Synonyms
Definition
Zoophilia is defined as a sexual attraction toward a nonhuman animal, which may manifest as sexual fantasies about the animal and/or sexual contact with the animal. The most common animals that individuals engage in sexual activity with are horses, dogs, and sheep. The word zoophilia is derived from the combination of two Greek words: “zoion,” meaning “animal,” and “philia,” meaning “love.” The terms zoophilia and bestiality are often used interchangeably; however, some have argued for a distinction between zoophilia and bestiality, suggesting that zoophilia consists of an emotional as well as sexual connection with the animal, while bestiality consists only of sexual attraction to the animal.
Diagnostic Criteria
Currently zoophilia falls under the category of Other Specified Paraphilic Disorders in The Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5;...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Abel, G. G., Becker, J. V., Cunningham-Rathner, J. C., Mittelman, M., & Rouleau, J. L. (1988). Multiple paraphilic diagnoses among sex offenders. The Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 16(2), 153–168. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1016.5852&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Aggrawal, A. (2011). A new classification of zoophilia. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 18, 73–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2011.01.004
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing.
Baltieri, D. A., & de Souza Aranha e Silva, R. A. (2017). An exploratory study on psychosocial variables of people participating in zoophilic blogs/websites. Sexual Health Issues, 1. https://doi.org/10.15761/SHI.1000107
Campo-Arias, A., Herazo, E., & Ceballos-Ospino, G. A. (2021). Review of cases, case series and prevalence studies of zoophilia in the general population. Revista Colombiana de Psiqiuatria, 50(1), 34–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcp.2019.03.003
Emmett, L., Klamert, L., & Stetina, B. U. (2020). Demystifying zoophilia: Classification and psychological aspects of humans having sexual relationships with animals. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2, 165–176. https://doi.org/10.1080/14999013.2020.1842564
Holoyda, B., & Newman, W. (2014). Zoophilia and the law: Legal responses to a rare paraphilia. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 42(4), 412–420. http://jaapl.org/content/42/4/412.long
Miletski, H. (2002). Understanding bestiality and Zoophilia. East-West Publishing.
Sendler, D., & Lew-Starowicz, M. (2017). Rethinking classification of zoophilia. European Psychiatry, 41, S851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.1690
Singg, S. (2017). Ego-dystonic zoophilia: A case report with treatment plan and a critical look at the current state. Clinical Case Reports and Reviews, 3(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.15761/CCRR.1000295
World Health Organization. (2019). International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems (11th ed.). https://icd.who.int/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Krause, C.E. (2023). Zoophilia. In: Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_88-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_88-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-08956-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-08956-5
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences