Abstract
Abstract. There is an emerging consensus among researchers that having pedophilic interests is not synonymous with child sexual abuse or other amoral behavior. Nevertheless, misconceptions about pedophilia are highly prevalent among the general public and mental health practitioners. This article provides an overview of recent findings on the stigma of pedophilia and derives guidelines for mental health practitioners based on these results. We argue that stigmatization of people with pedophilic sexual interests has undesired indirect effects on risk factors for child sexual abuse, particularly on an emotional and social level. Also, fear of being rejected or treated unethically may prevent pedophilic individuals at risk for sexual offending from confiding in medical practitioners or psychotherapists. Psychologists working with pedophilic individuals in forensic or clinical settings should be aware that stigmatizing people with pedophilia may increase their risk of sexual offending, and provide help to deal with potential stigma-related repercussions.
References
2011). Comorbid mental disorders in incarcerated paedophil. Sexual Offender Treatment, 6, 1–13.Retrieved from http://www.sexual-offender-treatment.org/100.html
(2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
. (2017). Psychotherapy for the MAP. Retrieved from http://www.b4uact.org/gallery-2-columns-filter/psychotherapy-for-the-map/
. (2016). An Internet study of men sexually attracted to children: Correlates of sexual offending against children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 125, 989–1000. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000213
(2016). Paraphilic sexual interests and sexually coercive behavior: A population-based twin study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45, 1163–1172. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0674-2
(2016).
(Proactive strategies to prevent child sexual abuse and the use of child abuse images: Experiences from the German Dunkelfeld Project . In H. KuryS. RedoE. SheaEds., Women and children as victims and offenders: Background, prevention, reintegration (pp. 499–524). Zurich, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28424-8_192015). The German Dunkelfeld Project: A pilot study to prevent child sexual abuse and the use of child abusive images. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 12, 529–542. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsm.12785
(2014). Pedophilia and DSM-5: The importance of clearly defining the nature of a pedophilic disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, 42, 404–407.
(2012). BDSM disclosure and stigma management: Identifying opportunities for sex education. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 7, 37–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/15546128.2012.650984
(2014).
(“Gold-star” pedophiles in general sex therapy practice . In Y. M. BinikK. S. HallEds., Principles and practice of sex therapy (5th ed., pp. 219–234). New York, NY: Guilford Publications.2016). Non-offending pedophiles. Current Sexual Health Reports, 8, 121–128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930–016-0076-z
(2017). Comparison of self-identified minor-attracted persons who have and have not successfully refrained from sexual activity with children. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2017.1377129
(2016). How common is men’s self-reported sexual interest in prepubescent children? The Journal of Sex Research, 53, 214–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2015.1020108
(2008). Child molester or paedophile? Sociolegal versus psychopathological classification of sexual offenders against children. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 14, 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600802133860
(2007). Dimensions of mental illness stigma: What about mental illness causes social rejection? Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 26, 137–154. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2007.26.2.137
(2013, October 29). Navigating the stigma of pedophilia: The experiences of nine minor-attracted men in Canada. (Thesis). Arts & Social Sciences: Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Retrieved from http://summit.sfu.ca/item/13798
(2012). Emotions in sexual morality: Testing the separate elicitors of anger and disgust. Cognition and Emotion, 26, 1208–1222. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2011.645278
(1963). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
(1967). Stigma: Über Techniken der Bewältigung beschädigter Identität
([Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity] . Frankfurt, Germany: Suhrkamp.2009). Understanding and addressing adult sexual attraction to children: A study of paedophiles in contemporary society. New York, NY: Routledge.
(2016). Stability of self-reported arousal to sexual fantasies involving children in a clinical sample of pedophiles and hebephiles. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45, 1153–1162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0729-z
(2016). Reducing stigma and punitive attitudes toward pedophiles through narrative humanization. Sexual Abuse. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063216681561
(2015). The emotional representation of sexual crime in the national British press. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 34, 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X14544474
(2010, July). Pessimism about pedophilia. Retrieved January 1, 2017, from http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/pessimism-about-pedophilia
. (2013). Stigma as a fundamental cause of population health inequalities. American Journal of Public Health, 103, 813–821. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2012.301069
(2009). Therapy experiences of clients with BDSM sexualities: Listening to a stigmatized sexuality. The Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality, 12, 30–35.
