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The Puzzle of Male Chronophilias

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Michael C Seto at University of Ottawa
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In this article, I return to the idea that pedophilia, a sexual interest in prepubescent children, can be considered a sexual orientation for age, in conjunction with the much more widely acknowledged and discussed sexual orientation for gender. Here, I broaden the scope to consider other chronophilias, referring to paraphilias for age/maturity categories other than young sexually mature adults. The puzzle of chronophilias includes questions about etiology and course, how chronophilias are related to each other, and what they can tell us about how human (male) sexuality is organized. In this article, I briefly review research on nepiophilia (infant/toddlers), pedophilia (prepubescent children), hebephilia (pubescent children), ephebophilia (postpubescent, sexually maturing adolescents), teleiophilia (young sexually mature adults, typically 20s and 30s), mesophilia (middle-aged adults, typically 40s and 50s), and gerontophilia (elderly adults, typically 60s and older) in the context of a multidimensional sexual orientations framework. Relevant research, limitations, and testable hypotheses for future work are identified.
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TARGET ARTICLE
The Puzzle of Male Chronophilias
Michael C. Seto
1
Received: 16 December 2015 / Revised: 15 June 2016 / Accepted: 22 June 2016 / Published online: 22 August 2016
Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract In this article, I return to the idea that pedophilia, a
sexual interest in prepubescent children, can be considered a
sexual orientation for age, in conjunction with the much more
widely acknowledged and discussed sexual orientation for gen-
der. Here, I broaden the scope to consider other chronophilias,
referring to paraphilias for age/maturity categories other than
young sexually mature adults. The puzzle of chronophilias
includes questions about etiology and course, how chronophilias
are related to each other, and what they can tell us about how
human (male) sexuality is organized. In this article, I briefly review
research on nepiophilia (infant/toddlers), pedophilia (prepubescent
children), hebephilia (pubescent children), ephebophilia (post-
pubescent, sexually maturing adolescents), teleiophilia (young
sexually mature adults, typically 20s and 30s), mesophilia (mid-
dle-aged adults, typically 40s and 50s), and gerontophilia (elderly
adults, typically 60s and older) in the context of a multidimen-
sional sexual orientations framework. Relevant research, limita-
tions, and testable hypotheses for future work are identified.
Keywords Age preferences Chronophilias Paraphilias
Sexual orientation
Introduction
Sexual orientation is usually used to refer to one’s attractions to
individuals of the opposite and/or same sex, or both. Indeed, the
American Psychological Association specifically defines sexual
orientation in this way (http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/
sexuality-definitions.pdf), which is also consistent with the
Oxford Dictionary definition of the term as well as common
usage (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/
sexual-orientation):
Sexual orientation refers to the sex of those to whom one is
sexually and romantically attracted. Categories of sexual ori-
entation typically have included attraction to members of
one’sownsex(gaymenorlesbians),attractiontomembers
of the other sex (heterosexuals), and attraction to members
of both sexes (bisexuals) (American Psychological Asso-
ciation, 2011).
In this article, I more broadly define sexual orientation as a
stable tendency to preferentially orient—in terms of attention,
interest, attraction, and genital arousal—to particular classes of
sexual stimuli (see also Chivers, 2015; Sell, 1997). If we accept
this broader definition, then we can imagine that individuals
actually have multiple sexual orientations rather than a single sex-
ual orientation, corresponding to their sexual preferences along a
variety of different dimensions, including age. This article focuses
on variation across age categories.
1
Money (1986) coined the term
chronophilia to refer to paraphilias (variations from teleiophilia,
the species-typical age orientation to sexually mature adults)
regarding different age (maturity) categories; thus, this article
focuses on thepuzzles posed by chronophilias, including ques-
tions about etiology and course, how chronophilias are related
to each other, and what they can reveal about the organization
of human sexuality.
