Paedophilia is a Mental Disorder
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http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/explaining-pedophilia **
What Is Paedophilia?
Answers to common questions about pedophiles and paedophilia.
Paedophilia can sometimes be a taboo topic. But it's often in the
headlines. What is paedophilia? Who are pedophiles? How is it treated by
the medical community?
Here are answers from sexologist Ray Blanchard, PhD, adjunct psychiatry
professor at the University of Toronto.
What is a pedophile?
A pedophile is a person who has a sustained sexual orientation toward
children, generally aged 13 or younger, Blanchard says.
Not all pedophiles are child molesters (or vice versa). "Child molesters
are defined by their acts; pedophiles are defined by their desires,"
Blanchard says. "Some pedophiles refrain from sexually approaching any
child for their entire lives." But it's not clear how common that is.
Does the medical community consider paedophilia to be a mental disorder?
Yes. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has included paedophilia
in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders since 1968.
In the DSM, which is updated periodically, paedophilia has been grouped
with other paraphilias -- which the APA defines as "recurrent, intense
sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviours that involve
children, nonhuman subjects, or other non-consenting adults, or the
suffering or humiliation of oneself or one's partner."
But the next edition of the DSM -- the DSM 5 -- may instead refer to
"paedophilic disorder."
"[Pedophiles] would be diagnosed with paedophilic disorder either if
their attractions toward children are causing them guilt, anxiety,
alienation, or difficulty in pursuing other personal goals, or else if
their urges cause them to approach children for sexual gratification in
real life," Blanchard says.
Can paedophilia be treated?
Yes. Although most experts do not think a person's feelings of
paedophilia are curable, therapy may help them manage those feelings and
not act on them.
Some patients at high risk of committing sexual offences may need
medications to reduce their sex drive, Blanchard says.
Are pedophiles only attracted to children?
Some pedophiles may be as attracted to adults as they are to children,
but it's hard to know how common that is. That's because most
paedophilia research is based on people who were arrested for sexual
offences against children, and they may tend to exaggerate their sexual
interest in adults to seem more "normal," Blanchard says.
Is paedophilia more common among men or women?
Paedophilic disorder is far more common among men than women, Blanchard
says.
Can paedophilia develop in an adult who had been attracted to adults?
That's very unlikely, although some people may become adults "before
they become fully aware that their strongest sexual attractions are
still toward children and not toward their peers," Blanchard says.
Are pedophiles typically attracted to children of the opposite sex, same
sex, or is there no particular pattern?
Most pedophiles have a definite preference for one sex or the other. But
it's tough to estimate the percentage of pedophiles who are
heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual in their attraction to children,
Blanchard says.
What would you want people to know about the stereotypes about pedophiles?
"People do not choose to be attracted to children or adults any more
than they choose to be attracted to males or females," Blanchard says.
"If there is any choice in the situation, it is in how pedophiles manage
their lives once they become fully aware of the direction of their
sexual interests and the societal prohibitions against expressing them."
How do pedophiles typically deal with those feelings?
Some pedophiles embrace and try to justify their sexual orientation.
Others recognize that the idea of approaching a child in real life is
morally wrong; they can be frustrated, isolated, lonely, depressed, and
anxious, Blanchard says.
"It seems conceivable that the stress of living with paedophilic
disorder may lead to various secondary psychological problems,"
Blanchard says. "There are, however, some resilient individuals who
manage to lead productive and successful lives, even though their
sexuality remains a source of frustration."
If a man or woman has feelings that may be within the range of
paedophilia -- even if they've never acted upon those feelings -- what
should they do?
Get help. "People who are troubled by their sexual attraction to
children should seek professional help rather than try to deal with this
problem on their own," Blanchard says. He suggests starting with a
family practitioner, although it may take several rounds of referrals.
Or search for a sex therapist in your city.
Most areas of North America have mandatory reporting laws that override
patient confidentiality. "These require the clinician to report
instances of child sexual abuse (or probable imminent abuse) to
designated authorities," Blanchard says.