Sexual interest in children, child sexual abuse, and psychological sequelae for children

Theory and research indicates that sexual fantasies about children are associated with child sexual abuse and the proclivity to engage in child sexual abuse. The present study aimed to add to the literature by examining whether sexual fantasies depicting an adult partner dressed in school uniform are related to a self-reported sexual interest/proclivity towards child sexual abuse. We also investigated whether Adult-as-Schoolgirl sexual fantasies are related to other factors underlying the reason for finding children sexually appealing (e.g. lower self-esteem, the need for sexual dominance, and innocence-related fantasies). The measures assessing each variable were completed in randomized order by 87 community males recruited online (after data cleaning). The results showed significant correlations between Adult-as-Schoolgirl sexual fantasies and the interest in/proclivity to sexually offend against children, as well as sexual fantasies about innocence in general. A direct multiple regression revealed that these two variables statistically predicted Adult-as-Schoolgirl sexual fantasy scores. The present study provides the first indication that Adult-as-Schoolgirl fantasies are linked to the self-reported interest and proclivity in sexually abusing children. Given the correlational nature of these findings, the causal direction cannot be determined. Moreover, the results do not indicate that people with Adult-as-Schoolgirl fantasies will act up these fantasies with a real child. Nevertheless, the findings suggest the need to address the sexualization of schoolgirl uniforms in popular media. Future research should aim to uncover the impact that Adult-as-Schoolgirl sexual fantasies have on actual behavior.

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Troubled Desire – An Internet-based Self-management Tool for Individuals with Pedophilic and Hebephilic Sexual Interest (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.22277 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Miriam Schuler ◽

Hannes Gieseler ◽

Katharina Schweder ◽

Maximilian von Heyden ◽

Klaus M. Beier

Keyword(s):

Sexual Abuse ◽

Child Sexual Abuse ◽

Sexual Interest ◽

Sexual Offending ◽

Management Training ◽

Management Tool ◽

Self Management ◽

Preventive Interventions ◽

Self Assessment ◽

High Prevalence

BACKGROUND Despite the high prevalence of child sexual abuse and the increasing amount of available child sexual abuse material, there is a global shortage of preventive interventions focusing on individuals at risk of sexual offending. OBJECTIVE Troubled Desire aims to address this shortage by offering self-assessment and self-management training modules for individuals who feel sexually attracted to prepubescent and early pubescent children (ie, pedophilic and hebephilic sexual interest) in seven different language versions. METHODS The present study analyzed characteristics of users within the first 30 months (25.10.2017-25.04.2020). RESULTS The self-assessment was completed by 4161 users from all over the world. The majority (78.9%, n=3281) reported pedophilic and/or hebephilic sexual interest. Of those with pedophilic and/or hebephilic sexual interest, 72.8% (n=2390) have used child sexual abuse material and 41.5% (n=1363) indicated they had sexually abused a child or children. The vast majority of offenses were committed within the “Dunkelfeld” (ie, not known to legal authorities). CONCLUSIONS These results illustrate the need for expansion and establishment of global preventive interventions for pedophilic and hebephilic individuals.

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Malpractice & Negligence: State Supreme Courts Limit Therapists’ Duties to Third Parties

The Journal of Law Medicine & Ethics ◽

10.1017/s1073110500012985 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 204-205

Author(s):

Megan Cleary

Keyword(s):

Sexual Abuse ◽

Child Sexual Abuse ◽

Supreme Court ◽

New Hampshire ◽

Third Parties ◽

State Supreme Courts ◽

Recovered Memories ◽

Supreme Courts ◽

Repressed Memory ◽

University Of Colorado

In recent years, the law in the area of recovered memories in child sexual abuse cases has developed rapidly. See J.K. Murray, “Repression, Memory & Suggestibility: A Call for Limitations on the Admissibility of Repressed Memory Testimony in Abuse Trials,” University of Colorado Law Review, 66 (1995): 477-522, at 479. Three cases have defined the scope of liability to third parties. The cases, decided within six months of each other, all involved lawsuits by third parties against therapists, based on treatment in which the patients recovered memories of sexual abuse. The New Hampshire Supreme Court, in Hungerford v. Jones, 722 A.2d 478 (N.H. 1998), allowed such a claim to survive, while the supreme courts in Iowa, in J.A.H. v. Wadle & Associates, 589 N.W.2d 256 (Iowa 1999), and California, in Eear v. Sills, 82 Cal. Rptr. 281 (1991), rejected lawsuits brought by nonpatients for professional liability.

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