HIV Insight: Being Sexually Attracted to Minors: Sexual Development, Coping with Forbidden Feelings & Relieving Sexual Arousal in Self-Identified Pedophiles

This article aims to provide more insight into pedophilic attraction and risk and protective factors for offending in nonclinical pedophiles. Fifteen participants were interviewed about sexuality, coping, and sexual self-regulation.

Many participants struggled with acknowledging pedophilic interest in early puberty and experienced psychological difficulties as a result. Furthermore, many committed sex offenses during adolescence when they were still discovering their feelings.

Early recognition of risk factors and early start of interventions seem vital in preventing offending. Moreover, results suggest that risk for offending can be diminished by creating more openness about pedophilia and by providing pedophiles with social support and control...

Background Characteristics

Nine participants were highly educated (i.e., had either a bachelor's or master's degree), two received intermediate vocational education, two only finished high school, and two had less than a high school education. Three were married or in a relationship at the time of the interviews, and two were divorced. Five participants had never been involved in a serious adult relationship. Three participants reported having children.

Two of the 15 participants could better be described as having hebephilic feelings. Aside from the distinction between being attracted to prepubescent or pubescent children, there was still large variation in preferred sexual age orientation between participants. For example, some participants with an interest in prepubescent minors acknowledged being sexually attracted to children from 5 years old, whereas others preferred minors who were in the transition to puberty. Furthermore, not all participants had an exclusive sexual interest in children; nine were also attracted to adult males and/or adult females. Finally, eight participants were solely attracted to boys, three to girls, and four were attracted to both sexes.

Seven participants had experienced mental health problems. They were often troubled with feelings of anxiety, depression, and inferiority. For three participants, mental health issues started after the age of 16. The remaining four had already experienced mental health issues early in life.

Sexual Development

Onset of Pedophilic Feelings

Eleven participants described becoming aware of their sexual attraction to minors as a gradual process. Their sexual development started relatively “normal” at early puberty, when they were still interested in their same-aged peers. However, as they became older, most (11) recognized becoming different from others because their sexual age preference remained stable. Others (four) became aware of their sexual attraction quite suddenly, for example during contact with minors either in real life or by seeing a picture. Since that moment, all except one (see section Coping with Forbidden Feelings) had felt the presence of this sexual attraction during their lives, indicating a stable sexual preference.

Content of Sexual Interest

Ten participants acknowledged that their attraction to minors was not solely sexual, but that romantic feelings were also present. They reported falling in love with a child, and/or had fantasies about having a real romantic relationship with a minor. Also, when asked what they found particularly attractive in minors, eight acknowledged that it was a combination of both physical characteristics, such as “their beauty” or “bodily shapes,” and behavior, such as “openness,” “spontaneity,” “honesty,” or “naïveté,” whereas only four referred solely to children's appearances...

Full article at: http://goo.gl/MDgvv1

By: Houtepen JA1, Sijtsema JJ1, Bogaerts S1.