2
&Michael C. Seto
michael.seto@theroyal.ca
1
Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, Ottawa, ON K1Z 7K4,
Canada
1
I use the term age throughout this article, but, as I discuss later, I am
actually referring to sexual and physical maturity stages. Age is a useful
but not perfect proxy for maturity stage.
2
I am interested in both male and female sexuality, but so little is known
about variations in age preferences among females that this review
necessarily focuses on male chronophilias.
123
Arch Sex Behav (2017) 46:3–22
DOI 10.1007/s10508-016-0799-y
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Whether a person acts on their sexual interests in harmful ways likely depends on many other factors, such as their beliefs about the appropriateness or harmfulness of specific sexual behaviors (offense-supportive cognitions). Paraphilic interests can be difficult to change (Cantor, 2018;Grundmann et al., 2016;Seto, 2017). In contrast, offense-supportive cognitions are relatively mutable, such that correcting offense-supportive cognitions in therapy may help people with sexual interests in violence or children refrain from sexually offending (Beech et al., 2013;Beier, 2021;Murphy, 1990;Thibaut et al., 2020). ...
... Eliminating violent or pedohebephilic interests is not a relevant treatment goal (Cantor, 2018;Grundmann et al., 2016;Seto, 2017); however, correcting offense-supportive cognitions is possible and is indeed a goal in therapy for both ICSO as well individuals with pedohebephilic or violent paraphilic interests (Beech et al., 2013;Beier, 2021;Murphy, 1990;Thibaut et al., 2020). Understanding how offense-supportive cognitions develop could improve these therapies by identifying specific antecedent developmental conditions that need to be addressed. ...
... Offense-supportive cognitions, childhood adversity, violent paraphilic interests, and pedohebephilic interests are all risk factors for sexual offending (Brouillette-Alarie & Proulx, 2019;Finkelhor, 1984;Marshall & Barbaree, 1990;Ó Ciardha & Ward, 2013;Ward & Siegert, 2002). Risk factors related to sexual preference are stable and difficult to correct (Cantor, 2018;Grundmann et al., 2016;Seto, 2017). However, offense-supportive cognitions can and should be addressed in therapy (Beech et al., 2013;Beier, 2021;Murphy, 1990;Thibaut et al., 2020). ...
Childhood Adversity and Offense-Supportive Cognitions Among Czech Adults with a Sexual Interest in Violence or Children
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2024
  • ARCH SEX BEHAV
Individuals with paraphilic interests in sexual violence or children may be more likely to sexually offend if they possess offense-supportive cognitions. These cognitions may develop in response to childhood adversity. However, this idea is largely based on research in men convicted of sexual offenses and may not generalize to non-incarcerated adults with paraphilic interests. In a sample of 178 adults screened for paraphilic interests in violence or children (from the general Czech population), we hypothesized that childhood sexual abuse and emotional neglect would be associated with offense-supportive cognitions about rape and child molestation. Participants came from a nationally representative sample of Czech adults and were selected if they self-reported high levels of sexual interest in violence and/or children. Participants completed an online survey with self-report measures of sexual orientation, offense-supportive cognitions (Bumby RAPE and MOLEST scales), and childhood sexual abuse and emotional neglect (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire). Controlling for gender, age, and sexual orientation, we found that both rape-supportive cognitions and child molestation-supportive cognitions were significantly associated with higher levels of childhood sexual abuse, but not emotional neglect. These findings indicate that childhood sexual abuse may lead to offense-supportive cognitions among men and women with paraphilia.
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... Ciertamente, algunos de estos modos de concebir la pedofilia favorecen su efecto atenuatorio de la responsabilidad penal, en tanto que la describen como un trastorno o una anomalía. No obstante, incluso de aceptarse esa conceptualización, cabría defender que tanto la capacidad cognitiva como la volitiva estarían conservadas: los sujetos con pedofilia, independientemente de cómo se conciba esta, son capaces no sólo de comprender que actuar de esa forma es ilícito, sino de controlar su conducta, ya que el descontrol de impulsos no es un criterio diagnóstico del trastorno de pedofilia y la existencia de fantasías sexuales con menores no implica su ejecución (Jahnke, 2018;Seto, 2017Seto, , 2018. Sin embargo, varias sentencias españolas sobre DSCM han fundado en diagnósticos de pedofilia decisiones de atenuación de la responsabilidad penal. ...
