International Journal of Advanced Studies in https://www.sexology.ro/jurnal © Sexology Institute of Romania ISSN 2668-7194 (print), ISSN 2668-9987 (online) Vol. 2(2), 2020, pp. 94-97 DOI: 10.46388/ijass.2020.13.26

PARAPHILIC DISORDERS

ILINCA BARUCH

Babeș-Bolyai University, Faculty of and Educational Sciences, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Corresponding author email: [email protected]

Abstract Paraphilic disorders are diagnosed largely in forensic settings and it is both a social and a public health issue. In this paper we discuss about the differences between and paraphilic disorders and we emphasize clinical features regarding voyeuristic disorder, , and .

Key words: paraphilic disorders, comorbidity, prevalence, sexual offending.

INTRODUCTION In this article there will be presented the following: voyeuristic disorder, pedophilia, It is highly important to distinguish necrophilia and rape. between paraphilias and paraphilic disor- ders. A is defined as an atypical or Voyeuristic Disorder deviant sexual interest. Paraphilic disorder is Urges to observe an unsuspecting person a paraphilia that is currently causing distress who is naked, undressing or engaging in or impairment to the individual or a paraphilia sexual activities, or in activities deemed to be whose satisfaction has entailed personal harm, of a private nature. Sometimes it is also called or risk of harm, to others. (APA, 2013) (skopos = viewer, filia = love, pleas- DSM-V includes eight specific paraphilic ure). is characterized as having disorders recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, 1. Voyeuristic Disorder sexual urges, or behaviors involving the act 2. Fetishistic Disorder of observing an unsuspecting person who is 3. Exhibitionistic Disorder naked, in the process of disrobing, or engaging 4. Frotteuristic Disorder in sexual activity. The person being considered 5. Sexual Masochism Disorder for this disorder, in some way, has acted on 6. Sadistic Disorder these urges towards an non-consenting person 7. Pedophilic Disorder or the sexual fantasies/urges cause clinically 8. Trasvestic Fetishism significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of func- Other specified paraphilic disorders are:necro - tioning. (according to DSM-V). Also, the indi- philia, , , urofilia, vidual who acts after the impulses is at least 18 infantilism, telephone scatalogia. years old.

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94 Paraphilic disorders

Comorbidity Pedophilia The term “pedophilia” comes from the According to other studies, there is consid- Greek language, “pais” meaning “child” and erable overlap with other potentially criminal “philia” which means “friendship”. This paraphilias in clinical samples, particularly disorder refers to the directing of fantasies and sadomasochism (Abel et al., and sexual behaviors towards adolescents or 1988; Bradford et al., 1992; Fedora et al., 1992; pre-adolescents. The Diagnostic Manual of Freund et al., 1997; Gebhard et al., 1965). Mental Disorders (DSM-V) presents three crite- ria for diagnosing such a disorder. First, for at Prevalence least 6 months, the individual manifests sexual It seems that acts of voyeurism are very fantasies and behaviors that lead to sexual common in the area of sexual behaviors arousal with one or more children, pre-puber- that have the potential for breaking the law tal age, usually under 13 years. Secondly, the (e.g., Abel et al., 1988; Bradford et al., 1992). individual has acted according to impulses or Langstrom and Seto (2006) studied the prev- they cause discomfort both psychically and alence of the characteristic feature of this in interpersonal relationships. The last crite- disorder, that is, arousal caused by watching rion refers to age, so the individual must be persons involved in sexual activities on a repre- 16 years of age or older and the age difference sentative sample from Sweden. The sample between the individual and the child is at least included 2,450 subjects between the ages of 18 5 years. Pedophilia itself is not punished by the and 60. 191 of them (12% men and 4% women) law, because punished are the concrete facts reported at least one incident in which they and not the sensations, feelings and desires (eg had caused by spying on other ). The pedophile will only be people while having sex. Despite these indica- punished if he gives in to his primary desires tions of considerable prevalence, research has and takes action. been ‘‘extremely limited’’ (Mann, Ainsworth, Al-Attar, & Davies, 2008) Dimensions: Another study examined whether • Exclusive attracted only by children non-clinical subjects would engage in voyeur- → • Non-exclusive: attracted by children and ism. Rye and Meaney (2007) asked university → adults (Studies show that the vast majority students about the likelihood (0–100%) that of pedophiles are nonexclusive. This means they would secretly watch an attractive person that they often have relationships with undress or two attractive people having sex, adults). and the results show that non clinical subjects • Incestuous versus Non incestuos: In Abel also have voyeuristic behaviors. According to and Osborne’s study only 1% of the victims another study that had as a population a rural were relatives with the one who molested area in the United States of America, which them. Although is less frequent, it included 60 male students who have never has very long-term costs. been convicted, says that 42% of them looked at • Attracted to masculine , attracted others in hiding during a sexual act. Langstro to feminine gender or both. (Some stud- and Seto (2006) also investigated a possible ies show that there are more homosexual association between voyeurism behaviors and pedophiles than heterosexuals. In 1992, possible risk factors. In the given context, it however, Abel and Osbourne conducted seems that being male and having psycholog- a study which resulted in more than 60% ical problems (sexual or emotional abuse in having aggression against girls and boys. childhood), low life satisfaction, high substance use, multiple sexual partners, high frequency Comorbidity of using pornographic materials and mastur- There is empirical evidence that shows the bation, are risk factors for voyeurism disorder. clinical implications of pedophilia, and one

