PEDOPHILIA AND INCEST

A Research Presented to

The College of Arts and Sciences

Batangas State University

Lipa City, Batangas

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Course

Abnormal Psychology

By:

Larci, Dan Humphrey Anthony H.

May 2019
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS PAGE

I. BACKGROUND 2

II. CRITERIA 5

III. CAUSES

a. Biological 6

b. Psychological 7

IV. SYMPTOMS 8

V. RELATED STUDIES 10

VI. REFERENCES 11
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I. BACKGROUND

Pedophilia is an ongoing sexual attraction to pre-pubertal children. It is

considered a paraphilia, a condition in which a person's sexual arousal and

gratification depend on fantasizing about and engaging in sexual behavior that is

atypical and extreme.

Pedophilia is defined as recurrent and intense sexually arousing fantasies,

sexual urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or

children—generally age 13 years or younger—over a period of at least six months.

Pedophiles are more often men and can be attracted to either or both sexes. How well

they relate to adults of the same or opposite sex varies.

Pedophilic disorder can be diagnosed in people who are willing to disclose this

paraphilia, as well as in people who deny any sexual attraction to children but

demonstrate objective evidence of pedophilia.

The prevalence of pedophilic disorder is unknown, but the highest possible

prevalence in the male population is theorized to be approximately three to

five percent. The prevalence in the female population is thought to be a small fraction

of the prevalence in males.

An estimated 20 percent of American children have been sexually molested,

making pedophilia a common paraphilia. Offenders are usually family friends or

relatives. Types of activities vary and may include just looking at a child or
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undressing and touching a child. However, acts often involve oral sex or touching of

genitals of the child or the offender. Studies suggest that children who feel uncared

for or lonely may be at higher risk for sexual abuse.

Incest is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives.

This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood

relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption,

clan, or lineage.

Incest between an adult and a person under the age of consent is considered a

form of child sexual abuse that has been shown to be one of the most extreme forms

of childhood abuse; it often results in serious and long-term psychological trauma,

especially in the case of parental incest. Its prevalence is difficult to generalize, but

research has estimated 10–15% of the general population as having at least one such

sexual contact, with less than 2% involving intercourse or attempted intercourse.

Among women, research has yielded estimates as high as 20%.

Father–daughter incest was for many years the most commonly reported and

studied form of incest. More recently, studies have suggested that sibling incest,

particularly older brothers having sexual relations with younger siblings, is the most

common form of incest, with some studies finding sibling incest occurring more

frequently than other forms of incest. Some studies suggest that adolescent

perpetrators of sibling abuse choose younger victims, abuse victims over a lengthier

period, use violence more frequently and severely than adult perpetrators, and that
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sibling abuse has a higher rate of penetrative acts than father or stepfather incest, with

father and older brother incest resulting in greater reported distress than stepfather

incest. (Herzog, 2012)

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II. CRITERIA

For the condition to be diagnosed, an individual must either act on their sexual

urges or experience significant distress or interpersonal difficulty as a result of their

urges or fantasies. Without these two criteria, a person may have a pedophilic sexual

orientation but not pedophilic disorder.

1. Recurrent, intense sexual fantasies, urges, or behaviors involving sexual

activity with a prepubescent child (generally age 13 years or younger) for a

period of at least 6 months.

2. These sexual urges have been acted on or have caused significant distress or

impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

3. The person is at least 16 years old, and at least 5 years older than the child in

the first category. However, this does not include an individual in

late adolescence involved in an ongoing sexual relationship with a 12- or 13-

year-old.
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III. CAUSES

a. Biological

The causes of pedophilia (and other paraphilias) are not known. There is

some evidence that pedophilia may run in families, though it is unclear whether

this stems from genetics or learned behavior.

Physiological models are investigating the potential relationship

between hormones and behavior, particularly the role of aggression and male

sexual hormones. Pedophiles have been shown to be shorter on average and are

more likely to be left-handed, as well as to have lower IQs than the general

population. Brain scans indicate that they have less white matter—the connective

circuitry in the brain—and at least one study has shown they are more likely to

have suffered childhood head injuries than non-pedophiles. (Tenbergen et. al.

2010)

Individuals may become aware of their sexual interest in children around

the time of puberty. Pedophilia may be a lifelong condition, but pedophilic

disorder includes elements that can change over time, including distress,

psychosocial impairment, and an individual's tendency to act on urges.

