Nine tenths of all pedophiles are
male. They are fascinated by preteen females, teenage males, or (more rarely) both. What is the psychological disorder that is behind
this? Below we will examine the psychology of the pedophile's mind.
Pedophiles start out as "normal"
people and are often deeply shaken and distraught to discover their unlawful sexual preference for the pre-pubertal. The process
of change from socially acceptable sexuality to much-condemned (and criminal) pedophilia is still for the most part unexplained.
Pedophiles appear to have
narcissistic and antisocial (psychopathic) traits. They lack compassion for their victims and express no repentance for their
actions. They are in denial and, being pathological confabulators, they rationalize their transgressions, claiming that the
children were merely being educated for their own good and, anyhow, derived great pleasure from it.
The pedophile's sense of
self rests on his allopathic defenses. He usually tends to blame others (or the world or the "system") for his misfortunes,
failures, and deficiencies. Pedophiles frequently accuse their victims of acting promiscuously, of "coming on to them", of
actively tempting, provoking, and luring (or even trapping) them.
The pedophile misinterprets
the child's body language and inter-personal cues. His social communication skills
are impaired and he fails to regulate information gained to the surrounding circumstances (for instance, to the kid's age and maturity).
Together with his lack of empathy, this recurrent inability to truly comprehend others
causes the pedophile to objectify the targets of his lasciviousness. To the pedophile,
"love" means enmeshment and clinging coupled with an overpowering separation anxiety (fear of being abandoned).
Consequently, pedophiles react badly to any perceived rejection by their victims. They turn on a dime and become dangerously vindictive, out to destroy the source of
their mounting frustration. When the "relationship" looks hopeless, some pedophiles violently embark on a spree of self-destruction.
Pedophiles are irresponsible and psychologically
labile. The pedophile's sense of self-worth is volatile and deregulated. He is likely to suffer from abandonment anxiety and be a codependent or counter-dependent.
Ironically, it is by apparently losing control
in one part of his life (sex) that
the pedophile re-acquires a sense of mastery. The same mechanism is at work in the development of eating disorders. An inhibitory
deficit is somehow magically perceived as omnipotence.
The pedophile is aware of society's view of his actions as vile, corrupt, forbidden, evil,
and decadent (especially if the pedophiliac act involves incest). He derives pleasure from the sleazy nature of his pursuits
because it tends to sustain his view of himself as "bad", "a failure", "deserving
of punishment", and "guilty".
The pedophile treats "his" chosen child as an object, an extension of himself, devoid
of a separate existence and denuded of distinct needs. He finds the child's submissiveness
and gullibility gratifying. He frowns on any sign of personal autonomy and regards it as a threat. By intimidating, cajoling,
charming, and making false promises, the abuser isolates his prey from his family, school, peers, and from the rest of society
and, thus, makes the child's dependence
on him total.
Narcissistic pedophiles claim
to be infallible, superior, talented, skillful, omnipotent, and omniscient. They often lie and confabulate to support these
unfounded claims and to justify their actions. Most pedophiles suffer from cognitive deficits and reinterpret reality to fit
their fantasies.
The pedophile believes that he is in love with (or simply loves) the child. No amount
of denials, chastising, threats, and even outright hostile actions convince the erotic-maniac that the child is not in love
with him. He knows better and will make the world see the light as well. He interprets everything the child does (or refrains
from doing) as coded messages confessing to and conveying the child's interest in and eternal devotion to the pedophile and
to the "relationship".
