Chapter 15 - Variations in Sexual Behaviour Flashcards
what is “normal” sexual behaviour
statistically: prevelence of a sexual behaviour
sociocultural: what a culture deems acceptable or illegal
atypical sexual behaviours are referred to as…
paraphiles
paraphilic disorder
currently causing distress or impairment to the individual or causes personal harm/risk of harm t others when acted upon; exist on a continuum ranging from normal to abnormal
diagnosis of paraphilic disorders
must have criterion A (the paraphilias) and criterion B (neg consequences) existing together for at least 6mo
paraphilic preferences for atypical ACTIVITIES
courtship disorders (voyeuristic, exhibitionist, frotteuristic), algoganic disorders (sexual sadism and masochism)
paraphilic preferences for atypical TARGETS
human targets (pedophilic), nonhuman (fetishistic, transvestic)
voyeuristic disorder
observing an unsuspecting person who is naked, disrobing, or engaging in sex; key is the unsuspecting part and the fear of getting caught; person has either acted upon these urges with an unconsenting perosn or the urges/fantasies have caused them distress/impairment
exhibitionist disorder
exposing ones genitals to an unsuspecting person; legally called “indecent exposure” and is one of the most common law-breaking sexual acts; far more common in men
frotteuristic disorder
engaging/fantasizing about rubbing against a nonconsenting person; typically male predator and female victim; occurs in crowded areas where perpetrator can say it was accidental
sexual sadism disorder
inflicting pain and suffering on others; classified as a disorder when on a nonconsenting person or when a person is troubled by their own urges and fantasies
sexual masochism disorder
experiencing pain/humiliation/suffering; classified as a disorder when urgers or fantasies cause significant personal impairment/distress/harm to oneself
pedophilic disorder
attraction to children who are prepubescent; can be exclusive or non-exclusive (attracted to kids and adults)
categories of pedophilia
classic: prepubescent children
hebephilic: pubescent
pedohebephilic: both
most are not violent nor do they prey on strangers
fetishes and fetishistic disorder
persistent and repetitive use/dependence on non-living objects or a specific non-genital body part for arousal; called a disorder when it causes significant personal distress; typically develop in early childhood or adolescence
transvestism and transvestic disorder
only those who find cross-dressing sexually arousing AND distressing are considered to have a disorder
asphyxiophilia
oxygen deprivation to create sexual arousal or enhance excitement and orgasm
zoophilia
erotic interest and/or sexual contact with an animal
urophilia
erotic interest/sexual satisfaction from contact with urine
coprophilia
erotic interest/sexual satisfaction from contact with feces
saliromania
desire to soil/damage a person/their clothes/their image for sexual satisfaction
necrophilia
sexual satisfaction from contact with a dead person
feederism
sexual pleasure from weight gain or feeding
sexsomnia
automatic, unintentional sexual behaviours during sleep
klismaphilia
sexual arousal to enemas
paraphilic infantilism
erotic/sexual interest in role playing as an infant
acrotomophilia
erotic/sexual interest in amputees
hypersexuality
excessive, insatiable sex drive that leads a person to continually pursue sexual encounters despite neg consequences; may be related to an impulse control issue
what factors play a role in development/maintaing of paraphilias?
no one single accepted theory; contributing factors differ from one individual to another and very depending on the type of paraphilia; hard to study
psychoanalytic theory (of paraphilic disorders)
thought to arise from castration anxiety and the oedipus complex
learning theory (of paraphilic disorders)
can result from classical conditioning
sexual compulsion (addiction) theory (of paraphilic disorders)
person has a pathological relationship to a sexual event or process
cognitive theory (of paraphilic disorders)
may have a serious cognitive distortion in that they perceive unconventional stimulus as erotic
assessing paraphilic disorders
consists of an interview (general background of client, famnily/education), mental and physical health history, extensive sexual and relationship history; may also include psychometrics; phallometric measures in (usually) criminal cases
treatment of paraphilic disorders
no good evidence to suggest that interests can be changed; treatment can focus on management and integrating them in a healthier way
cognitive-behavioural therapy and relapse-prevention (treatment of paraphilic disorders)
challenges distorted thinking, can be individual or group based; devises a safety plan to avoid risks
self esteem and social-skills training (treatment of paraphilic disorders)
development of healthy social skills, anger, impulsiveness, mood management, etc
mindfulness and emotional regulatiop (treatment of paraphilic disorders)
been suggested as an appropriate treatment method to target emotion regulation
satiation therapy (treatment of paraphilic disorders)
redirecting sexual impulses to a more desirable target (fantasy) through masturbation, and then masturbating immediately again to the undesired fantasy
orgasmic reconditioning (treatment of paraphilic disorders)
client masturbates to the paraphilic fantasy until the point of orgasm, at which time the fantasy is switched to a more socially acceptable one
aversion therapy (treatment of paraphilic disorders)
paraphilic fantasies are linked with an unpleasant stimulus (smell, sickness, electric shock)
community based support programs (treatment of paraphilic disorders)
often modelled on the 12-step program of AA
medical treatments (treatment of paraphilic disorders)
pharmacological treatment (antidepressants, antiandrogen drugs)
