Abstract
This study examined whether pedophilia is best understood as a dimension or a discrete class (taxon). We considered pedophilia to include both physical sexual attraction to children as well as emotional attraction to children and childhood. Archival data from 901 adult males from a U.S. civil commitment treatment center for sexually dangerous persons were used. Three indicators were submitted to Meehl and Ruscio's taxometric analyses: (a) a screening scale for pedophilic interests based on criminal history, (b) a composite indicator of pedophilic physical attraction, and (c) a composite indicator of pedophilic emotional attraction. All analyses supported a taxon. Compared with nontaxon members, taxon members had more interpersonal deficits, more neurodevelopmental perturbations, more sex-crime specific problems, and fewer problems related to criminality overall. Although previous research showed mixed results (some dimensional, some taxonic), the current study moves the balance of evidence toward considering pedophilia as a distinct disorder. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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