Attraction to younger boys

There is no information regarding when ephebophilia first appears in males.

For pedophilia, however, criminological research claims that it first appears in adolescence, as does offending behavior. These statistics should be regarded with caution, since they often do not distinguish between pedophilia and child molestation.

• The Center for Sex Offender Management (CSOM) and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) define juvenile sexual offending to include consensual sexual activity by a minor with someone younger or smaller. Depending on the age of the older one, an age difference of two to five years (sometimes less) is cause for classifying the older one as an offender.
• Both organizations write that one-third to one-half half of sex offenses against children are carried out by juveniles.¹
• The AACAP says that many sex offending youths begin this behavior before puberty.²
• Pedophilia as preferential sexual attraction is seen among some juvenile sex offenders.³
• Two leading criminilogical researchers claim that 53% of homosexual pedophiles begin molesting boys by the age of 15, and 20% do so before the age of 10.⁴ However, they make no distinction between pedophiles and child molesters.

No information is available about the development of pedophilia or ephebophilia in the general population, or about effective ways to help adolescents who are developing it. Psychologist Jay Feierman of the University of New Mexico decries the absence of resources available to help them come to terms with and express their sexuality in socially acceptable ways.⁵