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Stability of Self-Reported Arousal to Sexual Fantasies Involving Children in a Clinical Sample of Pedophiles and Hebephiles

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Abstract

In forensic research, there is a controversial discussion concerning the changeability or stability of pedophilia. Seto (2012) conceptualized pedophilia as a sexual age orientation characterized by an early onset, correlations with sexual and romantic behavior, and stability over time. However, empirical data are sparse and are mostly based on samples of detected offenders. The present study examined self-reported arousal to sexual fantasies involving children in a clinical sample of pedo-/hebephiles. In Study 1, retrospective self-reports on the age of onset and duration of sexual interest in minors were examined. In Study 2, the stability and variability of self-reported arousal to sexual fantasies involving children were evaluated prospectively. Non-prosecuted self-identifying pedo-/hebephilic men seeking professional help were recruited within the Berlin Prevention Project Dunkelfeld. Between 2005 and 2013, 494 participants completed the intake assessment. Self-reported data were collected via questionnaire focusing on sexual arousal to fantasies during masturbation involving prepubescent and/or early pubescent minors. Subsequent assessments of sexual arousal were obtained for 121 of the participants. The average time between the first and last assessment was approximately 29 months. Spearman’s correlation coefficients examined the between-group rank-order and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests examined the within-individual mean-level stability. The majority of subjects reported an early onset of their pedo-/hebephilic sexual arousal. The rank-order stability was medium to high. Over the investigated period, the majority of subjects showed no or only minimal decrease or increase of self-reported sexual arousal. These results suggested that sexual arousal to fantasies involving prepubescent and/or early pubescent children is stable. Furthermore, the results support the conceptualization of pedo-/hebephilia as a sexual age orientation in men.

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Notes

  1. The two items for sexual arousal to adult females and males were only included in the QSEB around October 2007. Therefore, reported sample sizes for these items are smaller.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Corinne Kaszner for the language revision and the helpful comments on early versions of this article and Robert Röhle for the statistical advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Human Sciences, Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Luisenstraße 57, 10117, Berlin, Germany

    Dorit Grundmann, Jurian Krupp, Gerold Scherner, Till Amelung & Klaus M. Beier

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  1. Dorit Grundmann
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  2. Jurian Krupp
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  4. Till Amelung
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Correspondence to Dorit Grundmann.

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Grundmann, D., Krupp, J., Scherner, G. et al. Stability of Self-Reported Arousal to Sexual Fantasies Involving Children in a Clinical Sample of Pedophiles and Hebephiles. Arch Sex Behav 45, 1153–1162 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0729-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0729-z

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