Paraphilias

Question 1

Definition of paraphilia in DSM-IV under Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders

Answer 1

• is a mental disorder involving recurrent intense sexual urges & fantasies
  
  • at least 6mo duration
  • may involve nonhuman objects, the suffering or humiliation of oneself or one’s partner (not merely simulated)
  • children or other non-consenting peoples
  • must cause distress to the individual

Question 2

Exhibitionism

Answer 2

• The exposure of one’s genitals to a stranger
  
  • Usually male exhibitionists
  • 50% of onset is before age 18
  • 48% of community has been victimized
  • 2% of university-aged males are exhibitionists
  • characteristics:
  • may masturbate during offence
  • highly sexually arousing
  • development behaviourists believe this is normal behaviour in youth but we learn to inhibit as we grow older due to social conditioning

Question 3

Fetishism

Answer 3

• sexual arousal to non-living/inanimate objects
  
  • common objects: women’s underwear, bras, stockings, boots, shoes, feet, leather
  • Masturbation while holding/smelling/rubbing object on self
  • mostly males across all SES and ethnicities
  • Unknown details in non-offending samples; all empirical evidence from sex offenders

Question 4

Frotteurism

Answer 4

• touching/rubbing self on a non-consenting person
  
  • usually in crowded places for ease of escape (eg. public transportation, sports games)
  • usually does not result in physical injuries
  • fantasizes about having a caring relationship with the victim
  • onset during adolescence; 35% victimization rate; highest prevalence during developmental years (15-25yo); little known on non-offending samples

Question 5

Voyeurism

Answer 5

• observing unsuspecting victims undressing or having sex
  
  • “peeping toms”
  • characterized by high sexual excitement; unsought sexual activity with victim; masturbation during and after peeping (fantasizing about it)
  • onset before 15yo
  • little known about non-offending adult samples; seems normal in children 3-5yo, both male and female
  • seems exclusively male event in adulthood - not true! so where is the data for females?

Question 6

Transvestic Fetishism

Answer 6

• AKA cross-dressing
  
  • characterized by masturbation; fantasies of him and a female (most cross-dressers are not gay); wearing women’s garments under clothes or full-out
  • onset before/during adolescence; mostly heterosexual males
  • little information on non-offending adults
  • seems common for children 3-5yo; exploitation of gender roles (dressing up as batman, a princess, etc.)

Question 7

Sexual Masochism

Answer 7

• being humiliated, beaten, bound, otherwise made to suffer, or fantasies thereof
  
  • may be non-criminal when involving a willing participant
  • onset prior to childhood; all offender samples

Question 8

Abel et al. 1987

Answer 8

• pioneering study on paraphiliacs
  
  • profile: mostly 20-39yo, white, male, moderate education, full-time job
  • paraphiliacs can be aroused by non deviant stimuli; these people termed “hypersexuality” (easily highly aroused)
  • mean # of paraphilias per person: 2.02
  • paraphilias replace one another at different times
  • range of 1-900 victims; range of 1-500 acts per victim
  • low victimization of the same person; those who did had a large victim counts