Pedophile
As a medical diagnosis, being a Pedophile is defined as having a psychological disorder in which an adult experiences a sexual preference for prepubescent children and may engage in child sexual abuse, also known as "pedophilic behavior".
The term pedophilia or paedophilia has a range of definitions as found in common usage, psychology, and law enforcement. According to the DSM, pedophilia is a form of paraphilia in which a person either has acted on intense sexual urges towards children, or has sexual urges towards and fantasies about children that cause distress or interpersonal difficulty.
In common usage, the term pedophile or paedophile refers to an adult who is sexually attracted to children, whether or not the adult acts upon that attraction by sexually abusing a child. In law enforcement, the term "pedophile" is generally used to describe those accused or convicted of child sexual abuse under sociolegal definitions of child (including both prepubescent children and adolescents younger than the local age of consent); as can be seen for example in the name of the United Kingdom police agency, the Paedophile Unit. Some researchers have described this usage as improper and suggested it can confound two separate types of offenders, child molesters and rapists, thereby obscuring results of ongoing research.
The causes of pedophilia have not been determined, though there are a variety of theories ranging from biological to psychological, and research is ongoing. Most pedophiles are men, though pedophilia occurs in women as well. In psychology and law enforcement, there have been a variety of typologies suggested to categorize pedophiles according to behavior and motivations. There is no known treatment or cure for pedophilia, however there are therapies that can reduce the incidence of pedophilic behaviors that result in child sexual abuse.
Subcategories
- Hebephilia
- sexual preference for pubescent persons
- Ephebophilia
- sexual preference for male adolescents
- Parthenophilia
- sexual preference for female adolescents
See also [ Pedophilia ]
| Paraphilia related topics |
|---|
| Abasiophilia • Adipophilia • Age disparity in sexual relationships • Amaurophilia • Andromimetophilia • Autogynephilia • Autassassinophilia • Biastophilia • Bondage • Canine interests • Chronophilia • Coprophilia • Dacryphilia • Emetophilia • Erotic asphyxiation • Erotic lactation • Exhibitionism • Fat fetishism • Food play • Frotteurism • Hebephilia • Homeovestism • Human animal roleplay • Hybristophilia • Infantilism • Katoptronophilia • Klismaphilia • Macrophilia • Microphilia • Mysophilia • Necrophilia • Nyotaimori • Olfactophilia • Omorashi • Osmolagnia • Paraphilic infantilism • Pedophilia • Pyrophilia • Raptophilia • Sadism and masochism • Salirophilia • Sexual fetishism • Somnophilia • Statuephilia • Sthenolagnia • Tamakeri • Teratophilia • Tightlacing • Transvestic Fetishism • Trichophilia • Troilism • Urolagnia • Vorarephilia • Voyeurism • Wakamezake • Xenophily • Zoophilia |
| Also see: List of Paraphilias |
Links
Chat rooms • What links here • Copyright info • Contact information • Category:Root