Taking Pedophilia Seriously

This Article pushes lawmakers, courts, and scholars to reexamine the concept of pedophilia in favor of a more thoughtful and coherent approach. Legal scholarship lacks a thorough and reasoned analysis of pedophilia. Its failure to carefully consider how the law should conceptualize sexual attraction to children undermines efforts to address the myriad of criminal, public health, and other legal concerns pedophilia raises. The result is an inconsistent mix of laws and policies based on dubious presumptions. These laws also increase risk of sexual abuse by isolating people living with pedophilia from treatment. The Article makes two central arguments: (1) although pedophilia does not fit neatly into any existing legal rubric, the concept of mental disorder best addresses the issues pedophilia raises; and (2) if the law conceptualizes pedophilia as a mental disorder, we must carefully reconsider how several areas of law address it. Specifically, it argues that sexually violent predator statutes expand state power to civilly commit individuals by distorting the concept of pedophilia as a mental disorder. At the same time, anti-discrimination law is dismissive of pedophilia as a mental disorder, excluding it from civil rights protections ordinarily associated with mental illness. Closer examination of these distinctions reveals them to be based on questionable premises. The law should take pedophilia seriously as a mental disorder. Many individuals living with pedophilia pose a danger to others. Yet we should not categorically deny pedophilia the civil rights protections afforded to other mental disorders without a convincing normative justification supported by cogent scientific evidence. Strengthening civil rights protections for those with pedophilia also increases access to treatment and support that helps prevent child abuse

A case report of pedophilia symptoms in a patient with bipolar disorder

Background: Pedophilia is a paraphilia subtype and it is rarely reported as hypersexuality manifestation in bipolar patients. Various studies have evaluated the co-occurrence of paraphilia disorders with bipolar disorders. Since the prognosis and treatment of pedophilia as a disorder and pedophilia as just a sign are completely different, the present case report is of particular importance. Case Report: The reported case was a 45-year-old man with pedophilia referred to the psychiatric center. The examination revealed that the patient was suffering from the bipolar disorder. In mania phases, he developed pedophilia behaviors and such behaviors were completely resolved with the control of the bipolar disorder through drug therapy. Conclusion: Pedophilia can be a symptom associated with mood disorders; therefore, it is important to be considered in the prognosis and treatment of such form of pedophilia

Master of Science

thesisSexologists continue to lack understanding about a fundamental aspect of pedophilia: do men with pedophilia represent a unique group distinguished by their sexual interests, or are they high-scorers on a continuum of sexual interest in children? No existing evidence points conclusively to pedophilia having either a categorical or continuous latent structure, but each possibility has different implications for our understanding of the etiology of the disorder, which populations are appropriate for pedophilia research, and treatment development. This central question about the construct of pedophilia may be aided by taxometrics, the statistical procedures that provide evidence for whether particular disorders are categorical or continuous. The present research utilized three taxometric procedures to analyze the latent structure of pedophilia in a sample of 371 convicted child sex offenders who completed the Multiphasic Sex Inventory (MSI), a self-report measure designed specifically to assess sex offenders. Results across the three procedures converged to indicate that pedophilia (as measured by the MSI) is dimensional. Theoretical and clinical implications of such findings are discussed

Explanations of pedophilia: Review of empirical research

This article reviews empirical research to discover what support exists for theories that attempt to explain why adults become sexually interested in and involved with immature children. These theories are first organized into four basic categories: emotional congruence-why the adult congruence - why an emotional need to relate to a child; sexual arousl-why the adult could become sexually aroused by a child; blockage - why alternative sources of sexual and emotional gratification are not available; or disinhibition - why the adult is not deterred from such an interest by normal prohibitions. The review shows that the best experimental research has been directed toward establishing that pedophiles do not show an unusual pattern of sexual arousal toward children, although no good evidence yet exists about why this is so; a number of studies have concurred that pedophiles are blocked in their social and heterosexual relationships; the use of alcohol is well established as a disinhibiting factor that plays a role in a great many pedophile offenses; at least one study gives support to the \u27emotional congruence\u27 idea that children, because of their lack of dominance, have some special meaning for pedophiles; and there is evidence that many pedophiles were themselves victims of pedophile behavior when they were children. The article also demonstrates that pedophilia research is, in general, characterized by some serious theoretical and methodological flaws. As a result, caution should be exercised in generalizing findings until more careful research is undertaken

Offending and non-offending people with pedophilia: executive dysfunctions and structural brain anomalies - a narrative review

This thesis examines the differences between offending and non-offending people with pedophilia in executive functions and brain structures. Pedophilia is a highly stigmatized psychiatric disorder. Offending people with pedophilia are individuals who are diagnosed with the disorder or experience pedophilic interests and have committed sexual abuse against prepubescent children. Non-offending people with pedophilia consist of a subgroup of people sexually attracted to children who have never acted on their attraction or accessed pedopornographic material. Non-offending people with pedophilia are an underrepresented group in research. The thesis aims to investigate whether offending and non-offending people with pedophilia can be discerned by distinct neuropsychological profiles, altered cognitive functions, and brain structures. Incorporating information from available literature, this study supports the hypothesis that pedophilia per se is not characterized by specific impairments, but rather that offending and non-offending people with pedophilia have neuropsychological and morphological differences that distinguish them and reflect their modus operandi. Additionally, this piece of information represents an important tool when developing intervention and prevention projects.This thesis examines the differences between offending and non-offending people with pedophilia in executive functions and brain structures. Pedophilia is a highly stigmatized psychiatric disorder. Offending people with pedophilia are individuals who are diagnosed with the disorder or experience pedophilic interests and have committed sexual abuse against prepubescent children. Non-offending people with pedophilia consist of a subgroup of people sexually attracted to children who have never acted on their attraction or accessed pedopornographic material. Non-offending people with pedophilia are an underrepresented group in research. The thesis aims to investigate whether offending and non-offending people with pedophilia can be discerned by distinct neuropsychological profiles, altered cognitive functions, and brain structures. Incorporating information from available literature, this study supports the hypothesis that pedophilia per se is not characterized by specific impairments, but rather that offending and non-offending people with pedophilia have neuropsychological and morphological differences that distinguish them and reflect their modus operandi. Additionally, this piece of information represents an important tool when developing intervention and prevention projects