Study of the psychological and physiological characteristics of a community sample of pedophile
Scientific literature holds a large array of studies on pedophilia, which is the marked and persistent sexual attraction towards prepubescent children, and many of these studies tested various hypotheses in order to gain a general picture of pedophiles as a population. In this regard, a number of differences have been observed between pedophiles and controls, which lead to the identification of specific characteristics for which pedophiles appear to distinguish themselves. However, an important limitation of these studies is their almost systematic use of forensic and clinical samples. Indeed, there is little to suggest that such samples are representative of the general pedophile population. This extensive use of forensic and clinical samples in studies on pedophiles is especially problematic considering that the conclusions of such studies are often generalised to all pedophiles.
As many studies have found that pedophiles from forensic and clinical samples display multiple differences when compared to controls, we decided to assess five of these differences in order to determine if these results would be replicated within a community sample of pedophiles. We compared a community sample of 190 male pedophiles with a control group composed of 151 males from the general population, examining differences in their depressive symptoms, self-esteem, psychopathic traits, height, and handedness. All participants were recruited on the internet and filled an online questionnaire. Data were tested based on three different levels of analysis, each assessing a particular division of participants regarding their sexual orientation.
Differences between pedophiles and controls were not statistically significant for depressive symptoms, self-esteem, height, and handedness. Difference between pedophiles and controls reached statistical significance for psychopathic traits, with pedophiles displaying fewer psychopathic traits compared to controls. These results contradict the findings of the large majority of studies using forensic and clinical samples of pedophiles. An analysis of the data controlling for age, race, country of residence, and sexual gender-orientation did not substantially change the overall pattern of results, except that the difference between the two groups for psychopathic traits was now only significant for one of the three levels of analysis. Our results therefore suggest that pedophiles from forensic and clinical samples are different from those in community samples and that generalizing the conclusions drawn from forensic and clinical samples to all pedophiles is an important methodological and conceptual bias.
source: Abstract of article 'Study of the psychological and physiological characteristics of a community sample of pedophiles' by Marc-André Goudreault; Advisor: Christopher Earls; papyrus.bib.umontreal.ca/xmlui/handle/1866/19870; Université de Montréal; September 2017