Theories for the cause of minor-attraction

Theories have been proposed to explain preferential sexual attraction to pre-pubescent children, but not to adolescents. Thus, there is no literature regarding possible causes of ephebophilia.

Most theories of pedophilia are those that attempt to explain all types of deviance.¹ Sexual deviance or paraphilias refer to sexual feelings or behaviors involving objects, animals, or non-consenting people, with pre-pubescent children defined as non-consenting. Thus, deviance includes exhibitionism, fetishes, voyeurism, pedophilia, zoophilia, sexual sadism/masochism, and rape, among other phenomena. Until recently, homosexuality was included, but ephebophilia never has been.²

Because theories of deviance assume the same mechanism underlies them all, they do not distinguish between attraction to children and rape, let alone between attraction to boys and attraction to girls.³ Most of the theories described here are taken from the literature on sexual deviance.⁴

Many professionals and most of the public believe that childhood sexual abuse causes sexual attraction to children or adolescence in adulthood. In fact, few studies have actually investigated this abused-abuser hypothesis, and those that have suffer from significant flaws. The most common shortcoming is reliance on samples of child molesters, who are not representative of pedophiles or ephebophiles in general. Even among child molesters, only a minority were abused as children.

After reviewing the research, psychologists Randall J. Garland and Michael J. Dougher of the University of New Mexico concluded that the abused-abuser hypothesis is simplistic and misleading. They write that its uncritical acceptance may lead to premature and incorrect conclusions and ineffective policies.⁵

Historically, psychoanalytic theories have been based on the agreement that normal sexuality involves the attraction to adults of the opposite gender, and has as its goal genital orgasm. Other sexual attractions and behaviors have been defined as deviant or paraphilias.

Like psychoanalytic theories in general, theories about pedophilia typically involve ideas about child sexuality, fixation at an infantile developmental stage, Oedipal conflict, projection, castration anxiety, and narcissism. Any sexual behaviors that resemble childhood activities are assumed to indicate "regression" to, or "fixation" at, an immature stage, and are assumed to be due to some developmental difficulty in childhood, usually involving Freud’s "Oedipus complex."

Psychoanalytic theories suffer from three shortcomings:

• They are based on observations of very small numbers of highly atypical pedophiles; sometimes they have no basis in the study of pedophiles at all.
• The few studies that have tested the hypothesis that pedophilia is due to fixation at an immature stage of development do not support that theory.
• In general, psychoanalytic theories have been discredited; many researchers suggest that they are untestable, unscientific, and useless.

• Some investigators speculate that attraction to minors has a neurohormonal cause, possibly with an evolutionary basis. One theory involves the process of brain masculinization and de-feminization which occurs before birth. Little research has been conducted to examine this hypothesis. One study that investigated hormonal factors found no difference between pedophiles and normal adults.
• Some evidence has suggested that brain pathology might be a factor, but the evidence is weak.
• A few speculative theories involve a chromosomal antigen which controls the development of sexuality and deviation through instinct and imprinting. However, no studies have specifically addressed the role of genetic factors in pedophilia.

Biological theories

• have little supporting evidence.
• fail to explain the age-specific attraction felt by pedophiles.
• do not explain the frequently observed fact that pedophiles "fall in love" with children. They cannot account for the fact that pedophiles exhibit a complex variety of feelings, perceptions, and behaviors, often including various kinds of relationships with children.
• assume that the human experience of interpersonal relationships can be reduced to biology, and that pedophilia--a theoretical idea--is a physical entity with a single biological cause.

Cognitive theories are based on the assumption that pedophilia is a form of sexual aggression. Theorists suggest that sexual aggression results when an individual’s cognitive distortions about the meaning and impact of sexually aggressive behavior allows him to justify it. He may think the victim enjoys or benefits from the act, or at least is not harmed by it.

• One cognitive theory proposes that dispositional and situational factors contribute to this aggression. These factors may include aggressive personality, cognitive distortions, sexual dissatisfaction, alcohol, or family violence.
• Another conceptualizes sexual aggression as an addiction involving impulsive and compulsive behavior.
• Another theory proposes that pedophiles perceive relationships in terms of dominance and submissiveness, perceive themselves as incapable of controlling their social environment, and perceive children as submissive and therefore approachable.

