The DOI matches its Crossref record; 81 of the 82 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Motivation-Facilitation Model of Sexual Offending
Abstract
In this article, I describe the motivation-facilitation model of sexual offending, which identifies the traits of paraphilia, high sex drive, and intense mating effort as primary motivations for sexual offenses, as well as trait (e.g., antisocial personality) and state (e.g., intoxication) factors that can facilitate acting on these motivations when opportunities exist. Originally developed to explain contact sexual offending against children, the motivation-facilitation model was subsequently extended as an explanation for child pornography offending and for online solicitations of young adolescents. Here, I argue it has the potential to be expanded to explain other forms of sexual offending, including sexual assaults of adults and noncontact offenses involving exhibitionism or voyeurism. In this review, I critically examine the evidence for and against the model, discuss its limitations, and identify critical gaps for future research.
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In the citing paper
“In the MFM, offense patterns are shaped by facilitators, such as self-regulation problems and alcohol use, and situational factors, such as access to victims, and absence of supervision.”
From AI-generated child sexual abuse material: what’s the harm? (2026) · cites this paper as Seto 2019
In the citing paper
“Seto's MotivationFacilitation Model (MFM) provides a well-established structure for understanding pathways to sexual offending, particularly differentiating between the motivational factors that drive an individual's interest in CSAM and the facilitation and situational factors that enable offending behavior (Seto 2019).”
From AI-generated child sexual abuse material: what’s the harm? (2026) · cites this paper as Seto 2019
In the citing paper
“Consistent with the MFM (Seto 2019), AI CSAM risks enhancing existing or opening new pathways into offending, either by facilitating the escalation of pornography consumption toward more extreme material or by reducing protective barriers that would otherwise prevent engagement with CSAM by people with a longstanding sexual interest in children.”
From AI-generated child sexual abuse material: what’s the harm? (2026) · cites this paper as Seto 2019
Citations
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Research works printed but not linked: 6
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- 10.1023/A:1009562312658 · DOI
- Hanson R. K., Harris A. J. R., Scott T. L., Helmus L. (2007). Assessing the risk of sexual offenders on community supervision: The Dynamic Supervision Project (Research report, Vol. 5(6)). Ottawa, Ontario: Public Safety Canada.
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- 10.1023/A:1009536200242 · DOI
- Stephens S. M. (2015). Hebephilic sexual interests among sexual offenders. Doctoral dissertation, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Sadism: Review of an elusive construct
Foulkes, L. (2019) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2019.07.010 · Cited by 90
Empirically-based dynamic risk and protective factors for sexual offending
Seto, M. C., Augustyn, C., Roche, K. M., & Hilkes, G. (2023) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2023.102355 · Cited by 100
Self-citationChild Sexual Exploitation Materials Offenders
Babchishin, K. M., Merdian, H. L., Bartels, R. M., & Perkins, D. E. (2018) · European Psychologist · doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000326 · Cited by 82
Prevention, disruption and deterrence of online child sexual exploitation and abuse
Quayle, E. (2020) · ERA Forum · doi:10.1007/s12027-020-00625-7 · Cited by 66
Concordance of Paraphilic Interests and Behaviors
Seto, M. C., Curry, S. D., Dawson, S. J., Bradford, J., & Chivers, M. L. (2020) · The Journal of Sex Research · doi:10.1080/00224499.2020.1830018 · Cited by 76
“The motivation facilitation model, for example, suggests that antisocial personality traits will play an important role in the concordance of paraphilias involving criminalized behavior (Seto, 2019).”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Seto, M. C.
- Affiliations
- Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, Brockville, Ontario, Canada
- Corresponding author
- Seto, Michael C.
- ORCID
- Seto, Michael C.
- Venue
- Sexual Abuse
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-07-17
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3-24
- ISSN
- 1079-0632 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-286X
- OpenAlex
- W2737203213
- Cited by
- 339
- References
- 82
- Citations by year
- 2026: 50 · 2025: 47 · 2024: 53 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 48 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 19.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Sexual Abuse (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
- Keywords
- sexual offending, paraphilias, sexual desire, mating effort, antisocial personality, poisoning, child sexual abuse, exhibitionism, voyeurism, adult sexual assault
- MeSH terms
- Child, Child Abuse, Sexual, Humans, Libido, Models, Psychological, Motivation, Pedophilia, Risk Factors, Sex Offenses, Criminals
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