Pedophile Overview
The following is an overview of some of the symptoms of pedophilia. I think I will make this a several part series that ultimately will be designed to give you an understanding of this behavior and how to take precautions in the world. Since I work with this population, I will draw upon my own experiences in treating this disorder, as well as using current theory. As a disclaimer, I only give this information as a resource and should not be considered a difinitive definition on pedophilia. This is ultimately a limited resource and only created to generate thought and discussion.
The DSM-IV-TR describes pedophilia as a focus involving sexual activity with a child, generally 13 years or younger. The person with pedophilia must be age 16 years or older and at a minimum 5 years older than the child. The pedophile will generally be attracted to a particular age range and gender. Some will be only attracted to children,(exclusive type), whereas others with be attrached to adults as well,(non-exclusive type.) The person with pedophilia does not necessarily have a personal past of sexual abuse. Some are limited to incest where others seek out victims within the community.
They generally have a narcissistic personality structure and thus are given to feelings of entitlement and specialness. Pedophilia is typically ego-syntonic and thus, a person with pedophilia does not experience distress over inappropirate relationships with children. In fact, they often will have a belief that the child in a willing participant.
A person with pedophilia seems to have a distorted sense of boundries. This holds especially true with children. They may feel that a child has like feelings or like needs.
The pedophile is manipulative. They see others as objects to manipulate and control for their own personal satisfaction. They pocess sociopathic qualities, giving them the ability to be very charming, engaging, and likeable. However, this is a facade used to gain control of another. The pedophile has a limited ability to connect to others with true intimacy and reciprocity.
The pedophile can be very clever in the environment. They can and often times plan ways of gaining access to children. For example, the pedophile may form relationships with single mothers as a means of gaining access to her children. The pedophile may strive to work in close proximity to children, such as daycare, camp, volenteer work or schools. They may develop ways of grooming a child, or pulling them into a trusting relationship, by finding things the child will be interested in such as magic tricks.
Grooming is a technique used by sex offenders to gain trust and control of a child. It is a way of exploitation through successive approximations. For instance, rather than forming direct sexual contact with a child they may initiate a progression towards the sexual offence that ranges from having the child sit on his lap to the actual sexual offence. This behavior is often times used by one family member to a child but can be used in the greater social environment as well.
The above mentioned in an overview of some of the charactoristics found in pedophilia. It is important to note that there are different presentations and thus the above mentioned symptoms and behaviors should not be considered finite. For further posts I will think about what may be important in understanding about the pedophiles personality structure.
The DSM-IV-TR describes pedophilia as a focus involving sexual activity with a child, generally 13 years or younger. The person with pedophilia must be age 16 years or older and at a minimum 5 years older than the child. The pedophile will generally be attracted to a particular age range and gender. Some will be only attracted to children,(exclusive type), whereas others with be attrached to adults as well,(non-exclusive type.) The person with pedophilia does not necessarily have a personal past of sexual abuse. Some are limited to incest where others seek out victims within the community.
They generally have a narcissistic personality structure and thus are given to feelings of entitlement and specialness. Pedophilia is typically ego-syntonic and thus, a person with pedophilia does not experience distress over inappropirate relationships with children. In fact, they often will have a belief that the child in a willing participant.
A person with pedophilia seems to have a distorted sense of boundries. This holds especially true with children. They may feel that a child has like feelings or like needs.
The pedophile is manipulative. They see others as objects to manipulate and control for their own personal satisfaction. They pocess sociopathic qualities, giving them the ability to be very charming, engaging, and likeable. However, this is a facade used to gain control of another. The pedophile has a limited ability to connect to others with true intimacy and reciprocity.
The pedophile can be very clever in the environment. They can and often times plan ways of gaining access to children. For example, the pedophile may form relationships with single mothers as a means of gaining access to her children. The pedophile may strive to work in close proximity to children, such as daycare, camp, volenteer work or schools. They may develop ways of grooming a child, or pulling them into a trusting relationship, by finding things the child will be interested in such as magic tricks.
Grooming is a technique used by sex offenders to gain trust and control of a child. It is a way of exploitation through successive approximations. For instance, rather than forming direct sexual contact with a child they may initiate a progression towards the sexual offence that ranges from having the child sit on his lap to the actual sexual offence. This behavior is often times used by one family member to a child but can be used in the greater social environment as well.
The above mentioned in an overview of some of the charactoristics found in pedophilia. It is important to note that there are different presentations and thus the above mentioned symptoms and behaviors should not be considered finite. For further posts I will think about what may be important in understanding about the pedophiles personality structure.
posted by Dr. Connour at 2:23 PM
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