Survey reveals strategies for managing sexual attraction towards children, indicating moral values play a key role.
Despite widespread erroneous beliefs conflating sexual attraction towards children and child sex offending, many individuals who experience attraction towards children successfully navigate their attractions without harming children. The present study aimed to contribute to the growing literature on prosocial navigation of sexual attraction towards children. Through an anonymous online survey, 86 adults who self-reported being attracted to children responded to an open-ended question about how they navigated their attractions. Utilising an inductive, reflexive thematic analysis, five overarching themes were generated: (a) 'Not being a psychopath helps'; (b) 'All those years in jail just wouldn't be worth it'; (c) 'I express my sexual feelings as fully as I can'; (d) 'Making a positive community centred around being good people'; and (e) 'Hard lines in clear territory'. Deeply held moral values were the main motivator for avoiding sexual crimes involving children, and many participants did not need explicit strategies to avoid committing such crimes.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Phillipps et al. (2025) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: