Pedophilia Disorder Essay

A person who acts on any sexual desires towards children or has masturbated to sexual fantasies about children or watched child pornography can be described as a person with the pedophilic disorder (Berlin, 2014). The paper aims to briefly is to look into the psychological disorder known as a pedophilic disorder to get a better understanding about its diagnosis, effects, treatment methods and identify any areas about the disorder that may require further study. Many people are confused as to whether the pedophilic behavior is a sexual orientation or an actual mental disorder; this, however, can only be clarified through a scientific and medical specialist. The pedophilic disorder causes harm to others and affects an individual’s status in life. A person suffering from pedophilic disorder may do some acts to the childlike performing oral sex with them or touching their genitals to gain pleasure from the acts which are sexual abuse.

A person who suffers from the disorder may be attracted to family members only; which is classified as incest. An individual may be attracted to both children and adults or children alone; they may also have certain sexual preferences such as attraction to males only, females only or both male and female children. People who suffer from the disorder also have some behavioral tells that can be used to identify them; according to Khalid and Yousaf (2018) people with pedophilic disorder tend to have more fixated eyes in comparison to other people as it creates a form of sexual arousal to them and males have abnormal levels of LH and FSH hormones which cause sexual fantasies. Victims of the disorder suffer various effects on their life.

Most people do not like to associate with anyone who is branded a pedophile, and they do not take time to get a better understanding of the disorder; this leads to people who suffer from the disorder being isolated from society and being stigmatized. Patients can undergo psychotherapy to aid with the problem, or they can be given medication as a treatment option that is combined with therapy, and at times extreme physical measures can be taken to administer treatment. Patients may be subjected to physical treatments such as surgical castration for males or the removal of the testes; castration can be done chemically as well; the patient gets hormonal therapy which aids in the reduction of their sexual drive by causing a reduction in levels of testosterone which are usually high in men causing the heightened sexual desires (Olshan, 2014).

Patients can be given medication which can be antiandrogens serotonin. The medication works by inhibiting production of the LH hormone and FSH hormone by the pituitary glands; it also lowers levels of testosterone in patients casing a decrease in their libido. Patients are usually started off on psychological therapies to aid in their treatment. Some countries have developed preventative pedophile programs that aid the patients to avoid involving themselves in any sexually offending acts. Effective treatment of the disorder is mostly achieved through a combination of medical administration and therapy. The area of the pedophilic disorder is broad, and there is room for broader research to be conducted concerning the disorder. One area would be the effects the disorder has on the affected party.

The stigma the people who suffer from the disorder needs extensive research. People may assume the disorder is an asexual preference rather than a mental illness. The disorder affects parts of the brain and people suffering from the disorder have an overproduction of testosterone, LH and FSH hormones. The disorder has several symptoms that include an individual who keeps having sexual fantasies with children for more extended periods or a person who acts on sexual fantasies with children or a person aged above sixteen and has an age difference above five years of their victim. The disorder can be treated through therapy or medication; the two methods are usually combined for better efficiency. Preventive treatment methods are in use but have not been fully tested to evaluate their efficiency.