(2010). Considering the pedophile subculture online. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 22, 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063209344979
(2015). Being sexually attracted to minors: Sexual development, coping with forbidden feelings, and relieving sexual arousal in self-identified pedophiles. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 42, 48–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2015.1061077
(2015). Punitive attitudes against pedophiles or persons with sexual interest in children: Does the label matter? Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44, 35–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0439-3
(2018). Determinants of punitive attitudes towards people with pedophilia: Dissecting effects of the label and intentionality ascriptions. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47, 353–361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508–017-1048–8
(2018). Emotions and cognitions associated with the stigma of nonoffending pedophilia: A vignette experiment. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47, 363–373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508–017-1073–7
(2013). Stigmatization of people with pedophilia: A blind spot in stigma research. International Journal of Sexual Health, 25, 169–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2013.795921
(2015). Stigmatization of people with pedophilia: Two comparative surveys. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44, 21–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0312-4
(2015). Stigmatizing attitudes towards people with pedophilia and their malleability among psychotherapists in training. Child Abuse & Neglect, 40, 93–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.07.008
(2015). Stigma-related stress and its correlates among men with pedophilic sexual interests. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44, 2173–2187. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0503-7
(2017). What if the child appears to enjoy it? Moral attitudes toward adult-child sex among men with and without pedohebephilia. The Journal of Sex Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2016.1271101
(2002).
(The ultimate neighbour from hell? Stranger danger and the media framing of “paedophilia” . In R. FranklinEd., Social policy, the media and misrepresentation (pp. 207–221). London, UK: Psychology Press.2006). Investigating bias in psychotherapy with BDSM clients. Journal of Homosexuality, 50, 301–324. https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v50n02_15
(2016). Stigmatisierung von Menschen mit sexuellem Interesse an Kindern unter Sexualtherapeuten in Russland
([Stigmatization of people with a sexual interest in children among sex therapists in Russia] . Zeitschrift für Sexualforschung, 29, 131–146. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-1077352016). Adults with pedophilic interests in the United States: Current practices and suggestions for future policy and research. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0822-3
(2004). Mental disorders in a forensic sample of sexual offenders. European Psychiatry, 19, 123–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2003.08.001
(2006). Stigma and its public health implications. The Lancet, 367, 528–529. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68184-1
(2010). Assessing risk for sexual recidivism: Some proposals on the nature of psychologically meaningful risk factors. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 22, 191–217. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063210366039
(1997). Self-esteem and its relationship to sexual offending. Psychology, Crime & Law, 3, 161–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/10683169708410811
(2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 674–697. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674
(2002). A survey of clinical psychologists on treating lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 33, 183–189. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.33.2.183
(2010). Internalized homophobia and internalizing mental health problems: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 1019–1029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.07.003
(2007).
(Therapy with sexual minorities: Queering practice . In Y. M. BinikK. S. HallEds., Principles and practice of sex therapy (pp. 379–415). New York, NY: Guilford Press.1977). Effects of the mental illness label in attempts to obtain accommodation. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 9, 85–90. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0081623
(1999). Psychiatric comorbidity in pedophilic sex offenders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 786–788. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.156.5.786
(2005). Mental illness stigma: Concepts, consequences, and initiatives to reduce stigma. European Psychiatry, 20, 529–539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2005.04.004
(2007). Pedophilia and sexual offending against children: Theory, assessment, and intervention (1st ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
(2012). Is pedophilia a sexual orientation? Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 231–236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-011-9882-6
(2010). The availability of outpatient psychotherapy for paedophiles in Germany. Recht & Psychiatrie, 28, 74–80.
(2008). Stigma and discrimination limit access to mental health care. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 17, 14–19. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1121189X00002621
(2016). Pädophile Neigungen offenbaren: Stigma-Management bei Patienten aus dem Berliner Präventionsprojekt Dunkelfeld
([Disclosing pedophilic interests: Stigma management among patients from the Berlin prevention project Dunkelfeld] . Zeitschrift für Sexualforschung, 29, 106–130. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-1080002008). Risk factors for the perpetration of child sexual abuse: A review and meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32, 529–548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.08.005
(