Pedophilia Case Study

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Pedophilia Lindsey Riley 11222955 Human Development 300 Abstract Pedophilia is a mental illness that cannot be cured. Male perpetrators chose to victimize children of their own or other children who they have an attachment to. These offenders are not always violent, but they are extremely secretive about what they participate in. Children who have not reached puberty yet are likely to be the target of a pedophile that is close to them. Not all adults who work with children are going to be a pedophile. Talking to children and knowing what is going on in their lives will help keep communication flowing through the family, and lets the children know they can talk to their parents about anything. Knowing the …show more content…

These abnormal thoughts and behaviors trigger some spark within the brain that lure these actions to children. McKibben, Proulx and Lusignan (1993), did a case study on pedophiles that were sentenced to a psychiatric hospital, to see what triggered these behaviors. They discovered that when it came to pedophiles, loneliness was a key emotion. Pedophiles can have all of the sexual fantasies that they want, but they cannot fulfill their need until they actually act upon their desire. There are many other reasons that can contribute to the why individuals participate as a pedophile, Finkelhor and Araji (1985), explain how different theories contribute to a pedophile. There is a sense that the children have a symbolic meaning to the individual, which is why they have a sexual need for them. They can fulfill their self-esteem, dominance, maturity level, sexual arousal, and many other factors. Of course every individual has different factors of why they participate in such an …show more content…

Since they are so attracted to children and they can relate well with them. They are usually in lines of work that deal with children, but there are special cases where they do not work in an area with children. These perpetrators are usually male adults, but there is a small percentage they are a female perpetrator. On the Whatcom County Sheriffs Office, they list out specific characteristics that indicate a pedophile. They are pretty extremely secretive about their fantasies, due to the fact that they do not socialize with other adults their age. These perpetrators have a way of manipulating people. Since they are have a way with words they are usually non-violent with the children, they use other forms of

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