I would like your take on what does create pedophile behavior in people. I do find human behavior fascinating and i have my own take on it and would like to see it it matches.
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- Thread starter Agaric
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I would like your take on what does create pedophile behavior in people. I do find human behavior fascinating and i have my own take on it and would like to see it it matches.
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Lol, damn, you're flipping on me!
Well, I won't claim to be an expert, but as we've discussed before, there's a difference between common perceptions on what pedophila entails, and the medical definitions of pedophilia itself. Fundamentally, I always differentiate between a predisposition and behavior, and maintain (presently) that the cultural factors mediate our behaviors much more so than any predisposition (i.e. influencing factor over one's behavior). A nifty (if somewhat loose) analogy would be "I can choose where I want to sleep, but I sure as heck can't choose not to sleep!" People who are predisposed to displaying unacceptable behaviors face a more difficult path regarding how they treat their identity and urges.
This is why I find myself in a bit of a bind when thinking about therapeutic guidelines and recommended courses of therapy and rehabilitation- there is an inevitable tension due to the fact that I view most typical presentations of pedophilia (specifically) to be just like any other sexual orientation/paraphilia. The difference here is in the philosophical considerations of the presumably targeted party: children.
Now I've gone and differentiated between predisposition and behavior, in regards to what makes a pedophile a pedophile...well any doctor's guess is as good as mine at this point but some research is going into the neuroanatomical correlations between various frontal lobe changes and clinical presentation...which tentatively would be the most intuitive place to start since we've loosely defined the frontal lobe as being the center of executive function processing. To go any further here though, would require much treading around the philosophy of mind which is something I'm pitifully unqualified to do.
You've specifically asked what creates the behavior, however. I'm not sure I can answer that question consistently except on a case-by-case basis. Otherwise you might have to be a leetle more detailed as to what you mean by 'behavior'.
I'm not a strict reductionist, by the way. Biology tends to predisposition as psychology (or psycho-social factors) tend to behavior...i.e. they correlate more strongly (not necessarily completely) that way. But I have a hard time answering the question "what creates this behavior" because the aetiological factors are very broad and I fear that the discussion may be confused with "what creates the influence on this behavior". At its center, all things considered, we are all predisposed to behave various ways regardless of moral doctrine. This isn't the same as saying we don't have a choice, but it is suggesting the degree of choice we have over our thoughts and actions.
Anyway, I still haven't answered your question. I'm not really sure where to begin, because I don't want to pander to misconceptions either. In the first place it's often difficult to differentiate between somebody who presents resembling a pedophile but in fact is not necessarily, and somebody who is actually a pedophile (until further sensitive history taking which may not eventuate). Some prevalent features of presentation for pedophiles who do fall afoul of the law are history of abuse, troubled backgrounds and sometimes an association with alcohol/drug abuse but the latter are not thought of as causative agents. Shame and stigma would also be significant modifiers of behavior and perception (identity management).
But...but..but it's just that I regard it as such an...inadequate answer! There's a general paucity of literature on the topic of paraphilias in any field, but especially medical and psychological (it's not even covered well in discussions of abnormal psychology- that has a completely different thrust). What has been decided is how it should be regarded, and for the most part that in itself is very encouraging. But as to the aetiology and the social aspects, it's just very difficult to elicit any information due to the sensitive nature of all topics sexual. And I suspect that there are not many people who would be prepared to tackle such areas.
Lol, let's see if I can break it down then:
1) There's not much info on paraphilias maybe because of cultural factors.
2) One might think that abnormal psychology would deal with it, but no, that's apparently pretty different.
3) At least in medical circles, the basic protocol for regarding such things has been relatively established and so far that is encouraging.
1) There's not much info on paraphilias maybe because of cultural factors.
2) One might think that abnormal psychology would deal with it, but no, that's apparently pretty different.
3) At least in medical circles, the basic protocol for regarding such things has been relatively established and so far that is encouraging.
