Pedophilia has been defined differently in several research studies and diagnostic manuals. The most common diagnostic features include a sexual interest in prepubescent children as evidenced by self-reported thoughts, fantasies, urges, or sexual arousal; sexual behavior with prepubescent children; or a combination of these features. These diagnostic features allow for one to be classified as a pedophile based on interest alone, irrespective of any sexual activity with a child or children. There is also a subset of sexual offenders who have sexually offended against a child, but would not be appropriately classified as pedophilic. Thus, some pedophiles are not sexual offenders, and not all sexual offenders are pedophiles.
Information about pedophilia is limited due to diagnostic and definitional differences in the research. Typically, research has employed self-report surveys by university undergraduates or convicted sexual offenders. Research on university students indicates that both males and females self-report sexual interest in children (reports range from 3% to 10%) though males are incarcerated for sexual offenses against children at a much higher rate than females (over 90% of pedophiles reported in the literature are male).
Researchers have also reported that of the 4% of college-age women who had reported having sexual contact with a minor (defined as at least 5 years younger than them), 18% reported having a sexual attraction or sexual fantasies about children. Most recent estimates place the upper-bound prevalence estimate of 5% of males having a sexual interest in children, with even fewer qualifying for a diagnosis.
Psychopathology
Pedophilic males have been found to be different from nonpedophilic men in several domains. Pedophilic men often have comorbid concerns such as anxiety, depression, personality disorders, paraphilia, or a combination of all of these concerns.
Pedophilia does not appear to be an exclusively learned or conditioned response. Although several pedophilic offenders report having been sexually abused as children at a higher rate than nonpedophilic offenders, the majority of people who were sexually assaulted or abused as children do not go on to sexually offend as adults.
Neurodevelopmental data suggest that physiology and neuroanatomy may play a part in the etiology of pedophilia. In a recent meta-analysis, sex offenders typically had lower IQ scores than their non– sex-offending counterparts, and sex offenders who offended against children had lower scores than sex offenders with adult victims. Researchers have also reported brain structure as well as white matter differences in pedophilic men in comparison to nonpedophilic men. Structural neuroimaging, head injury history, and cognitive ability together are indicative of a neurodevelopmental process; however, the causal relationships between these variables and pedophilia are unclear.
Theory
A current theory in the etiology of pedophilia likens pedophilia to heterosexuality, bisexuality, and homosexuality. In this line of theory, as one develops one’s sexual identity, the sexual interest develops along two continua: biological sex and age. Notably, these continua are not exclusive, in that many pedophiles are married and have concurrent sexual interest in their spouse while maintaining a sexual interest in children. The intensity of the interest and preference in children may vary somewhat, though current theory suggests that pedophilic interests are relatively stable over the lifetime.
Alternatively, some have argued that sexual interest differences represent different groups entirely, that those who develop an interest in infants are etiologically different from those with a preference for prepubescent children, pubescent children, adults, or the elderly. The field is lacking clear data on the developmental and taxonomic nature of pedophilia.
Assessment
In addition to self-report, researchers and clinicians have developed several methods of assessing adults’ level of sexual interest in or arousal to children. One of the most common and controversial methods is the assessment of penile tumescence via penile plethysmography while the participant or sex offender is shown slides of clothed or nude children or presented audio-recorded stories involving sexual events involving children, with some assessments involving auditory and visual stimuli. Current standards of ethical practice prohibit the use of actual children and instead use computer-generated images. Viewing time has also been used to infer the person’s level of interest in the presented visual stimuli; the more time spent viewing the stimulus, the more inferred interest. Researchers have also developed card sorts and scales to identify sexual preference, and in combination with other data (e.g., penile plethysmography), the card sorts and scales have proven to be clinically useful. Lastly, behavioral data can be used to assess pedophilic interests and behaviors; arrests, convictions, and possession of child pornography can all be used to infer sexual interest in children.
Treatment
There are limited data indicating that providing sexual offender specific treatments leads to a reduction in later recidivism; however, a recent and wellcontrolled study indicated that no statistically significant differences were found in groups of treated and untreated sexual offenders.
Efforts at modifying pedophilic sexual interest have found limited success. The successes reported appear to be as durable so far as the treatment and intervention efforts are maintained. Taken together, there does not appear to be an effective and efficient manner for treating pedophilia. Researchers in the area have reported successful efforts in the prevention of child victimization and the management of risk in pedophiles.
Risk Assessment
Several measures have been designed to actuarially assess a convicted sexual offender’s level of sexual re-offense risk. These measures have been shown to have predictive accuracy, though to date there is not a measure designed for the pedophilic offender exclusively. Several of the more popular measures include ratings for variables more frequently found in pedophilic offenses, such as the victim’s age, the victim’s biological sex, and indications of deviant sexual arousal.
Taken together, the current data on pedophilia indicate that researchers generally know what it is, though they do not know where it comes from, why some people have it and some do not, and how to treat it. There appears to be some consensus that pedophilia is likely to remain a challenging problem for psychologists, mental health service providers, legislators and policymakers, and the victims of those who act upon pedophilic interests and urges. Future research is needed to better understand the developmental etiology of pedophilia, research which may in turn lead to alternative avenues for intervention and risk management.
Bibliography:
- Camilleri, J. A., & Quinsey, V. L. (2008). Pedophilia: Assessment and treatment. In D. R. Laws & W. O’Donohue (Eds.), Sexual deviance: Theory, assessment and treatment (2nd ed., chap. 11). New York: Guilford Press.
- Quinsey, V. L. (2003). The etiology of anomalous sexual preferences in men. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 989, 105–117.
- Quinsey, V. L., & Lalumiere, M. L. (2001). Assessment of sexual offenders against children (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Seto, M. C. (2007). Understanding pedophilia and sexual offending against children: Theory, assessment, and intervention. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
- Seto, M. C. (2008). Pedophilia: Psychopathology and theory. In D. R. Laws & W. O’Donohue (Eds.), Sexual deviance: Theory, assessment and treatment (2nd ed., chap. 10). New York: Guilford Press.
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