Pedophilia and Aggression

Abstract

While some authors consider pedophiles to be physically harmless individuals who do not attempt intercourse with their often seductive victims, others have identified a minority of child molesters who are aggressively predatory. Data from penitentiary files revealed that 29 of 41 incarcerated pedophiles used threats of violence or actual physical force to secure their sexual goals, and these sexual goals frequently involved penile penetration. Those inmates who did use force were also generally criminal in tendency and assaultive by disposition, although they were also observed to be socially shy and underassertive. Two single cases demonstrated that violence, associated with sexual relations with children, was sexually more provocative for these individuals than nonviolent sex. Finally, an etiological theory is offered to account for the observed data.