Research part 1
Submitted by Mark on January 31 2002 22:23:48
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In light of some posts here, I thought it might be useful for me to post a series of summaries of research relevant to BLers. I wrote these summaries for a website I am hoping to eventually put together. The first study, which I'm posting here, has useful findings, but the authors also make many speculations which should be taken with a grain of salt, since they involve what are now considered outdated and unsupported views of homosexuality, male dominance, and "competition for females." The Child-Lovers: A Study of Paedophiles in Society By Glenn D. Wilson and David N. Cox London: Peter Owen Publishers, 1983 At the time of publication, Glenn D. Wilson was a lecturer and researcher in personality and social psychology at the University of London's Institute of Psychiatry. His other books include "The Psychology of Sex," "Love's Mysteries," and "Sexual Variations." David N. Cox was a lecturer in clinical psychology at Simon Fraser University in Canada. The authors state that previous studies of pedophiles were based on prison or clinical samples and therefore provide distorted information. They sought to rectify this by administering questionnaires to a non-clinical and non-legal sample of 77 men identified through a London self-help group for pedophiles. Subjects were men mostly between the ages of 20 and 60. Compared with larger British society, a higher percentage were professionals and fewer were unemployed. Two instruments were used: the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the authors' own questionnaire tailored for pedophiles. FEELINGS OF ATTRACTION 71% of the subjects were attracted to boys (most preferred 12-14 year olds), 12% were attracted to girls (most preferred 8-10 year olds), and 17% were attracted to both (preferring girls 2-3 years younger than boys). That heterosexual pedophiles were attracted to younger children than were homosexual pedophiles agrees with other researchers' findings. However, the proportion of homosexuals in this sample contrasted with prison samples which find the number of heterosexual pedophiles to be twice that of homosexuals. Wilson and Cox attributed this to a tendency to more frequently prosecute offenders against girls, who are seen as more vulnerable than boys. However, both types of sample find a disproportionate number of homosexuals among pedophile samples. The authors suggested that "the proportion of boy 'victims' is greatly inflated by their tendency to be more willing participants than girls in sexual adventures of any kind" (p. 124). They also speculated that homosexual pedophiles are much more aware of their feelings due to the more striking physical changes in boys than girls which occur at puberty. They also pointed out that in all studies, sampling biases and inconsistencies in the definition of "pedophilia" make it impossible to determine the proportion of homosexuals among pedophiles. In this study, subjects were asked to describe the characteristics they found attractive. Personality traits were cited slightly more often than physical traits. They included openness, curiosity, spontaneity, enthusiasm, lack of inhibition, innocence, honesty, and affection. Physical traits included good looks, smooth skin, attractive eyes, slim stature, and lack of pubic hair. When asked about their feelings about sex with adults, 43% of the subjects were indifferent, 18% were disgusted by it, and 18% said they enjoyed it. 10% were heterosexual with respect to adults but homosexual as pedophiles. Other respondents had homosexual feelings for both men and boys. When asked to describe their fantasies, 51% described sexual activity, and 29% described a romantic or caring relationship. In the vast majority of those fantasies that involved sex, the child was willing or enthusiastic. A high proportion involved several partners. Wilson and Cox found these characteristics to be similar to those of fantasies of men attracted to adult women. However, they wrote that pedophiles' fantasies that involved loving, caring relationships were more similar to typical women's fantasies. When pedophiles were asked what they really wanted if there were no legal sanctions, the most frequent response involved the love, care, and protection of the child. Even among those who cited sexual activity, Wilson and Cox said most emphasized the consent and participation of the child as critical. Some said they would like to live with a boy for an extended period of time. EARLY DEVELOPMENT When asked about their fathers, 80% of the respondents described them negatively, claiming they were absent, remote, weak, strict, or violent. This compared with 22% of the general population responding negatively in a survey of a representative sample of people conducted by a British newspaper. Similarly, 74% of the subjects described their mothers negatively, compared to 14% in the newspaper sample. When asked about parental attitudes toward sex, 44% of the subjects said their parents never or seldom mentioned it, and another 40% said their parents had very negative attitudes. The authors had no control data from the general non-pedophile population for comparison. The authors urged caution in drawing conclusions from these data. They suggested that pedophiles may exaggerate their parents' attitudes in order to account for their condition, or that parents might have been responding negatively to their son's sexual development. 45% of the subjects said their first sexual experience was masturbation with a same-sex peer. 8% had their first experience with an adult. Again, Wilson and Cox had no control data from the general non-pedophile population for comparison. One subject said he knew he was a pedophile at age 13. SPECULATED CAUSES OF PEDOPHILIA The above data led the authors to speculate that pedophilia may be caused by lack of a satisfactory father model due to geographical or psychological unavailability, or by insufficient tenderness from the mother to permit imprinting upon adult women as sex objects. They found it striking that this pattern which has "so often been implicated in homosexuality and other sexual difficulties emerges once again within this group of subjects." (p. 30) They apparently made this statement either before, or unaware that, this theory had been discredited as a cause of homosexuality. However, they did advise caution in attributing pedophilia to the above reasons. They suggested three other possible causes of the correlation between pedophilia and negative attitudes about parents: a negative reaction by parents to the (less masculine) development of their child, a genetic connection between the parents and children involving instability and social communication difficulty, or a bias by pedophiles toward describing their parents negatively as a way of accounting for their condition. Wilson and Cox concluded that although the majority of subjects were homosexual, they paradoxically sought feminine characteristics (e.g., soft skin, charm, and understanding). They suggested that having rejected women as sex targets, pedophiles turn to the next best approximation. Whereas