Pedophilia has become a topic of increased interest, awareness, and concern for both
the medical community and the public at large. Increased media exposure, new sexual
offender disclosure laws, Web sites that list the names and addresses of convicted
sexual offenders, politicians taking a “get tough” stance on sexual offenders, and
increased investigations of sexual acts with children have increased public awareness
about pedophilia. Because of this increased awareness, it is important for physicians
to understand pedophilia, its rate of occurrence, and the characteristics of pedophiles
and sexually abused children. In this article, we address research that defines the
various types and categories of pedophilia, review available federal data on child
molestation and pornography, and briefly discuss the theories on what makes an individual
develop a sexual orientation toward children. This article also examines how researchers
determine if someone is a pedophile, potential treatments for pedophiles and sexually
abused children, the risk of additional sexual offenses, the effect of mandatory reporting
laws on both physicians and pedophiles, and limitations of the current pedophilic
literature.
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- CORRECTIONMayo Clinic ProceedingsVol. 82Issue 5
- PreviewIncorrect e-mail address: In the article by Hall & Hall entitled “A Profile of Pedophilia: Definition, Characteristics of Offenders, Recidivism, Treatment Outcomes, and Forensic Issues,” published in the April 2007 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Mayo Clin Proc. 2007;82:457-471), an incorrect e-mail address appeared in the footnote on the title page. The correct e-mail address is [email protected].
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