Identifying the coping strategies of nonoffending pedophilic and hebephilic individuals from their online forum posts
Open accessAbstract
Individuals who identify as pedophilic or hebephilic, and who do not offend, are increasingly visible in online discourse and as a focus of research. Developing knowledge about this population will offer insights into their psychological needs and, potentially, into the mechanisms and strategies individuals use to live offense-free lives. This study examined coping strategies among members of an online forum supporting pedohebephilic individuals who do not wish to offend. Forum users’ posts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Eleven themes emerged, which were classifiable into three superordinate themes around (a) the acceptance of pedophilia, (b) strategies to stay safe, and (c) dealing with sexual arousal. These themes offer insight into the varying strategies used by these individuals to cope with stress and/or to remain offense-free. Understanding whether these strategies are adaptive or maladaptive may help develop better support services for those who have not offended and may inform prevention efforts.
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They might not show their actual behavior due to lack of trust, social desirability, and fear of losing anonymity.
“They might not show their actual behavior due to lack of trust, social desirability, and fear of losing anonymity [154].”
From Online grooming detection: A comprehensive survey of child exploitation in chat logs (2023) · cites this paper as [154]
From the psychological perspective, one of the critical limitations of anonymous studies of pedophiles and the predatory problem is their reliance on self-report for explaining their sexual interest.
“From the psychological perspective, one of the critical limitations of anonymous studies of pedophiles and the predatory problem is their reliance on self-report for explaining their sexual interest [154].”
From Online grooming detection: A comprehensive survey of child exploitation in chat logs (2023) · cites this paper as [154]
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- Authors
- Jones, S. J., Ó Ciardha, C., & Elliott, I. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Kent (GB)
- University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
- Ministry of Justice (GB)
- Venue
- Sexual Abuse
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2020-10-21
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 793-815
- ISSN
- 1079-0632 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-286X
- PMC
- PMC8419289
- OpenAlex
- W3093763970
- Cited by
- 24
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 1.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Sexual Abuse (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/S018964/1)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime, Deviance, and Social Control
- Keywords
- coping strategies, online forums, sexual arousal, psychological needs, support services, prevention
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Humans, Pedophilia
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