We are quick to dismiss what scares us, we don't want to face it. Pedophilia is one of the scariest things we face. I think that, along with pedophiles having a scewed view of reality are part of the problem in studying it. I was a sex phone worker for a short time. I always refused to take those calls but, they woudl slip in sometimes, believe me, I know more thatn I want to.
Hey cool we have something in common!
I did it because i was curious to see what it was all about and the type of men that would call. It was a very interesting experiance. I had a real sense of power doing it as well.You are speaking from a very specific (and very valid and very interesting!) context, but, again I emphasise- very specific. Since palefrost has already asked the question of what drives pedophilic behavior, it would also be proper to examine the demographic of the people who would use a phone-sex service.
I have also studied human sexuality, abnormal psychology and social work and while pedophilia is certainly addressed, I agree that it hasn't been studied specifically enough. I have also worked with victims and offenders in a social work capacity, mostly victims because perpetrators don't generally seek out help. But, I still learned more from being a phone sex operator. I think that it is because they have the safety of the phone and don't have to look one in the eye. They are not being treated for their condition but, are expressing their fantasies and past experiences freely. They build up a sense of trust with you, usually starting out with "normal" calls and graduating over time. They think that the woman is not judging them and express relief in finding a "friend" to talk to. Although not every pedophile would necessarily call for phone sex, I do believe that they are indicative of the group. But, none of them ever mention what they think casues it, and don't seem to be concerned with a cause or a cure, only in getting away with it. If they don't want to know and don't want to cooperate, then it will be quite difficult to ever find a cause.
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Awesome- you have had plenty more on hand experience than I do, so I tip my hat off to you. Having spoken to other social workers in the same field, I certainly see where you're coming from. I suppose I just tend to identifying more closely with the perpertrator (although I do not identify as being pedophile, and I have never committed a sexual offense), which is why I wish to emphasise understanding before judgement and management- because judgment takes on a much more personal aspect.
They think that the woman is not judging them and express relief in finding a "friend" to talk to.
This line to me is particularly telling as especially in the recent cases that have gained media coverage, I do think that very often it is additionally a percieved universal condemnation that the world is only too happy to perpetuate that precipitates an antisocial outlook (and thus not seeking help/advice) and actions (such as the Amish school shootings).
I also suspect that more pedophiles and/or offenders would be interested in directly managing as opposed to covering their behavior, if only they could be more open about it. As I said in an earlier post, very often there is no directly explainable cause as our evidence suggests that paraphilias too are in the same boat as homosexuality- insofar as they are predispositions one does not have a choice over them; discussion of choice comes with a consideration of behavior. Thus very often due to the lack of discussion, it'd be easy to think that one was being judged for "just being" and really, there was nothing to be done about it.
Cooperation is mutual in nature. There are people who are more than willing to help, just as I'm sure there are people who are more than willing to be helped, but as you would know, it's still an underground business at odds with everything else. That needs to be changed.
They think that the woman is not judging them and express relief in finding a "friend" to talk to.
This line to me is particularly telling as especially in the recent cases that have gained media coverage, I do think that very often it is additionally a percieved universal condemnation that the world is only too happy to perpetuate that precipitates an antisocial outlook (and thus not seeking help/advice) and actions (such as the Amish school shootings).
I also suspect that more pedophiles and/or offenders would be interested in directly managing as opposed to covering their behavior, if only they could be more open about it. As I said in an earlier post, very often there is no directly explainable cause as our evidence suggests that paraphilias too are in the same boat as homosexuality- insofar as they are predispositions one does not have a choice over them; discussion of choice comes with a consideration of behavior. Thus very often due to the lack of discussion, it'd be easy to think that one was being judged for "just being" and really, there was nothing to be done about it.
Cooperation is mutual in nature. There are people who are more than willing to help, just as I'm sure there are people who are more than willing to be helped, but as you would know, it's still an underground business at odds with everything else. That needs to be changed.