... Es posible que la concepción errónea de la pedofilia se deba a la expresión "deseos sexuales irrefrenables" del criterio A del DSM-5, que podría sugerir una dificultad del control del impulso sexual que afectaría a la capacidad volitiva. Sin embargo, la impulsividad no es un criterio diagnóstico del trastorno y tener ciertas fantasías sexuales no implica que se lleven a cabo (Jahnke, 2018;Seto, 2017Seto, , 2018). Es cierto que estos sujetos no pueden evitar sentir atracción sexual hacia los menores, pero sí son capaces de controlar su conducta, por lo que su capacidad volitiva está conservada. ...
... Cronofilia: introducida porSeto (2017), se entiende como una atracción sexual estable hacia la fisionomía propia de un determinado estadio del desarrollo(Tanner, 1990, citado en Seto, 2017. La pedofilia sería la atracción por el estadio I (prepubescentes entre 3 y 10 años), no considerándose una anomalía psíquica. ...
¿Puede la pedofilia atenuar la responsabilidad penal en delitos sexuales contra menores?
Conference Paper
Full-text available
  • Mar 2024
La pedofilia es la atracción sexual e intensa hacia niños prepúberes, no siendo sinónimo de pederastia o de agresión sexual infantil, expresiones comúnmente confundidas con aquella. Su conceptualización clínica es objeto de debate, ya que puede entenderse como un trastorno parafílico, una cronofilia (atracción sexual hacia la edad) o un simple interés sexual atípico que ni siquiera debería aparecer en los manuales de diagnóstico clínico. Ahora bien, el diagnóstico de pedofilia cobra especial relevancia cuando se trata de valorar la imputabilidad de sujetos que han cometido un delito contra la libertad sexual de los menores, pues podría emplearse como argumento para justificar una alteración de las capacidades cognitivas o volitivas del individuo y, en consecuencia, obtener una modificación de su responsabilidad penal. En este trabajo se analizan 29 sentencias españolas en las que el diagnóstico de pedofilia se utiliza para apreciar una atenuante analógica o una eximente incompleta y se examinan los argumentos aducidos a tal efecto. Aunque se trata de una cuestión controvertida en la jurisprudencia, se pueden hallar diferencias según si la pedofilia se diagnostica o no con otro trastorno. La discrepancia judicial es particularmente aguda cuando se diagnostica sola, aunque hay sentencias que, pese a estimar que la capacidad cognitiva se conserva, identifican una perturbación de la capacidad volitiva que da lugar a la apreciación de una atenuante analógica. Si la pedofilia se diagnostica junto con otros trastornos, se suele entender que la perturbación afecta también a la capacidad cognitiva y ello determina la apreciación de una eximente incompleta (situación en la que el consenso judicial es mayor). El propósito de este trabajo es examinar las razones que motivaron tales decisiones judiciales y contrastarlas con la evidencia empírica más reciente.
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... La pedofilia puede entenderse como la atracción sexual e intensa hacia niños prepúberes (Seto, 2009(Seto, , 2011(Seto, , 2017(Seto, , 2018 o como un trastorno de los manuales de diagnóstico más empleados en psicología y psiquiatría: el Manual Diagnóstico y Estadístico de los Trastornos Mentales (DSM) o la Clasificación Internacional de Enfermedades (CIE). ...
... 3). Es inmutable y duradera y se establece antes de la edad adulta, durante la pubertad (Imhoff et al., 2017;Moser, 2016;Moser & Kleinplatz, 2020;Schmidt & Imhoff, 2021;Seto, 2011Seto, , 2017. Seto (2017) entiende que la orientación sexual puede dirigirse hacia diferentes dimensiones y que cada individuo tendrá una preferencia concreta en cada una de ellas. ...
