Understanding of Emotional States in Persons with Pedophilia / Pedophilic Disorder

1833

Abstract

This article highlights the problem of emotional perception in pedophilia (ICD-10) / pedophilia disorder (ICD-11). In present paper, emotional perception is considered as abilities of recognizing and identifying a wide range of mental states like emotions, affects, moods, feelings. The assumption about relations of alexithymia and disturbances in the recognition of emotions, perspective taking, empathy with pedophilia and regulatory mechanisms of activity verified empirically. Two groups of persons accused of sexual crimes are compared: 44 people with pedophilia, 32 people without the disorder; also 95 persons who haven't been accused were examined for the control group; as well intra-group comparison of pedophilic persons with egosyntonic and egodystonic attitude toward sexual drive was made. Contradictions of earlier studies are resolved in the result: it is shown that in pedophilia the ability of understanding emotional states remains normal at first sight (in comparison with the deficits found in the accused without pedophilia). However, the group with pedophilia is characterized by extremely high level of alexithymia and based on this the consistently conclusion is made about disturbances of emotional regulation in egosyntonic form of this disorder.

General Information

Keywords: pedophilia, pedophilic disorder, alexithymia, empathy, emotions, emotional recognition, perspective taking, sexual offence

Journal rubric: Empirical Research

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/cpse.2018070305

For citation: Demidova L.Y., Dvoryanchikov N.V. Understanding of Emotional States in Persons with Pedophilia / Pedophilic Disorder [Elektronnyi resurs]. Klinicheskaia i spetsial'naia psikhologiia = Clinical Psychology and Special Education, 2018. Vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 84–99. DOI: 10.17759/cpse.2018070305. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

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Information About the Authors

Liubov Y. Demidova, PhD in Psychology, Senior Researcher of the Laboratory of Forensic Sexology, V.P. Serbsky National Medical Research Centre for Psychiatry and Narcology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4357-1105, e-mail: lyubov.demidova@gmail.com

Nikolay V. Dvoryanchikov, PhD in Psychology, Docent, Dean, Faculty of Legal and Forensic Psychology, Moscow State University of Psychology & Education, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1462-5469, e-mail: dvorian@gmail.com

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