by Theo G.M. Sandfort
Sexual diversity among females seems to be less widespread than among males. The discussion in the literature of female sexual “deviancy” is mostly confined to prostitution and homosexuality.1 Men, on the other hand, are noted in almost every conceivable predilection.2 This applies to paedophilia and ephebophilia; paedophilia being the condition in which sexuo-erotic arousal and the facilitation or attainment of orgasm are dependent upon having a juvenile partner of prepubertal or peripubertal developmental status, and ephebophilia the same condition in which the partner is postpubertal and adolescent. However, for the purposes of this essay the term “paedophilia” will indicate a sexuo-erotic attraction to children younger than the Dutch age of consent of sixteen.
Most of the people who identify themselves as “paedophiles” are male. As far as their organized subculture shows, these desires are mainly directed by men towards boys.3 The fact that in the United States there is no heterosexual equivalent to NAMBLA (North American Man/Boy Love Association) might indicate the relative absence of girl—lovers, although another possible explanation is that, compared to male boylovers, girl-lovers experience less pressure to identify themselves as paedophiles. Sexual attraction towards girls seems to be a well—recognized phenomenon among male adults, even if acting out the attraction seems to be less accepted. Homosexual paedophiles, both male and female, discover that they neither belong to the category of “normal” heterosexuals, nor to the category of peer oriented homosexuals.
Whatever the reason for the supposed scarcity of male girl-lovers, female paedophiles, whether heterosexual or homosexual, seem to be totally missing in the psychological literature.4 The fact that they are rarely (or never) discussed does not, of course, imply that they do not exist.
That there might be some women who are sexually attracted to children and young adolescents is suggested by the fact that sexual involvement between female adults and children is a recurrent theme in pornography. In 1973, the Dutch pornographic magazine Chick published an illustrated interview with a woman in her early twenties who was involved in a sexual relationship with a twelve-year-old boy living in her neighborhood. Although the story may be true, one may assume that this and similar stories are included in pornographic magazines to please and excite the male readership. This is at least suggested by the interviewer's statement at the end of the interview: “I think that a lot of men would like to see themselves in the boy's place.”5 Certainly, from a male perspective, it is not difficult to consider what psychodynamic motives a man might have for sympathizing with the image of an older woman seducing a young boy, and that only underlines the plausibility of the interviewer's remark.
According to Bradley there is a feminine equivalent of “Greek love” in modern fiction, a term generally referring to pedagogical eros.6
The typical theme in these novels, some of them written for adolescents themselves, is that of the strong emotional attraction between a mature woman and her female student.7 These novels do not ordinarily deal with overt sex. “There are exceptions, but in general the pattern of Greek love between woman and girl is one of emotion rather than sensuality, involving heroine-worship, admiration, emulation. Frequently there is a strong maternal element in these attachments.”8 Bradley claims that these novels can be taken as a valid picture of Greek love relationships between women and girls. However, one must be careful about positing direct links between fiction and reality. There is the further problem with respect to definition. Bradley conceives woman-girl love in a broad sense, including pedagogical aspects. She presupposes the presence of a sexual aspect by stating that in the novels it is often deeply sublimated. The question is, however, whether this sexual aspect really is present, and further, whether or not it is the sexuo—erotic aspect itself which distinguishes paedophilia and ephebophilia from other forms of love of children.
Criminological literature, on the other hand, suggests the existence of female paedophiles. Groth reports that 50% of the incarcerated sex offenders whom he studied had been “sexually traumatized” during their formative years.9 In 27% of these 500 cases an adult female had been involved. The exact nature of these adult-child encounters is not specified. Finkelhor and Russell warn against misinterpretations of reported cases of “sexual abuse” in which females are involved, because the criteria for including women are often too broad.10 In some studies women were included even when they had not themselves engaged in sexual contacts with the child but were only aware of the “abuse” and had failed to stop it. In situations in which a male “perpetrator” had been involved, the female partner frequently participated under duress.