... Seto (2017) entiende que la orientación sexual puede dirigirse hacia diferentes dimensiones y que cada individuo tendrá una preferencia concreta en cada una de ellas. Estas dimensiones serían la de género (la más conocida), edad, yo-otros (intereses sexuales dirigidos hacia fuera con otras personas o hacia dentro con un yo imaginado), vivo-no vivo, especie humana u otra (por ejemplo, zoofilia), y actividades (como exhibicionismo, voyeurismo o froteurismo) (Seto, 2017). En este contexto, toma especial importancia la consideración de la edad como una de las dimensiones de la orientación sexual, a la que se ha designado como cronofilia, pues lo controvertido de la pedofilia es que quienes la padecen sienten atracción hacia individuos menores de edad y, por tanto, sujetos de especial protección en el ámbito del derecho penal, sin capacidades atribuidas de prestar consentimiento o tomar según qué decisiones. ...
Análisis clínico del uso del diagnóstico de pedofilia en los delitos de abuso sexual infantil y corrupción de menores
Research
Full-text available
  • May 2023
La pedofilia es la atracción sexual e intensa hacia niños prepúberes, no siendo sinónimo de pederastia o abuso sexual infantil, comúnmente confundidos. A nivel clínico, se debate su conceptualización, pudiendo entenderse como un trastorno parafílico, una cronofilia (atracción sexual hacia la edad) o un simple interés sexual atípico que ni siquiera debería aparecer en los manuales de diagnóstico clínico. La pedofilia cobra especial relevancia cuando se trata de valorar la imputabilidad de los sujetos que han cometido un delito contra la indemnidad sexual de los menores, pues podría emplearse su diagnóstico como argumento para reducir la pena, por considerarse una anomalía psíquica capaz de alterar las facultades del sujeto en el momento de actuar. En este trabajo se realiza un análisis de 29 sentencias españolas (1995-2021) en las que el diagnóstico de pedofilia se utiliza como atenuante analógica o eximente incompleta. Se encuentran diferencias según si la pedofilia se diagnostica o no con otro trastorno. Cuando la pedofilia se diagnostica sola, la capacidad cognitiva se encuentra conservada, pero se contempla la alteración de la capacidad volitiva, actuando como atenuante analógica. Si se diagnostica con otros trastornos, la capacidad cognitiva puede verse alterada también y además actuar como eximente incompleta, habiendo más consenso en la jurisprudencia respecto a este caso. Se discute la validez de los resultados obtenidos desde el punto de vista psicológico clínico y se exponen propuestas del uso de la pedofilia en el ámbito clínico, pericial y jurisprudencial congruentes con un enfoque preventivo y no promotor del estigma.
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... Sexual orientation is defined as "an internal mechanism" that to varying degrees directs individuals' "sexual and romantic disposition" toward male or female individuals (LeVay & Baldwin, 2012, p. 623). Seto (2017) recently broadened the scope of sexual orientation, whereby human males preferentially orient themselves to specific classes of sexual stimuli, which are not only defined by target sex (i.e., male vs. female) but also target age 1 or level of sexual maturity. Hence, individuals may feel sexually attracted to children before puberty (pedophilia, ages 3 to 10) or in puberty (hebephilia, ages 11 to 14), adolescent minors (ephebophilia, ages 15 to 17), young adults after puberty between the ages of 18 and late 30s (teleiophilia), middle-age adults age 40 to late 50s (mesophilia), and older adults from age 60 upwards (gerontophilia). ...
... Hence, individuals may feel sexually attracted to children before puberty (pedophilia, ages 3 to 10) or in puberty (hebephilia, ages 11 to 14), adolescent minors (ephebophilia, ages 15 to 17), young adults after puberty between the ages of 18 and late 30s (teleiophilia), middle-age adults age 40 to late 50s (mesophilia), and older adults from age 60 upwards (gerontophilia). Seto (2017) points out, that "sexual age preference is technically not for age but for sexual maturity stage" (p. 7). Empirically, most adult humans sexually prefer mature adults (i.e., are teleiophilic) of the opposite sex (i.e., are heterosexual), which is directly related to reproductive success from an evolutionary psychological perspective. ...
