Experienced Childhood Maltreatment in a Sample of Pedophiles: Comparisons With Patients of a Psychosomatic Outpatient Clinic and the General Population.

BACKGROUND

Adverse childhood events have a lasting impact on mental health. Studies on patients with pedophilia focus on traumatic events as sexual abuse in their childhood, in which further childhood maltreatment is rarely described.

AIM

In addition to previous studies on patients with pedophilia that focus on traumatic events as sexual abuse, we further investigate different types of childhood maltreatment.

METHODS

We compared 3 samples using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire: patients with pedophilia, psychotherapy outpatients, and general population (GP). Descriptive analyses were conducted for prevalence rates. To assess statistical differences between the samples concerning retrospective childhood trauma, we conducted t-tests and a multivariate analysis of variance. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify predictors of childhood maltreatment.

OUTCOMES

Emotional and sexual abuse was associated with pedophilic sexual preference.

RESULTS

Significant differences of experienced childhood maltreatment were found between the samples with the patients with pedophilia reporting the highest rates. Psychotherapy outpatients reported more childhood maltreatment than the GP except for sexual abuse.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Our results speak to a burdened and stressful childhood of patients with pedophilia; a fantasized, sexualized world in an abusive and neglecting childhood may function as a refuge and lead to "psychic withdrawal."

STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS: This is the first study comparing a small sample of patients with pedophilia with psychotherapy outpatients and a representative sample of the GP. The use of an established and standardized questionnaire of childhood maltreatment represents a strength. However, the questionnaire's exclusive focus on abuse and neglect represents a limitation as it fails to examine other sources of adverse childhood experiences (eg, intrafamily relationships or loss of a parent).

CONCLUSION

A better understanding can help establish more effective treatment and prevention programs for patients with pedophilia. Marx CM, Tibubos AN, Brähler E, et al. Experienced Childhood Maltreatment in a Sample of Pedophiles: Comparisons With Patients of a Psychosomatic Outpatient Clinic and the General Population. J Sex Med 2020;17:985-993.