some men turn to fetishes as substitutes, pedophiles prefer someone with whom they can establish a relationship. The authors speculated that the men felt more comfortable approaching children than adults because most were homosexual and found it dangerous to make advances to adult men. They also speculated that if the male sex role requires social dominance, and pedophiles inherit a submissive nature, they have trouble competing with other males for women and therefore turn to children. They point to the features of children that pedophiles find attractive (e.g., innocence, softness, simplicity, and openness) to support this view. Again, this view may reflect outdated views of male dominance and homosexuality. Wilson and Cox also suggested evolutionary reasons for pedophilia. They wrote that some qualities that pedophiles find attractive in children (e.g., vitality, playfulness, and clear complexion) are an important basis for attraction between adults and have evolutionary origins, so that pedophiles' sexual arousal mechanism may be similar to that found in men attracted to adults. Furthermore, the authors suggested that pedophilia is at least partly an exaggeration of the normal tendency of men (both heterosexual and homosexual) to seek youth in their partners, which also has an evolutionary basis. MENTAL HEALTH AND PERSONALITY When asked to describe their feelings about their sexuality, the most common responses were as follows: Positive or proud—35% Disturbed—27% Frustrated—17% Puzzled—14% Subjects were asked whether they had sought treatment, and if so, what kind and how effective it was. 60% had not sought therapy because either they did not consider themselves sick, or they thought their sexuality was so ingrained as to be unchangeable. Those who sought treatment mentioned group therapy, drugs, and insight-oriented talk therapy. Some were offered aversion therapy but turned it down. None reported beneficial effects of treatment attempts. The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire showed the pedophiles to be on average significantly more introverted than the general population, similar to transvestites, transsexuals, and masochists. The authors pointed out that as in these other groups, the existence or direction of causality cannot be determined. The questionnaire showed pedophiles on average to be slightly higher in their levels of psychoticism and neuroticism, but no more so than members of several occupational groups (e.g., actors, architects, doctors, and students). Wilson and Cox concluded that pedophiles show no sign of clinically significant psychopathy or thought disorder. The lie scale indicated that the pedophiles gave honest and accurate self-reports on the questionnaire. There were some correlations between personality characteristics and other variables. Those scoring higher in psychoticism tended to be slightly more exclusively pedophile, but also scored lower on the lie scale, suggesting they may simply have been more honest about their preference. Those who were more introverted tended to prefer younger children. Those who scored higher on the neuroticism scale tended to be more likely to have sought treatment, similar to known findings in the general non-pedophile population. Heterosexuals tended to prefer younger children than homosexuals, but also related better to adults as partners. Compared with a control group of slightly older males, the pedophiles were more likely to be shy and sensitive, and to have feelings of loneliness and depression. The authors speculated that these characteristics may be related to a lack of confidence and social skills which may in turn lead to pedophiles' inability to approach adults as sex partners. However, they emphasized that this is only speculation - causality and its direction could not be determined; that is, pedophilia may be the cause of the lack of confidence and social skills, rather than vice versa. Wilson and Cox pointed out that in general, personality characteristics and sexual behavior are partly determined by heredity and therefore may have a genetic connection. They also stated that social characteristics of pedophiles may be the effect of hostility directed toward them by society. The authors refuted the speculation that pedophilia is related to narcissism, finding that pedophiles were less likely than the general population to be obsessive or concerned about their looks. Wilson and Cox concluded that their findings were consistent with those of many other studies which found pedophiles to be "timid, isolated, dependent, submissive, effeminate, sexually inhibited, and generally not adequate to the task of competition with other men for heterosexual adult conquests." Their results were also "consistent with previous findings in failing to discover any obvious links between paedophilia and aggressive or psychotic symptoms. The majority of paedophiles, however socially inappropriate, seem to be gentle and rational." (p. 122) PEDOPHILE RELATIONSHIPS When asked about the nature of their pedophile relationships, subjects described most of them as non-sexual. Respondents most commonly gave the following descriptions: affectionate and gentle—29% non-sexual, platonic friendships—25% sexual—23% 6% had no relationships at all. It was common for a subject to claim many affectionate relationships with only very occasional sexual contact. Two of the subjects described relationships whose sexual component ended by mutual desire when the boy reached adulthood, but the pedophile and former boy remained friends. The authors' impression from questionnaire responses and detailed interviews was that subjects were honest and accurate, although there was the possibility that they downplayed their sexual motive. MORAL ISSUES The authors write that severe legal penalties for pedophilic behavior are usually based on the assumption that children are harmed. However, "most researchers seem to be agreed that except in the case of physical assault against an unwilling child (tantamount to rape), no lasting harm to the sexual or social development of the child 'victim' can be detected." Therefore, Wilson and Cox make a distinction between psychological harm and morality: "We are inclined to agree with the argument of Finkelhor that the issue of empirical harm needs to be separated from the more directly moral question of whether meaningful consent can ever be obtained from a child....we still regard sex as immoral if there is any suggestion that social power has been abused in obtaining it....Adult-child relationships in general fall into this category." They also see a need for police to deal with the issue sensitively: "On the other hand, it has been pointed out that heavy-handed intervention by police and legal authorities can result in great trauma and lasting emotional harm to the child involved....Therefore, although we do not favour the total abandonment of legal safeguards, we would hope that when appropriate authorities feel that intervention is necessary, some discretion and compassion is exercised, for the sake of the child 'victim' as much as the transgressing adult." (p. 129) |
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