... Future studies might extend the current research by asking how important the included characteristics are in a preferred long-term relationship. In addition, future studies might want to include qualities such as wisdom, maturity, and experience which Seto (2017) expected to be emphasized within mesophilic and gerontophilic individuals. ...
Physical and Psychological Child and Adult Sex Cues and Their Association with Sexual Age Preferences
Article
Full-text available
This study combined research on human mate preferences and attraction to physical and psychological features of children. Specifically, we used the Ideals Standards Model (ISM; Fletcher & Simpson, 2000; Fletcher et al., 1999) as a conceptual framework to investigate the sexual relevance of adult and child sex cues within the general population. A sample of 589 men (mean age 30.6 years, SD = 16.6) answered questions about their sexual age preferences as well as different child and adult sex cues. The sample showed the full gamut of sexual age preferences (i.e., ranging from prepubescent children to adults over sixty years of age). A principal component analysis revealed five dimensions of adult and child sex cues. Sexual interest in children was positively related to the two dimensions of attraction to neotenous innocence and attraction to neotenous physical appearance while being negatively related to the factor of agency. In contrast, sexual interest in adults was indicated by the dimension of vitality. The fifth dimension of warmth-truthfulness was neither related to sexual interest in children nor sexual interest in adults. We argue that attraction to neotenous innocence and attraction to neotenous physical appearance can be used as an indicator of sexual interest in children. Moreover, we discuss how our results fit in with theoretical notions from the ISM.
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... An dieser Stelle soll kurz auf relevante Begrifflichkeiten eingegangen werden. Nach aktuellem Wissensstand lässt sich die Pädophilie als eine nach ihrer Ausbildung unveränderliche sexuelle Orientierung verstehen (Cantor 2018;Seto 2012Seto , 2017. Dies ist vor allem für jene Betroffenen, die einen verantwortungsvollen Umgang damit anstreben und sexuellen Kontakt mit Kindern ausschließen, mit erheblichem psychischem Leiden assoziiert (Seto 2012). ...
... Aufgrund der deutlicheren Geschlechterunterschiede zwischen den primären und sekundären Körpermerkmalen (bspw. Körperbehaarung oder Brustwachstum) der Stimuli legen teleiophile Menschen häufig mehr Wert auf die Unterscheidung des Geschlechts (Seto 2012(Seto , 2017. Hinsichtlich des präferierten Alters eines sexuell attraktiven Stimulus kann zudem unterschieden werden zwischen exklusiv (auf eine Alterskategorie festgelegt) und nicht-exklusiv (Altersstimulus kann als Gradient verstanden werden; Seto 2017; Seto et al. 1999). ...
