By Jill Levenson, PhD, Barry
University, Inc. at JLevenson@barry.edu; Melissa
Grady, Ph.D, The Catholic University of America at grady@cua.edu; and Julie Patrick with
RALIANCE at jpatrick@raliance.org
W. Edwards Deming once famously said, “In
God we trust, all others must bring data.” Designing effective primary
prevention services starts with collecting good data. Yet this proves challenging
for many stigmatized populations who remain “in the shadows.”
The scholarly literature, for instance,
about non-offending minor attracted persons (MAPs) is in a nascent stage. Though
they remain an under-studied and somewhat misunderstood population, we are
learning more about individuals who have sexual interests in children (Cantor
& McPhail, 2016). Studies have revealed that most MAPs become aware of
their unusual sexual interests in early adolescence (B4UAct, 2011b; Buckman,
Ruzicka, & Shields, 2016), and that among MAPs, about 42% report a primary
attraction to pre-pubescent youngsters (Mitchell & Galupo, 2016; Piché,
Mathesius, Lussier, & Schweighofer, 2016).
Due to stigma, fear, and shame, and many
other factors, many MAPs have not sought help from professionals, and others
have been discouraged by the services they received (Jahnke, 2018). Some MAPs who did seek services but did not receive them reported that
failure to obtain adequate help resulted in negative ramifications. These
include an exacerbation of mental health symptoms such as depression,
suicidality, withdrawal and isolation, lost productivity, fear and anxiety,
hopelessness, and substance abuse (B4UAct, 2011a). Furthermore, a small group
(3-4%) said that after being unable to obtain counseling, their attraction to
youngsters continued or escalated and that they were later convicted of a
sexual crime (B4UAct, 2011a). MAPs in non-forensic samples tend to have higher
education and socio-economic status than those convicted of sex crimes, and may
have greater willingness and opportunity to engage in formal and informal
help-seeking through various professional or online resources.
Thanks to an impact grant by nonprofit
leadership collaborative RALIANCE, Dr. Jill Levenson at Barry University and
Dr. Melissa Grady at Catholic University surveyed minor-attracted persons
(MAPs) to better
understand the obstacles they faced when seeking help[JP1] .
The project complemented information gained
from the “Help Wanted” project developed by Dr. Elizabeth Letourneau [described
in Buckman, Ruzicka & Shields (2016)] by collecting data from a larger
sample with a greater age range. The quantitative survey for more robust data
analyses including group comparisons and associations between variables.
Good
data and collaborations
The researchers built relationships to
partner with consumer groups that provide online support, resources, education,
and information for MAPs who are concerned about their sexual interest in
children. With the help of organizations like Stop It Now! and VirPed, the
project was able to collect a non-random, purposive sample of MAPs (n = 293; 154 completed all questions).
The on-line survey included quantitative questions to gather information about
their histories, help-seeking experiences and behaviors, as well as 10
open-ended prompts designed to capture their lived experiences of seeking counseling
for minor-attraction.
Overcoming
challenges
Confidentiality and anonymity concerns were
addressed by building in protections in the survey platform. Many MAPs have
worked to separate the constructs of minor-attraction or pedophilia from “sex
offender.” The conflation of these terms perpetuates the stigma and shame felt
by MAPs. For this reason, some MAPs did not want to be part of a study focused
on the prevention of sexual abuse, arguing that many MAPs are not at risk for
abuse.
Implications
for service delivery
The participants reported that stigma was
the primary barrier to seeking help from others. Although stigma was reported
as a stand-alone theme, it overlapped with many of the other themes, such as fear
of being judged or being reported to authorities even though they had never
acted on their attractions. They also reported high levels of shame, which
focused on internal views of themselves as a “bad person,” which was sometimes
reinforced by mental health professionals. To counter these negative experiences,
many noted the importance of building a community with other non-offending MAPs
(either in person or online). To learn more about the implications for practice
and policy, please review: “I can’t talk about that”: Stigma and fear as barriers to preventive
services for minor-attracted persons [JP2] [Original Journal article in Stigma & Health] and Preventing
Sexual Abuse: Perspectives of Minor-Attracted Persons About Seeking Help [JP3] [Original Research Article in Sexual Abuse].
This project promotes the idea that we can
make communities safer when we provide compassionate, relevant, ethical, and
effective psychotherapy services accessible and available for non-offending
MAPs who wish to maintain an emotionally healthy and non-victimizing lifestyle.
References
B4UAct. (2011a). Mental Health Care and
Professional Literature Survey Results. Retrieved from
http://www.b4uact.org/research/survey-results/spring-2011-survey/
B4UAct. (2011b). Youth, suicidality, and
seeking care. Retrieved from http://www.b4uact.org/research/survey-results/youth-suicidality-and-seeking-care/
Buckman, C., Ruzicka, A., & Shields, R.
T. (2016). Help Wanted: Lessons on prevention from non-offending young adult
pedophiles. ATSA Forum Newsletter, 28(2).
Cantor, J. M., & McPhail, I. V. (2016).
Non-offending Pedophiles. Current Sexual Health Reports, 8(3), 121-128. doi:DOI
10.1007/s11930-016-0076-z
Jahnke, S. (2018).
The stigma of pedophilia: Clinical and forensic implications. European
Psychologist, 23(2), 144-153. doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000325
Mitchell, R. C., & Galupo, M. P.
(2016). The role of forensic factors and potential harm to the child in the
decision not to act among men sexually attracted to children. Journal of
Interpersonal Violence, 0886260515624211.
Piché, L., Mathesius, J., Lussier, P.,
& Schweighofer, A. (2016). Preventative Services for Sexual Offenders.
Sexual abuse: a journal of research and treatment. doi:10.1177/1079063216630749
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