Finkelhor and Russell give national estimates for the United States indicating that in 14% of the cases involving boys, the adult is female. For women involved with girls the figure is 6%. However, because there are more girl victims than boy victims, this implies that women are more frequently sexually involved with girls than with boys. According to Finkelhor and Russell, retrospective studies based on self—reported incidents among more general populations also show that sexual contact between children and older women forms a distinct minority of child-adult contacts.11 Exceptions are studies based on special populations, such as the study mentioned above among incarcerated sex offenders, and Bell, Weinberg and Hammersmith's study of a homosexual sample.12 In the latter, 22% of the female homosexuals who had had a childhood sexual experience with a person over 16, reported this to have been with a woman.
Criminological studies, as well as studies based on reported cases and self-reported incidents, do not specify the kind of involvement women had on their sexual contacts with children. It is unclear to what extent these cases may be classified as paedophile, the criterion being the presence of feelings of sexual attraction towards children and young adolescents.13
By these introductory remarks I have attempted to show that little is known about female paedophilia. Given the scarcity of information, I welcomed the opportunity to get in touch with a young woman who had published a diary about her paedo—erotic desires.14 While studying children involved in paedophile relationships, I became interested in the part the adult played in these affairs.15 I wanted to present at least one case study of female paedophilia, in order to complement a study at the University of Utrecht of male paedophiles.16 In doing so I hoped to broaden the knowledge of female sexual diversity. In this study my main interest was not the origin of female paedophile desires or the psychodynamic motives behind these desires. Rather, I wanted to find out how these desires are experienced and acted upon.
I met Cindy, as she will be called here, through a mutual acquaintance. At that time (1987) she was twenty and had been involved in a relationship with a man her own age, Albert, for about four months. Even though she said she did not expect the relationship to last for a long time, it was playing an important, positive role in her life.
One of the reasons Cindy valued her friend so positively was that he gave her what she called “a crash course in social skills.” Up to the time of meeting him she had kept very much to herself and could be suddenly aggressive or sarcastic. He made her think about these things. Although Cindy was afraid of losing the possibility of living her own life, she said that Albert was important to her because he was the first person with whom she really could be herself “...even when you compare it with being with little girls.”
That sounds strange. But he invests a lot in the relationship. He doesn't want to lose me. With girls it's the other way around. I'm afraid to lose them so then I'm more indulgent. It pleases me to know I can have a relationship with a man my own age. I think he is a rather unique person. When I compare him with other men I had affairs with, he is totally different. Most of the time other men only take, but Albert also gives a lot. We're also interested in one another intellectually. When people are of like minds, it helps the physical part, I think. When this relationship is over, though, I don't think I'll start something new with another man.
Method
To structure the interview and to tap deeper layers of meaning, an adapted version of the so called Self-Confrontation Method was used.17 The objective of this method is to inventory various kinds of feeling that are important to an individual at a certain moment in her or his life. To assess the affective meaning of each of these affects, a person is asked to relate each aspect to a standard list of “affect terms,” which include such feelings as powerlessness, love, anxiety, joy, etc. (see Table I at end). Further insights into a person's experiences are gained by relating the resulting scores for feelings to each other and by then asking the person to explain these relationships.
The following is a description of Cindy's current experience world, especially as it relates to paedophilia. Statements from different parts of the interviews have been put together when they were clearly related to the same theme. Verbatim citations are included because, by their idiosyncratic formulation, they are more informative of her situation than a summary would be.
Content of Paedophile Desires
For Cindy, paedophilia meant a special feeling of attraction for certain little girls. This feeling of attraction included a physical aspect:
She described the girls she felt attracted to in the following way:There is a difference between finding a girl very beautiful and having sexual feelings for her. It is not just sexual for me. I would like to do everything with girls. But that's impossible because they live quite a different life from mine. I think it would be ideal when, on some very ordinary day, a sweet little girl would stand on your door step without a roof over her head and with no parents. She would just move in with you, never get older and share in all the things you normally do everyday. That would be really wonderful. I want as much of that as possible, and the small things too: hobbies, hugging. Of course she would get her own room. Mostly you can only see little girls for a limited time, and, just because you don't see each other that often, the physical aspect is emphasized more than other activities, like taking long walks together.
