Pedophilia

Pedophilia, a sexual preference for prepubescent children, appears early in life, is stable over time, and directs the person's sexuality with regard to thoughts, fantasies, urges, arousal, and behavior. Pedophilia can be diagnosed on the basis of self-report, sexual history, and (among men) penile responses. These indicators of pedophilia predict sexual recidivism among male sex offenders. There is accumulating evidence that pedophilia is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Different treatment approaches for pedophilia have been evaluated but with only mixed success.

Definition

Pedophilia is defined as a sexual preference for prepubescent children, reflected in the person's sexual thoughts, fantasies, urges, arousal, and behavior. There are three key features in this definition: (1) the sexual interest is persistent, so individuals who have occasionally fantasized about sex with a prepubescent child ...

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