Pedophilia
Pedophilia (alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children.
Krafft-Ebing was the first researcher to use the term pedophilia to refer to a pattern of sexual attraction toward children who had not yet reached puberty, excluding pubescent minors from the pedophilic age range.
[30] Impaired self-concept and interpersonal functioning were reported in a sample of child sex offenders who met the diagnostic criteria for pedophilia by Cohen et al. (2002), which the authors suggested could contribute to motivation for pedophilic acts.
[44] Researchers Taylor and Quayle reported that pedophilic collectors of child pornography are often involved in anonymous internet communities dedicated to extending their collections.
[56] Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has indicated that child molesters diagnosed with pedophilia have reduced activation of the hypothalamus as compared with non-pedophilic persons when viewing sexually arousing pictures of adults.
While not causes of pedophilia themselves, childhood abuse by adults or comorbid psychiatric illnesses—such as personality disorders and substance abuse—are risk factors for acting on pedophilic urges.
Do particular genes or noxious factors in the prenatal environment predispose a male to develop both affective disorders and pedophilia, or do the frustration, danger, and isolation engendered by unacceptable sexual desires—or their occasional furtive satisfaction—lead to anxiety and despair?
[54] A study analyzing the sexual fantasies of 200 heterosexual men by using the Wilson Sex Fantasy Questionnaire exam determined that males with a pronounced degree of paraphilic interest (including pedophilia) had a greater number of older brothers, a high 2D:4D digit ratio (which would indicate low prenatal androgen exposure), and an elevated probability of being left-handed, suggesting that disturbed hemispheric brain lateralization may play a role in deviant attractions.
Seto, who has published several research studies on pedophilia and its relationship with child pornography, objected to this reasoning by the APA, as it would only apply to a tiny minority of commitments, as well as deny help-seeking pedophiles access to clinical care due to not having an official diagnosis for insurance purposes.
[72] Ray Blanchard, an American-Canadian sexologist known for his research studies on pedophilia, addressed (in his literature review for the DSM-5) the objections to the overinclusiveness and under underinclusiveness of the DSM-IV-TR, and proposed a general solution applicable to all paraphilias.
[23] O'Donohue, however, suggests that the diagnostic criteria for pedophilia be simplified to the attraction to children alone if ascertained by self-report, laboratory findings, or past behavior.
Its content varies widely between therapists, but a typical program might involve training in self-control, social competence and empathy, and use cognitive restructuring to change views on sex with children.
The most common form of this therapy is relapse prevention, where the patient is taught to identify and respond to potentially risky situations based on principles used for treating addictions.
[2]: 177–181 Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs such as leuprorelin (Lupron), which last longer and have fewer side-effects, are also used to reduce libido,[91] as are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
[2]: 181–182, 192 The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers opposes surgical castration[93] and the Council of Europe works to bring the practice to an end in Eastern European countries where it is still applied through the courts.
[10][11][22] There are motives for child sexual abuse that are unrelated to pedophilia,[78] such as stress, marital problems, the unavailability of an adult partner,[95] general anti-social tendencies, high sex drive or alcohol use.
[99] According to a U.S. study on 2429 adult male sex offenders who were categorized as "pedophiles", only 7% identified themselves as exclusive; indicating that many or most child sexual abusers may fall into the non-exclusive category.
He states that pedophiles who are "reflective, sensitive to the feelings of others, averse to risk, abstain from alcohol or drug use, and endorse attitudes and beliefs supportive of norms and the laws" may be unlikely to abuse children.
[103] The term "paedophilia erotica" was coined in an 1896 article by the Viennese psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing but does not enter the author's Psychopathia Sexualis[104] until the 10th German edition.
[103] In Psychopathia Sexualis, the term appears in a section titled "Violation of Individuals Under the Age of Fourteen", which focuses on the forensic psychiatry aspect of child sexual offenders in general.
Krafft-Ebing describes several typologies of offender, dividing them into psychopathological and non-psychopathological origins, and hypothesizes several apparent causal factors that may lead to the sexual abuse of children.
He also lists pseudopaedophilia as a related condition wherein "individuals who have lost libido for the adult through masturbation and subsequently turn to children for the gratification of their sexual appetite" and claimed this is much more common.
He wrote that they usually were the subject of desire when a weak person "makes use of such substitutes" or when an uncontrollable instinct which will not allow delay seeks immediate gratification and cannot find a more appropriate object.
[6] In law enforcement circles, the term pedophile is sometimes used informally to refer to any person who commits one or more sexually-based crimes that relate to legally underage victims.
[2]: 186 Psychiatrist Michael First writes that, since not all people with a paraphilia have difficulty controlling their behavior, the evaluating clinician must present additional evidence of volitional impairment instead of recommending commitment based on pedophilia alone.
Such attitudes could negatively impact child sexual abuse prevention by reducing pedophiles' mental stability and discouraging them from seeking help.
[122] According to sociologists Melanie-Angela Neuilly and Kristen Zgoba, social concern over pedophilia intensified greatly in the 1990s, coinciding with several sensational sex crimes (but a general decline in child sexual abuse rates).
[2]: viii Early research showed that there was a great deal of misunderstanding and unrealistic perceptions in the general public about child sexual abuse and pedophiles.
[9][24][125] Another common usage of pedophilia is to refer to the act of sexual abuse itself,[2]: vii rather than the medical meaning, which is a preference for prepubescents on the part of the older individual (see above for an explanation of the distinction).
[9] Falsely accusing someone in an online space of being a pedophile, either directly or by implication using related terminology,[127][128] is considered a serious matter in many legal system and has resulted in successful lawsuits for slander or/and defamation.