When asked what it was she wanted with children, whether sexual excitement or something more than the mere pleasure of physical intimacy, she replied:They are about 9 or 10 years old and have long blond hair and blue eyes. Their character is something you only get to know afterwards. They have a certain kind of aura. I can't describe it. Maybe they have a kind of physical awareness, a precocity perhaps.
Both. If the relationship is reciprocal, I want both of those things. If the girl herself wants them. People ask me sometimes where I draw the line between physical and sexual. I think that, especially for girls, this line is difficult to draw. These things knit so close together that, without knowing, you get from one thing into the other.
Asked to compare herself with male paedophiles, Cindy remarked:It is different with boy—lovers and little boys. I had some contact with little boys. Almost from the beginning these contacts are sexual. But having a little romp can also be exciting. I think that girls are better able to understand other feelings. Compared with boys, it isn't so easy with girls to draw a clear sexual line. I feel different myself when I'm with girls instead of boys. I think that is being caused by the boys. My physical feelings for girls are much more diffuse. They are not directed at one or two parts of the body. I want to hug the whole body. Boys are much less sensitive at a lot of other places.
She was asked whether it was easier for her, being a female paedophile.It is my experience that male paedophiles are more sexually directed. Sex seemed to have first priority. Other things were secondary. That is really the only difference I see. For the rest it's much like what I have experienced. But maybe I'm wrong.
About the origin of her paedophile feelings, Cindy remarked:In the beginning I thought it would be more accepted, because I was a female. But that isn't true. The men say it is easier for me, but I don't experience it as such. Maybe other women do. There will always be unpleasant parents who want to know what you are doing and where you're going. There will always be suspicion. You notice it when you visit people. My girlfriends' mothers want to know who you are and why their daughters want to spend time with you. And they'll interrogate you. That happens when the girls start to talk about you at home. And they invariably will ask you if you have a boyfriend and so on.
Maybe getting in touch with children is easier for a woman because you are allowed more range with strange kids. But when the relationship starts to develop there will be problems. There won't be any problems as long as you keep things superficial. But that's not what you want. It has to do with falling in love, you know.
I used to think about that sometimes. How did it all come about? How did I happen to grow up this way? I can think of some causes. A sickly birth, the kind of education I had, my twin brother who dominated the whole atmosphere at home, my father who was drunk a lot, and so on. Maybe my home situation really screwed me up. It made me socially incompetent and hypersensitive, I think. Anyway I'm less spontaneous when I'm with peers or older people than I probably would be otherwise.
I don't think about this any more. It isn't important any longer to find a cause. I mean, I don't want to get rid of those feelings any longer. Maybe that's the difference. Now I think these paedophile feelings are wonderful. At least when people don't make such a fuss about them. I no longer need to know where they come from.
Affective Meaning of Children
What do children mean to Cindy? She clearly experienced positive feelings more intensely for children than for adults, especially: joy, love, and warmth. (Italicized terms in the text will appear in Table I at the end.) With respect to girls to whom she feels erotically attracted, these positive feelings were still more intense.
One would expect, therefore, that adults would elicit stronger negative feelings than children. However, it was not that simple. Some negative feelings were equally experienced towards children and adults (powerlessness, unhappiness). Some negative feelings occurred more frequently with respect to children in general or, specifically, towards little girls to whom she felt attracted (worry, anxiety). Feelings such as loneliness, inferiority, and anger were more strongly experienced towards adults.
In order to gain a better understanding of the meaning children had for Cindy, the differences in the intensity of the feelings elicited by the different affect value areas were discussed with her. In particular, Cindy was asked to elucidate why children elicited different feelings than adults did.
Compared with adults, children gave Cindy a stronger sense of love and joy:I don't know very many adults well. Some parents of kids, some teachers, that's almost all. People I meet in the supermarket don't mean a lot to me.
I think it is true that I feel more positive about children. Children are much more lively, compared with adults. They look happy, do the things they want to do. Children are more beautiful too. Adults are dull most of the time. Children accept me as I am more than most adults do. Adults make you do things, always have an opinion about you. When I am much older maybe I'll have to deal with adults differently. Except for dealing with the authorities, I haven't had much to do with adults till now.