Berichtete Konsequenzen des Verbots von Sexpuppen mit kindlichem Erscheinungsbild: Eine Inhaltsanalyse von Betroffenenaussagen
Article
  • Apr 2024
Zusammenfassung Einleitung Eine Verschärfung des Strafgesetzbuches im Juli 2021 hat den Handel mit und Besitz von Sexpuppen mit kindlichem Erscheinungsbild in Deutschland unter Strafe gestellt. Neben moralischen Gründen steht die Befürchtung im Raum, dass sexuelle Handlungen mit Kindern durch das Angebot jener Puppen normalisiert oder sogar eingeübt werden könnten, was zu vermehrter sexualisierter Gewalt an Kindern führen könnte. Empirische Daten für diese Annahme fehlen. Forschungsziele Die vorliegende Arbeit hat einerseits zum Ziel, die Debatte um Sexpuppen mit kindlichem Erscheinungsbild darzustellen und andererseits die berichteten Konsequenzen des Verbots von Sexpuppen mit kindlichem Erscheinungsbild für die Betroffenen zu dokumentieren. Methoden Die schriftlichen Aussagen von N = 40 betroffenen Personen des Verbots von Sexpuppen mit kindlichem Erscheinungsbild, die durch eine offene Frage eines Online-Surveys erhoben wurde, wurden hinsichtlich der berichteten Konsequenzen analysiert. Ergebnisse Am häufigsten nannten die Nutzer*innen (negative) Auswirkungen auf ihre (psychische) Gesundheit. Darüber hinaus wurden eine erhöhte Unsicherheit sowie eine empfundene Diskriminierung durch die Gesellschaft bzw. Politik berichtet. Die Teilnehmer*innen berichteten von einer Zunahme problematischer Verhaltensweisen, wie z. B. dem erneuten Anschauen von Missbrauchsabbildungen, und davon, dass für sie eine Möglichkeit weggefallen sei, Sexualität legal auszuleben. Schlussfolgerung Aus Sicht der Betroffenen wirkt sich das Verbot von Kindersexpuppen negativ auf ihr Leben und das Risiko für sexualisierte Gewalt gegen Kinder aus. Die vorliegenden Daten liefern keine Hinweise darauf, dass die Gesetzesverschärfung dem Schutz von Kindern dient, auch wenn das Studiendesign diesbezüglich Grenzen aufweist.
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... Los primarios experimentan deseos y fantasías sexuales que involucran a menores, lo que puede llevarlos al acto delictivo, a experimentar malestar vinculado a la presencia de este interés sexual o a problemas interpersonales (DSM 5; American Psychiatric Association, APA, 2013). Además, este interés sexual por menores (atención, excitación, comportamiento sexual y deseo romántico) es estable en el tiempo, persistente y difícilmente modificable (DSM-5, APA, 2013;Campo-Arias y Herazo, 2018;Seto, 2017). Estas preferencias pueden darse de manera exclusiva (únicamente hacia menores de edad) o de forma no exclusiva (hacia menores de edad y adultos), estando la exclusividad más relacionada con la reincidencia (Eher et al., 2015;McPhail et al., 2018). ...
... Esto favorece los sentimientos de soledad, un factor de riesgo para la reincidencia (Herrero, 2013); por lo que parece necesario que la intervención terapéutica incluya una parte de psicoeducación sobre pedofilia, punto fundamental de terapias internacionales como el BEDIT (Beier et al., 2021) no incluido en el PCAS. Esta información podría incluir tres ideas fundamentales: sentir atracción por menores no es una elección del sujeto y resulta inmodificable (Seto, 2017;Beier, 2013); aceptar no implica aprobar, es decir, aceptar el interés sexual por menores significa asumir su preferencia sabiendo que es inmutable (Herrero, 2018), pero no aprobarla, ya que su ejecución genera víctimas; y diferenciar entre pedofilia como atracción y pederastia como acción, para plantear la posibilidad de aceptar la atracción pero comprometerse a no ejercerla. La Terapia de Aceptación y Compromiso (Hayes, 2015) podría ayudar a que el sujeto acepte su realidad, pero mantenga un compromiso de alejarse de las conductas de riesgo y de la reincidencia (Blagden et al., 2018). ...
Necesidades de Intervención en Prisión con Internos con Pedofilia
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2024
En prisión existen programas específicos de tratamiento para condenados por agresión sexual a menores; sin embargo, quienes además tienen pedofilia, requieren una atención específica. El objetivo del presente estudio es doble: primero, ofrecer una propuesta de intervención específica para pedofilia en el entorno penitenciario basada en la evidencia científica disponible y complementaria al Programa de Control de la Agresión Sexual y después, justificar dicha propuesta a través del caso de un interno con pedofilia. En concreto, proponemos una intervención individual y centrada en personas con pedofilia; trabajando la baja autoestima, evaluando la ideación suicida y reestructurando las distorsiones cognitivas con menores, facilitando la creación de relaciones personales funcionales con adultos, evaluando la polivictimización pasada y su posible influencia sobre la conducta sexual posterior, proporcionar a los internos psicoeducación sobre pedofilia; atender de forma específica las fantasías sexuales con menores, evitando las conductas disexuales y la eliminación del consumo de material abusivo.
