Are pedophiles criminals or people with mental disorders? Experts agree that the situation of these people who suffer from this paraphilia, which consists of obtaining sexual pleasure or excitement through sexual activities or fantasies with children between 8 and 12 years old, is not easy to define.
Now, a study carried out by researchers at the University of Windsor (Canada) has concluded that certain aspects of neural development (when the nervous system is being formed in the embryo in utero) can affect the risk of presenting adult pedophile tendencies . In addition, they have found certain superficial facial defects known as minor physical abnormalities (such as having a sunken or arched palate or malformation in the ears) coinciding in pedophiles as well as the common trait of being left-handed.
” If we find that pedophilia has a biological basis , with a very early onset, even prenatal, this will influence its study and we hope to improve treatment methods for this group of patients,” explains Fiona Dyshniku, leader of the study.
In their research, the scientists recruited 140 adult men from the Kurt Freund Laboratory of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada. All of them were individually evaluated for their sexual behavior, conducted an interview related to their sexual history and also participated in phalometric tests to check their sexual preference.
The comparison of results revealed that men who were identified as pedophiles were more likely to be left-handed and have minor facial defects , compared to those who were not considered pedophiles.
Taking into account that these facial malformations develop due to an affectation of the primary embryonic tissue (which forms the central nervous system during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy) either by a virus, alcohol, drugs, nutritional deficiencies or obstetric and gynecological complications , would reveal a biological and prenatal origin of pedophile tendencies when the individual completes his adult development.
“If we know more about the etiology of such harmful behavior, we can create more effective treatments and look towards prevention . For years, child abuse has been thought of as part of learned behavior, in which those who were sexually abused became potential adult abusers. Although this may be a factor in some cases, this is not the case for those who have true pedophilia ”, adds Raquel Fazio, coutora of the study.
The work has been published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior magazine.