95 ILINCA BARUCH of them is the presence of several paraphilia up, remove the organs, and then masturbate disorders in people diagnosed with pedo- while immersing his hands in the blood of the philia, such as: voyeurism, exhibitionism and corpse. He had always been socially isolated. frottoeurism. In Raymond’s study, 53% of the He had been caught masturbating in public subjects were diagnosed with multiple para- places and engaging in voyeuristic activities philia disorders. as well. Choking prostitutes also excited him sexually. In his late 20s, he obtained a job in Necrophilia a morgue for the sole purpose of being near One of the most sensitive parts in the field dead bodies. Although he denied any actual of sexual fantasies is because of their devi- sexual contact with the corpses, he had become ant side Necrophilia is the sexually excited by cutting them up. He killed to corpses. The main motivation of these acts animals for the purpose of carrying out a simi- seems to be the pleasure of dominating a body lar fantasy. He killed the animals painlessly, that is not showing resistance. Another moti- taking no pleasure in the killing itself. His vation found in necrophiles would be to meet a pleasure came from the mutilation of the warm former partner with whom they had a roman- bodies (Risen, personal communication) tic relationship. There is also a strong desire to overcome the profound sense of isolation. For the second category, named “pseudo-nec- It is a rare disorder that dates back to ancient rophiles”, they do not have as primary interest times. According to Herodotus, the ancient the bodies, but prefer the sexual contact with Egyptians took measures against necrophilia living persons. by forbidding to send the corpses of the wives Regarding psychopathology, it seems that of men of rank from being delivered imme- in a sample of 64 subjects, 17% were psychotic, diately to the embalmers, for fear that the and half were diagnosed with personality embalmers would violate them. According to disorders. The access to the corpses is given a legend, King Herod had sex with his wife by occupation, the most common being in the Marianne for seven years after he killed her. hospital, the cemetery or the morgue. In fact, In the Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders many necrophiles have affirmed the choice of (DSM V) it is included in the category of spec- occupation as the main way to ensure their ified paraphylactic disorders and refers to an needs and to express their fantasies. intense excitation present for at least 6 months and which is towards corpses. Motivations: In one study, a classification was made: The main motivation of these acts seems • “genuine necrophils” and to be the pleasure of having a body that does “pseudo-necrophiles”. not resist. Another motivation found in necro- For the first category they wrote about 3 philes would be to meet a former partner with subtypes: whom they had a romantic relationship. - Necrophilic Homicide- those who kill to get sexual pleasure with a corpse Rape - Necrophiles - those who use the corpses Sexual offenses are a major social prob- without killing, to obtain sexual lem. Rape is a crime, thus punished by law and excitement, refers to a sexual act that takes place against the - Necrophilic Fantasy- those who have will of one of the partners. The social danger fantasies with corpses. generated by sex offenses is represented by the According to a body of work, a 40-year physical and mental harm caused to the victim. old, single man requested psychiatric help The costs are very high in the long term, being because he was afraid that he would carry out affected the sexual life but also the social one. a repetitive fantasy he had had since he was The state of “inability to defend itself” or 15. His fantasy was to kill a woman, cut her “inability to express its will” are also relevant