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... What can that tell us about how human sexuality is organized? Seto (2017) suggested that we vary across multiple dimensions of interest, including age (very young to very old), gender (very masculine to very feminine), and agonism (very submissive to very dominant). Hypothetically, there are other dimensions, such as whether our interests are externally focused or internally focused (e.g., interest in children compared to interest in imagining oneself as a child; Hsu & Bailey, 2017). ...
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... A pszichiátriai betegségtan szerint a pedofília a szexuális élet deviáns megnyilvánulásainak -az úgynevezett parafíliáknak -tekintett szexuális magatartások egyike, amely a pubertáskor előtti gyerekek iránt érzett tartós és intenzív szexuális vonzalomban nyilvánul meg. Seto (2017) becslése szerint a zavar előfordulási gyakorisága az átlagpopulációban 1 százalék körül van. 1 A pedofíliát nemcsak a közbeszédben, hanem a különböző szakmai diskurzusokban is gyakran összemossák a gyerekek elleni szexuális bűncselekmények elkövetésével. A valóság azonban az, hogy vannak pedofil hajlammal élő emberek, akik ténylegesen soha nem molesztálnak egyetlen gyermeket sem, ugyanakkor sokan vannak olyanok is, akik ugyan nem minősülnek pedofilnak, mégis szexuálisan bántalmaznak egy vagy több gyermeket. ...
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Assessment of an Adult Male with Sexual Offence Convictions in Preparation for Release from Prison
Chapter
  • Apr 2024
This chapter considers the risk assessment of a 60-year-old male who is preparing for release from prison after having been convicted of multiple offences of rape and indecent assault against his granddaughter with additional convictions for indecent assault against one of her friends. Although not an atypical case, we hope we have sufficiently demonstrated that such cases can be complex, particularly for newly qualified risk assessors, and the range of risk factors to consider the depth of analysis needed when preparing a risk management plan that will inform his probation officer about how to manage Mr Smith following his release from prison. Such assessments require careful planning as to how to conduct the assessment, planning as to the areas to focus on during the clinical interview, and planning in how to structure and organise the information in a manner which is functionally useful to the reader. Clarity of analysis is as important as identifying future risk factors and risk scenarios in managing risk in the community. Such an assessment is not to be undertaken lightly, as the consequences of a poor risk assessment can be significant to all concerned. Throughout this chapter, we hope we emphasised the importance of having a thorough understanding of the risk assessment literature, and the various facets of risk factors, as well as understanding theories of offending, especially sexual offending, so that any risk assessment and risk management plan is empirically supported and based on sound decision making.
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The Sexual Preferences of Incest Offenders
Article
Full-text available
  • May 1999
Inclusive fitness theory suggests that discriminative solicitude and inbreeding avoidance are important mechanisms regulating parent–children interactions. From an inclusive fitness perspective, sex with one’s biological children is paradoxical. The authors hypothesized that incest can occur when these mechanisms are not activated (e.g., if a father is uninvolved in child rearing) or are overwhelmed by another factor, such as pedophilic interest. They predicted that biological fathers, who presumably have been the most involved in the rearing of their victims, would show greater phallometrically measured pedophilic interest than would other incest offenders against children (e.g., grandfathers, uncles, stepfathers). The prediction was not supported. A testable alternative hypothesis to explain biological father incest is presented and the importance of assessing pedophilic interest among incest offenders is discussed.
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Disorder as Harmful Dysfunction: A Conceptual Critique of DSM–III–R's Definition of Mental Disorder
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  • Apr 1992
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; DSM–III–R) operationally defines disorder essentially as “statistically unexpectable distress or disability.” This definition is an attempt to operationalize 2 basic principles: that a disorder is harmful and that a disorder is a dysfunction (i.e., an inability of some internal mechanism to perform its natural function). However, the definition fails to capture the idea of “dysfunction” and so fails to validly distinguish disorders from nondisorders, leading to invalidities in many of DSM–III–R's specific diagnostic criteria. These problems with validity are traced to DSM–III–R's strategies for increasing reliability.
