitionism
How many women,
OF MALE
items appearing
other than yourself,
EXHIBITIONISM
in the “Women’s
do you
E
=
455
Event Questionnaire.”
Father
(0.8%)
know who have been victims of indecent exposure by a man (a “flasher”)?a A
=
5.
Did you report your exposure experience
0 (43.4%)
police?
B
=
1 (21.1%)
A
=
Yes (15.9%)
C
=
2 (16.3%)
B
=
No (84.1%)
D
=
3 (8.7%)
F
=
4 or more (10.4%)
6.
to the
How distressing was your first exposure experience?
2.
Have you ever been a victim
of indecent
expo-
A
=
sure by a man (a “flasher”)?
B
=
Slightly
A
=
Never (67.7%)
C
=
Moderately
B
=
Once(21.1%)
D
=
Severely
C
=
Two times (5.7%)
E
=
Very severely (3.8%)
D
=
Three times (3.0%)
E
=
Four or more times (2.5%)
7.
How
Not at all (30.1)
severely
attitudes 3.
(26.3%)
(I 1.3%)
did
toward
this experience
men &/or
At what age were you first exposed to?
A
=
Not at all (68.7%)
A
=
l-6
6
=
Slightly
B
=
7-9 years (8.6%)
C
=
Moderately
C
=
D E
years (13.7%)
=
Severely (3.0%)
=
17-19
years (30.2%)
E
=
Very severely (I .5%)
=
20 or older (3.6%) How
severely
attitudes
incident,
did
toward
this experience
yourself
A
=
Not at all (70.1%)
A
=
Stranger
B
=
Slightly
B
=
Acquaintance
C
=
Moderately
C
=
Relative
or good friend
D
=
Severely
D
=
Brother
(2.3%)
E
=
Very severely (1.5%)
aPilot that
adding b
research the
Percentage
indicated
term of
(21.8%)
the
the
(12.8%)
term
“exhibitionists”
“flasher”
clarified
the
meaning
sample
selecting
this
response.
was of the
unclear
to
your
as a woman?
who was the “flasher”? (62.4%)
affect
(8.2%)
D
your most distressing exposure
your
(18.7%)
years (43.9%)
During
affect
sex?
lo-16
8. 4.
(28.6)
(14.9%) (6.0%)
(7.5%)
many
female
college
students,
and
question.
Effects Although 59% of the victims rated their experience as either “not at all” or “slightly” distressing, 15% rated the experience as “severely” or “very severely” distressing (Question 6). Only 14% rated their experience as “severely” or “very severely” affecting their attitude toward men or sex (Question 7), while 9% similarly described its effect on their attitude towards themselves as women (Question 8). Socioeconomic Socioeconomic status was significantly (chi square, P < .002) related to whether or not a woman knew of other women who had been exposed to but unrelated to whether the woman had been victimized herself. Thus, lower class (average family income less than $8,000) and upper class (average family income more than $45,000) females were more likely to personally know other women who had been victimized than were middle class women.
DANIEL
466
J. COX and BETSY
McMAHON
Discussion On the basis of these data, the authors conclude that exhibitionism is an extremely prevalent event in the United States. Considering that one third of the respondents reported being victimized by an exhibitionist, it is interesting that the mean age of sample was young, approximately 20 years. It seems likely, therefore, that some of the women who did not report exposure episodes will be victims of exhibitionism in future years. This speculation is further supported by the finding that nearly 60% of the repondents indicated they knew other women - possibly older ~ who had been victimized. The relative youth of repondents in the present sample may also account for a victimization rate of only 32%, while Gittleson, et al. (1978) reported an incident of 44% for a sample of females whose mean age was 32.8 years. A vast majority (84%) of the present victimized sample, as well as Gittleson’s (1978) sample (88%), did not report the exposure incident to the police. Since police-reported exhibitionism is in turn only ,partially reflected in arrest and conviction rates, it follows that speculation based upon such data grossly underestimates the true incidence of exhibitionism, perhaps even beneath the 16% report rate indicated in the current sample. Police records may further distort the true situation insofar as they imply that exhibitionists are typically strangers to their victim. Forty percent of the exhibitionists in the current sample were known to their victims. Yet 95% of the police-reported incidents involved exhibitionists who were strangers to the women. Thus it appears that women in the current sample generally did not report the event when it involved individuals familiar to them (5%). When reviewing Table 2, it is striking how similar the findings of the present survey are to Gittleson’s in Great Britain. While Rooth (1971) indicates that there may be significant transcultural variation as reflected by differences in the report frequency of exhibitionism, at least within similar Western cultures such as the United States and Great Britain there appears to be remarkable similarity . The present findings parallel those of Gittleson, et al. (1978) in terms of the significant impact of being victimized by an exhibitionist and lend further support to Rooth’s (1971) and Gum’s (1976) conclusion that for the majority of
Table
2. Comparison
Gittleson,
of the current
findings with those from the Great Britain survey by
et al. (1978). Great Britain Psychiatric
nurses
United
States
College females
Mean age of sample
32.8 years
Sample victimized
44%
32%
Victims
exposed to once
66%
62%
Victims
exposed to more than once
34%
38%
Victims
who made police statements
18%
16%
15%
38%
Exhibitionists* lGittleson’s while most
the
38%
distressing
known 15% figure
to victim reflects
reported
exposure
the
total
by the
experience.
number current
of
study
exhibitionists reflects
that
19.9 years
known information
to
the for
victim, only
the
INCIDENTS
OF MALE
EXHIBITIONISM
457
victims, the long term effects are minimal. However, in this regard, one must consider the sobering findings in the current U.S. survey that 15% of the sample found their experience “severely” ( 1 1%) or “very severely” (4%) distressing, affecting attitudes of the victim toward herself as a woman, and towards men or sex in 5% and 10% of the sample respectively. If one extrapolates these findings to the United States female population generally, millions of women, by implication, are significantly negatively affected by exhibitionism during their lifetimes. These findings should rally the mental health and legal professionals to take a more active look at both the treatment of exhibitionists and their victims. Such has not been done in the past as is evident by the paucity of relevant scientific and legal literature. References Gittleson, N. L. Eacott, S. T. & Mehta, B. M. “Victims of Indecent Exposure,” British Journal of Psychiatry, 1978,132. 61-66. Hendrix, E. M., & Meyer, R. G. “Toward more comprehensive and durable client changes: A case report,” Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice, 1976, 13, Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice, 1976, 13, 263-266. Rooth, F. G. “Indecent exposure and exhibitionism.” British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 1971, 5, 521-533. Rooth, F. G., & Marks, I. M. “Persistant Exhibitionism: Short-term response to aversive therapy, selfregulation and relaxation treatment.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1974,3, 227-248.