A clinical investigation of the possible effects of long-term habituation of sexual arousal in assisted covert sensitization

Behavior principles are naturally implicated in most of the behavior therapy techniques used in the treatment of sexual dysfunctions and sexual disorders. Hypotheses differ, however, in the extent to which behavior therapy procedures emphasize the classical conditioning of sexual arousal (e.g. penile responses) or the operant conditioning of deviant sexual behavior patterns, or other often ignored behavior principles such as habituation. The purpose of the present case study is to investigate the possibility that at least part of the clinical effects of a widely used behavior therapy technique for sexual deviations, covert sensitization, may directly involve habituation processes. Results of the assisted covert sensitization case study indicate that, while expected decrements in sexual arousal to sexually inappropriate stimuli were observed, decrements in sexual arousal and self-report were also observed for sexually appropriate stimuli which received no aversive consequences, only repeated stimulus presentation over time. It is argued that habituation processes need further empirical investigation as a potential behavioral mechanism in the beneficial clinical effects usually noted in covert sensitization procedures. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.