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Internet sex offenders.
Book
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  • Jan 2013
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The Necessities and Luxuries of Mate Preferences: Testing the Tradeoffs
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Full-text available
  • Jun 2002
Social exchange and evolutionary models of mate selection incorporate economic assumptions but have not considered a key distinction between necessities and luxuries. This distinction can clarify an apparent paradox: Status and attractiveness, though emphasized by many researchers, are not typically rated highly by research participants. Three studies supported the hypothesis that women and men first ensure sufficient levels of necessities in potential mates before considering many other characteristics rated as more important in prior surveys. In Studies 1 and 2, participants designed ideal long-term mates, purchasing various characteristics with 3 different budgets. Study 3 used a mate-screening paradigm and showed that people inquire 1st about hypothesized necessities. Physical attractiveness was a necessity to men, status and resources were necessities to women, and kindness and intelligence were necessities to both.
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What Does Sexual Orientation Orient? A Biobehavioral Model Distinguishing Romantic Love and Sexual Desire
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2003
Although it is typically presumed that heterosexual individuals only fall in love with other-gender partners and gay-lesbian individuals only fall in love with same-gender partners, this is not always so. The author develops a biobehavioral model of love and desire to explain why. The model specifies that (a) the evolved processes underlying sexual desire and affectional bonding are functionally independent; (b) the processes underlying affectional bonding are not intrinsically oriented toward other-gender or same-gender partners; (c) the biobehavioral links between love and desire are bidirectional, particularly among women. These claims are supported by social-psychological, historical, and cross-cultural research on human love and sexuality as well as by evidence regarding the evolved biobehavioral mechanisms underlying mammalian mating and social bonding.
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Adaptive Significance of Female Physical Attractiveness: Role of Waist-to-Hip Ratio
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 1993
Evidence is presented showing that body fat distribution as measured by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is correlated with youthfulness, reproductive endocrinologic status, and long-term health risk in women. Three studies show that men judge women with low WHR as attractive. Study 1 documents that minor changes in WHRs of Miss America winners and Playboy playmates have occurred over the past 30-60 years. Study 2 shows that college-age men find female figures with low WHR more attractive, healthier, and of greater reproductive value than figures with a higher WHR. In Study 3, 25- to 85-year-old men were found to prefer female figures with lower WHR and assign them higher ratings of attractiveness and reproductive potential. It is suggested that WHR represents an important bodily feature associated with physical attractiveness as well as with health and reproductive potential. A hypothesis is proposed to explain how WHR influences female attractiveness and its role in mate selection.
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Men Trapped in Men’s Bodies
Chapter
  • Sep 2012
Male-to-female (MtF) transsexuals are often described as “women trapped in men’s bodies,” but there are two different types of MtF transsexuals, and this description is more applicable to one type than the other. One MtF transsexual type consists of extremely feminine men who are exclusively sexually attracted to men; they are usually referred to as homosexual MtF transsexuals. The second MtF transsexual type consists of men who are not conspicuously feminine, who are primarily sexually attracted to women, and who have a history of sexual arousal in association with cross-dressing. Transsexuals of the latter type, who are usually referred to as nonhomosexual MtF transsexuals, nevertheless feel an intense desire to have female bodies and live as women. They are perhaps better described as “men trapped in men’s bodies.” In 1989, psychologist Ray Blanchard proposed that MtF transsexuals of this second type exhibit a paraphilic sexual interest called autogynephilia: the propensity to be sexually aroused by the thought or image of oneself as a female. This book contains first-person narratives by 249 MtF transsexuals who acknowledged having experienced autogynephilia. This introductory chapter describes the research that led to the development of the concept of autogynephilia and to an understanding of its clinical manifestations.
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