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b. Psychological

A history of childhood sexual abuse is another potential factor in the

development of pedophilias, although this has not been proven. Behavioral

learning models suggest that a child who is the victim or observer of inappropriate

sexual behaviors may become conditioned to imitate these same behaviors. These

individuals, deprived of normal social and sexual contacts, may seek gratification

through less socially acceptable means. (Bleyer, 2015)

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IV. TREATMENT

While treatment may help pedophiles resist acting on their attraction to

children, many do not seek clinical help because of the risk of legal consequences due

to mandatory reporting laws for licensed professionals, including therapists.

For people with pedophilic disorder who do seek help, research suggests

that cognitive-behavioral treatment models may be effective. Such models may

include aversive conditioning, confrontation of cognitive distortions, building

victim empathy (such as by showing videos of consequences to

victims), assertiveness training (social skills training, time management, structure),

relapse prevention (identifying antecedents to the behavior [high-risk situations] and

how to disrupt antecedents), surveillance systems (family associates who help monitor

patient behavior), and lifelong maintenance.

Medications may be used in conjunction with psychotherapy to treat pedophilic

disorder. Such medications include medroxyprogesterone acetate (Provera) and

leuprolide acetate (Lupron), antiandrogens to lower sex drive. Intensity of sex drive is

not consistently related to the behavior of paraphiliacs and high levels of

circulating testosterone do not predispose a male to paraphilias. Hormones such as

medroxyprogesterone acetate and cyproterone acetate decrease the level of circulating

testosterone, potentially reducing sex drive and aggression. These hormones, typically

used in tandem with behavioral and cognitive treatments, may reduce the frequency of

erections, sexual fantasies, and initiation of sexual behaviors,

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including masturbation and intercourse. Antidepressants such as fluoxetine have also

been found to decrease sex drive but have not effectively targeted sexual fantasies.

Cognitive therapies include restructuring cognitive distortions and empathy

training. Restructuring cognitive distortions involves correcting a pedophile's thoughts

that the child wishes to be involved in the activity. Empathy training involves helping

the offender take on the perspective of the victim, identify with the victim, and

understand the harm they are inflicting. Positive conditioning approaches center on

social skills training and alternative, more appropriate behaviors. Reconditioning, for

example, involves giving the patient immediate feedback, which may help him

change his behavior.

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V. RELATED STUDIES

Apart from some general issues related to the Gender Identity Disorder (GID)

diagnosis, such as whether it should stay in the DSM-V or not, a number of problems

specifically relate to the current criteria of the GID diagnosis for adolescents and

adults. These problems concern the confusion caused by similarities and differences

of the terms transsexualism and GID, the inability of the current criteria to capture the

whole spectrum of gender variance phenomena, the potential risk of unnecessary

physically invasive examinations to rule out intersex conditions (disorders of sex

development), the necessity of the D criterion (distress and impairment), and the fact

that the diagnosis still applies to those who already had hormonal and surgical

treatment. If the diagnosis should not be deleted from the DSM, most of the criticism

could be addressed in the DSM-V if the diagnosis would be renamed, the criteria

would be adjusted in wording, and made more stringent. However, this would imply

that the diagnosis would still be dichotomous and similar to earlier DSM versions.

Another option is to follow a more dimensional approach, allowing for different

degrees of gender dysphoria depending on the number of indicators. Considering the

strong resistance against sexuality related specifiers, and the relative difficulty

assessing sexual orientation in individuals pursuing hormonal and surgical

interventions to change physical sex characteristics, it should be investigated whether

other potentially relevant specifiers (e.g., onset age) are more appropriate. (Cohen-

Kettenis et al. 2010)

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VI. REFERENCES

A. BOOKS

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,

Fifth Edition.

B. JOURNALS

Cohen-Kettenis PT, Pfäfflin F. (2010) The DSM diagnostic criteria for gender identity

disorder in adolescents and adults. Arch Sex Behav.(39(2)) 499-513. doi:

10.1007/s10508-009-9562-y.

Tenbergen G., et. al. (2015) The Neurobiology and psychology of pedophilia: recent

advances and challenges. Frontiers in human neuroscience.(9) 344. Doi:

10.3389/fnhum.2015.00344

C. WEBSITE

Bleyer, J. (2015) Sympathy for the Deviant. Psychology Today. Retrieved May 2019

from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201511/sympathy-the-deviant

Herzog, H. (2012) The Problem With Incest Psychology Today. Retrieved May 2019

from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/animals-and-us/201210/the-problem-

incest