These theories have serious limitations.

• They are based on observations of sex offenders rather than scientific studies of pedophiles in the general population.⁹
• Studies of personality characteristics through the use of psychological measures, such as the MMPI, on average have found low levels of aggression among both pedophiles and offenders against minors.¹⁰
• The available evidence suggests that aggressive behavior is rare in pedophilic incidents; they resemble sex play more than sexual assault.¹¹

Developmental theories assume that pedophilia results from adverse childhood experiences: negative socialization, abuse or neglect, inadequate social skills, academic problems, or early sexual experiences.

• A small number of studies of child molesters suggest they may have deficits in social skills. It is believed that these deficits may prevent access to adult partners.
  • Most professionals make this suggestion without reporting objective data, or resort to studies of offenders in institutions who may be significantly more inadequate than pedophiles in the general population.
• Some studies have suggested that passivity and feelings of inferiority are correlated with pedophilia. Researchers speculate that these feelings may prevent the pedophile from relating effectively to women. A variation of this theory proposes that pedophilia is due to anxiety or fear toward women.
  • The data do not support these theories. Studies have found anywhere from 8% to 47% of homosexual pedophiles (like normal homosexuals) marry.
  • No studies have actually tested whether pedophiles fear women. Those who do not marry may simply not be interested in them.
  • When feelings of inferiority exist, they may result from social reaction rather than being causal.
• Social learning theory proposes that a boy who is sexually abused by a man learns through the experience to abuse boys himself when he reaches adulthood.
  • Studies have found that most boys who are sexually abused do not grow up to become sexually abusive.
• A variation of the above theory speculates that lack of punishment when an adolescent acts sexually with a younger child reinforces pedophilic behavior.
  • Again, evidence for this hypothesis is weak and subject to other explanations.
• Attachment theory proposes that insecure family attachment, rejection, fear, and unresolved trauma leads to sexual aggression.
  • No solid evidence has been found to support this theory.

Like cognitive theories, all developmental theories suffer from the following shortcomings:

• They are based on studies of sex offenders rather than pedophiles.
• Proposed causes are assumed to apply to all offenders (and pedophiles), but they are often based on studies of only specific groups of offenders.
• Many of these studies are case studies; none are controlled scientific studies.

Behavioral theories focus on observable behavior rather than underlying motivations. They assume that behavior develops and can be changed through conditioning: pairing positive or negative feelings with those behaviors. Thus, they assume that sexual arousal to a stimulus results from repeated association of sexual gratification with that stimulus during masturbation or sexual activity.

Several speculative behavioral theories for pedophilia have been proposed:

• Pedopohilia may result from sex play with other boys during puberty. This may cause pleasant feelings to be associated with the physical characteristics of boys at a time marked by increased sex drive. The association may be strengthened through repeated masturbation while fantasizing about these experiences.
  • This theory has little support; while such sex play is common among boys, most do not grow up to be pedophiles.
• Pedophilia may be caused by mislabeling of arousal. An adolescent boy or young man may incorrectly attribute his arousal to children when another stimulus is actually responsible.
  • However, such an experience would need to be repeated several times in order to associate children with sexual arousal.
• If a person experiences unpleasant consequences in connection with normal sexual behavior, he may become averse to it and develop deviant sexual arousal patterns.
  • This is not supported by research showing that many homosexuals and ephebophiles do not show aversive responses to the adult female body, or to sex with women.

None of these theories have been tested scientifically.

Danish sociologist Agner Fog takes a different approach to the understanding of pedophilia, and the paraphilias in general. He writes that traditional sexology finds the paraphilias difficult to understand because it ignores sociogenetic (anthropological and historical) and phylogenetic (sociobiological and ethological) factors.

A broader approach would take into account the structure of society and the evolutionary history of humans. The benefits of such an approach, he argues, have already been seen in society’s improved understanding of homosexuality.

Based on this approach, Fog introduces the isolated minority syndrome, which he says explains the situation of a person whose sexuality is not accepted by the surrounding society. Due to his isolation from others like him, such a person cannot learn the most appropriate way to live with his sexuality. As a result, his sexual behavior becomes extremely stereotypical, inflexible, and uncontrolled.

