did he fail because of the question form

[confused317]

TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT, MY HUSBAND FAILED THE QUESTION " HAVE YOU EVER BEEN SEXUALLY INVOLVED WITH ANYONE OTHER THAN YOUR WIFE SINCE AUGUST 1995?"  MY FIRST QUESTION IS THAT USING A SPECIFIC YEAR THE SMARTEST WAY TO GO ABOUT THE QUESTION?  THAT IS WHEN WE FIRST STARTED DATING AND WE WERE 17 YEARS OLD AND THAT WAS 11 YEARS AGO?  SECONDLY, IS "SEXUALLY INVOLVED" TOO LOADED OF A QUESTION?  AFTER THE TEST I TOLD MY HUSBAND THAT HE COULD TELL ME AND I WOULD FORGIVE HIM AND HE SWEARS HE DIDN'T.  HE DID TELL ME OF AN INCIDENT THAT DID CROSS HIS MIND BEFORE HE WENT IN TO BE TESTED BUT HE DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD INTERFERE BECAUSE THE "GIRL" WAS THE AGGRESSOR AND HE LEFT THE BAR.  WHEN WE GOT HOME I CALLED THE FRIEND HE WAS WITH THAT NIGHT AND MADE IT SEEM LIKE MY  HUSBAND TOLD ME THE TRUTH ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT AND THE RESPONSE THAT I GOT WAS " YOU CAN'T BE MAD AT HIM THOUGH... SHE WAS COMING ON TO HIM AND SHOWED HIM HER BREASTS AND TRIED TO STRADDLE HIM TO KISS HIM AND HE ASK ME TO TAKE HIM HOME AND I DID"  WOULD THAT BE CONSIDERED SEXUAL INVOLVMENT?  WITH THIS ISSUE ON HIS MIND WOULD THAT HAVE AN AFFECT ON HIS RESULTS?   HE WANTS TO RETAKE THE TEST AND ASK POINT BLANK "HAVE YOU EVER HAD SEX OR ORAL SEX WITH ANYONE OTHER THAN YOUR WIFE SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN MARRIED?" I CANNOT REMEMBER EVERY DETAIL OF THE PAST 11 YEARS BUT HE HAS ALWAYS COME HOME FROM WORK ON TIME, HE RARELY WENT OUT WITHOUT ME AND ALWAYS TREATED ME SO WELL.  EVERYONE ALWAYS TELLS ME HOW HIGHLY HE SPEAKS OF ME.  ANY HELP WOULD BE GREAT....

[Johnn]

I'm sorry to tell you, but your problem has nothing to do with the polygraph.  Even if polygraphs were found to be reliable, your husband can take a zillion of them, and based on the information which you provided, there still wouldn't be any trust.

[confused317]

I appreciate your reply and I know I have trust issues.  I have agreed to go to counseling along with my husband and try to move past all this.  The test is just sitting in the back of my mind.  I just wanted to know if the incidents I listed could have had something to do with him failing.  I do love him.  I just don't understand the test or if outside things like that could make a difference.  

[George W. Maschke]

confused317,

Trying to determine why your husband "failed" the polygraph is rather like trying to determine why a coin toss came out tails instead of heads. Polygraph "testing" has no scientific basis and worse still, has an inherent bias against the truthful. For a detailed explanation, see Chapters 1 and 3 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector. I suggest that both you and your husband read it before wasting your money on a second polygraph "test."