96 Paraphilic disorders for committing the crime of rape (and for RESOURCES other crimes), when the perpetrator has either 1. Brown, J. M., & Campbell, E. A. (Eds.). The put the victim in this state or profited of this Cambridge handbook of forensic psychology. pre-existing state of the victim. Cambridge University Press, 2010. Povey and Kaiza (2007) investigated the 2. Rosman, J. P., & Resnick, P. J. Sexual statistics of these crimes in 2006-2007. In this attraction to corpses: A psychiatric review of context, the police recorded 57,542 sex offenses necrophilia. Bulletin of the American Academy of in England. Just over three quarters (43,755) Psychiatry and the Law, 17(2), 153-163, 1989. are classified as serious sexual offenses, for 3. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic example rape, and sexual inter- and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM- course with children. The other (less serious) 5®). American Psychiatric Pub, 2013. sexual offenses consisted of sexual wrong 4. Cohen, L. J., & Galynker, I. I. Clinical features doing, mostly with adults, such as prostitutes. of pedophilia and implications for treatment. Journal of Psychiatric Practice®, 8(5), 276-289, Adult men are the most common perpetra- 2002. tors of sexual crimes. Myhill and Allen (2002) 5. Långström, N. The DSM diagnostic criteria suggest that women between the ages of 16 for exhibitionism, voyeurism, and . and 24 are at greatest risk of being raped or Archives of sexual behavior, 39(2), 317-324, 2010. sexually assaulted. Knight and Prentky (1990) 6. Metzl, J. M. Voyeur nation? Changing reported three types of rapist motivations that definitions of voyeurism, 1950–2004. Harvard actually help us identify typologies: sexual, review of psychiatry, 12(2), 127-131, 2004. anger-driven, and sadistic. 7. Moser, C. DSM-5 and the paraphilic disorders: A common psychopathology that has been Conceptual issues. Archives of Sexual Behavior, found in sexual offenders is antisocial person- 45(8), 2181-2186, 2016. ality disorder. Antisocial personality disorder 8. Bondrea A. & Delcea C. Sexual deviations. is characterized by a pattern of disregard and Considerations regarding pedophilia - mith and violation of the rights of others. It is the most reality. Int J Advanced Studies in Sexology. common disorder in prison systems. According Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp. 10-14. Sexology Institute of to research by Fazel & Danesh (2002), the prev- Romania. DOI: 10.46388/ijass.2019.12.112 9. Constrachevici L, M., & Delcea C. Sexual alence of the disorder among prisoners is 47% deviance. The Sexual sadism. Int J Advanced in men and 21% in women. Studies in Sexology. Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp. 23-27. Sexology Institute of Romania. DOI: 10.46388/ CONCLUSIONS ijass.2019.12.114 10. Delcea C. . Int J Advanced Studies Paraphilic disorders are diagnosed largely in Sexology. Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp. 36-38. in forensic settings and delineating what is Sexology Institute of Romania. DOI: 10.46388/ normal versus deviant is one of the biggest ijass.2019.12.117 challenges when using the term paraphilia. 11. Delcea C. Sexual deviances. Int J Advanced There is empirical evidence that shows the Studies in Sexology. Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp. 44-47. clinical implications, such as comorbidity and Sexology Institute of Romania. DOI: 10.46388/ distress. Numerous studies (Bondrea A. & ijass.2019.12.119 Delcea C., 2019; Constrachevici L, M., & Delcea 12. Popa T.,& Delcea C. Voyeurism and Scopophilia. C., 2019; Delcea C, 2019; Popa T.,& Delcea C., Int J Advanced Studies in Sexology. Vol. 1, Issue 2019; Eusei D., & Delcea C., 2019) confirm our 1, pp. 53-55. Sexology Institute of Romania. results. It is highly important to distinguish DOI: 10.46388/ijass.2019.12.11.121 between paraphilias and paraphilic disorders, 13. Eusei D., & Delcea C. Fetishist disorder. Int J in order to reduce the stigma for those with Advanced Studies in Sexology. Vol. 1, Issue 2, pp. 73-77. Sexology Institute of Romania. DOI: atypical sexual interests who do not cause 10.46388/ijass.2019.12.11.123 harm. Paraphilic disorders represents both a social and a public health issue and further research is needed.

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