Suppression of feelings, frustration, low self-esteem, social stigmatization, and isolation may lead to substance abuse, non-sexual crimes, suicide, projection of the deviant impulses onto other persons, violence against the sexual object, or an outburst of uncontrollable sexuality. Fog proposes that these symptoms are often believed to be characteristic of the paraphilias themselves, but are in fact secondary symptoms of the social suppression.¹⁴

The current state of understanding of pedophilia is very poor, as is the case with the paraphilias in general. Attempts to validate all theories have been small case studies of unrepresentative clinical or criminal samples. None have been replicable, controlled scientific studies, so findings are inconclusive and no single theory or set of theories is accepted.¹⁵ In fact, little is known about the development of sexual attraction among non-deviant individuals.¹⁶

Psychologist Chin-Keung Li raises a more fundamental question. He writes that the search for a single theory of pedophilia may be unproductive since pedophilia is not a unitary phenomenon but rather involves very different kinds of people, relationships, and encounters.

In addition, he writes that three fundamental characteristics limit all current theories.

• Theories assume the norm of adult heterosexuality and are based on the concept of "abnormality."
• Theorists are less concerned about understanding than they are with control of deviant elements in society.
• Theorists do not consider the personal construction made by the "central actor of the drama"--the adult involved in the sexual contact.¹⁷

Feierman, J., "Introduction and A Biosocial Overview," in Feierman, J. (ed.), Pedophilia: Biosocial Dimensions, New York: Springer-Verlag, 1990, pp. 1-68.

Jay Feierman describes evidence for hormonal processes that influence sexual attraction before birth. He proposes a theory that explains heterosexuality, homosexuality, ephebophilia, and pedophilia based on the phenomena of brain masculinization and defeminization.

Freund, K. & Kuban, M., "Toward a testable developmental model of pedophilia: The development of erotic age preference," Child Abuse & Neglect, vol. 17, 1993, pp. 315-324.

Kurt Freund and Michael Kuban of the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto propose and test a theory of gender and age preference. They write that their findings along with their clinical observations suggest that the development of erotic gender preference precedes that of erotic age preference. They conclude that pedophilia is predetermined at least from early childhood.

Garland, R.J. & Dougher, M.J., "The abused/abuser hypothesis of child sexual abuse: A critical review of theory and research," in Feierman, J. (ed.), Pedophilia: Biosocial Dimensions, New York: Springer-Verlag, 1990, pp. 488-509.

Psychologists Randall J. Garland and Michael J. Dougher of the University of New Mexico summarize the various theories that have been proposed in attempts to support the abused/abuser hypothesis, and examine the scientific evidence. They find it wanting, and propose examining additional factors to understand the effects of adult-minor sexual activity on the child or adolescent, including the characteristics of the child or adolescent and the nature of the interaction.

Hall, G.C.N., Theory-based assessment, treatment, and prevention of sexual aggression, New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Considering sexual attraction to minors to be a form of sexual aggression, Gordon C.N. Hall outlines the various theories that attempt to explain sexual aggression in general. He proposes that while all have their shortcomings, each type of theory has validity because it describes a different type of aggressor. He writes that sexual aggressors against children rarely use violence or aggression in their offenses, and should be classified as physiologically motivated.

Howells, K., "Adult sexual interest in children: Considerations relevant to theories of aetiology," In Cook, M. & Howells, K. (eds.), Adult sexual interest in children, London: Academic Press, 1981, pp. 55-94.

Kevin Howells explains psychoanalytic and social learning theories which attempt to explain the causes of pedophilia. He also describes the evidence that supports them, and points out shortcomings of research in the area.

Langevin, R., Sexual strands: Understanding and treating sexual anomalies in men, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1983.

Ron Langevin of the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto briefly describes various theories attempting to explain pedophilia, the research that supports them, and treatment methods.

Li, C.K., "Adult sexual experiences with children," in Li, C.K., West, D.J., & Woodhouse, T.P., Children’s sexual encounters with adults, London: Duckworth, pp. 139-316, 1990.

Psychologist Chin-Keung Li critically reviews the major theories that attempt to explain adult-child sexual interaction, and finds a fundamental problem that limits all of them.