Identifying deviant sexual interest in a sex offender sample using dual-target rapid serial visual presentation task

To investigate the dual-target rapid serial visual presentation (dtRSVP) task as a measure of deviant sexual interest (i.e. a sexual interest in children), we administered a dtRSVP with gender- and age-specific pictorial stimuli to child sex offenders (n = 69), other sex offenders (n = 43), non-sex offenders (n = 14), and community controls (n = 88). We hypothesized that (1) stimuli belonging to the preferred gender and age group presented as targets (both T1 and the subsequent T2) in the serial sequence would be more accurately detected than non-preferred stimuli and that (2) this increased detection would reduce the detection of targets later in the serial sequence (T2) due to an attentional blink. Our findings supported hypothesis 1 and partly supported hypothesis 2. Although we found group differences, individual indices based on detection rates did not allow for individual-level diagnostic categorization of participants.     

Assessing the Possibility of a Pedophilia Panic and Contagion Effect Between France and the United States

In the early and mid-1990s, the United States experienced what could be called a societal sex crime crisis. This led to the passage of specific types of legislation aimed at addressing what was perceived by the public to be a major social problem. In the mid- and late-1990s, Europe (mainly Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Germany) found itself in the same predicament as the United States. Legislation was passed, varying in its nature, in order to provide the public with an answer to its panic. According to a social constructionist approach, a moral panic occurs when certain types of behaviors or individuals are thought to be utterly harmful to the fabric of the social body. The present article aims at assessing whether there is a pedophilia/moral panic and whether it goes beyond the borders of one country. In order to identify potential contagion effects or parallel trends between France and the United States, the historical evolutions of legislation, reported incidence of child sexual abuse, and written media coverage of the events are triangulated into a multilevel analysis including the years 1990 thru 2005. Differences in intensity and in the dynamics are then established between the two sexual abuse moral panics.     

A case of factitious pedophilia

Factitious disorder involves feigning, exaggerating, or self-inducing physical and/or psychological ailments with the goal of assuming the "sick" or "patient" role. In turn, the sick role entitles the factitious disorder patient to care, nurturance, and protection; it also exempts one from usual responsibilities. In this paper, we present the first reported case of factitious pedophilia. Although it seems counterintuitive, this middle-aged man has falsely claimed or exaggerated sexual desire for minors ostensibly to remain in a state hospital; indeed, he has remained in the same inpatient facility for more than 20 years as a result of his deceptions. At times, his reports have included disconfirmed claims of bizarre accidents and other physical travails. This case enlarges the literature on factitious psychological disorders and shows that some individuals may falsify paraphilic behaviors, although clearly minimization of these behaviors remains more common.