Children also gave her stronger feelings of enjoyment and solidarity:In general, children radiate life much more than adults. It is much more fin to see kids pass by than adults. Most of the time children are more beautiful. Children just have it. I think that's very important. Something you think is beautiful you value much more. When you see a fat man you think: “Well mister, some jogging won't do you any harm.” Maybe it is also because there are more adults than children. The world is bursting with adults. So I am always glad to see a little girl.
Compared to adults, children gave Cindy a stronger sense of freedom and self-esteem:That is probably because of the things I do with them. What do you do with adults? Some talking, hanging around in bars, lingering in front of the television. I'm a lot more creative with children. I'm doing different things with them. That creates a feeling of solidarity, and enjoyment too.
How did she compare herself to people her own age, in her class at school?Children aren't inhibited. They don't have fixed manners like adults. That makes me feel free. Adults are always courteous, listen obediently to one mother. When I'm with children I don't have to prove myself so much. Adults always think they know best. In my experience, when I am with children, I can just be who I am. That is not to say that I'm worth more than the child. There is a basis of equality. There is always inequality with adults. You're always less.
What did adults have, and children lack, that made her feel lonely?Adults are all different. That makes me feel insecure. The school classes change a lot. Each term you meet new faces. There is also a rather competitive atmosphere. But maybe that's because I hardly know them.
However, compared with children, adults gave her less intense feelings of trust and inner warmth:When I'm with children I don't have the problem that they don't understand me.
Important ideas, my ideals for example, I don't discuss easily with children. There are other people to discuss these with. But my experience with adults is that they understand very little of what I want to say or what I'm doing. I think they live in separate worlds. I especially feel that with my parents. There are exceptions of course, but now we're talking in general. But I do care about adults. You live with them, they live with you. Especially people like my parents, who are hard to ignore.
A negative feeling which she experienced more strongly with children than with adults is anxiety:The adults with whom I have associated often didn't give me the sense that I could trust them. I didn't have positive experiences with them. Up until now I've only been at odds with them. That doesn't give you a warm feeling. With children I clearly have good experiences. So that feels different. Maybe when you ask me these questions a few years from now things might have changed. They won't be big changes, but maybe adults will score more positively by that time. I hope so.
Differences between children in general, and especially those to whom Cindy feels erotically attracted, are not so clearly defined. These differences have mostly to do with the pleasure and the danger of a special bond with someone. When she was in a group of people, for example, she felt more stress when there was a special girl to whom she was attracted:That's because there is more commitment. You are also more at risk. The risk of losing someone, of making a mistake, or of the outside world intervening, these kind of things. You don't have these with adults. Besides, children with whom you can build a relationship are few and far between. That special girl is even rarer. That creates anxiety. I'm lucky that I'm into girls rather than boys. That way I'm not bothered by other paedophiles. I don't have to be afraid that they will try to steal my girlfriend.
She was asked what would happen when she felt erotically attracted to a whiny child:You don't know if you can get in touch or if it will click. With such a girl, there is more anxiety. Because you know it is not allowed. The outside world keeps an eye on you. I don't associate so easily with my neighbors. Sometimes there is also doubt:
Am I allowed to do this? Sometimes I feel rather ambivalent about it.
Of course, there is always the chance that you can get a special bond with such a girl. That is why they make me feel happier. I don't have that much to do with children in general. So lam looking for happiness with these special girls. Because you have these loving feelings, these girls also give you more energy. You also have to invest more in them than in girls who don't move you so much. Besides, some children whine a lot. I don't see them all as so fantastic.
That would be a negative point for them. Once I had a girl as savage as a wild cat. Well, there can be advantages and disadvantages to that.
Discovering Paedophile Desire
Cindy discovered her paedophile feelings when she was 13 or 14 years old:
By that time I already had boyfriends. Even a steady one, actually. It was very exceptional to be in love at that age. I was the only one. They treated me differently; some boys called me names.
Peter was mentioned by Cindy as an important aspect of her life. She described him as a very good friend “who stimulated me emotionally.”I discovered that boys didn't move me a lot. Girls meant a lot more to me emotionally. At that time they were still the same age as me. Other girls didn't feel the same as me, I found out.
Until I was 15 I had been thinking that I was a lesbian. They called me that, although in the beginning I didn't know what it meant. I got in touch with some lesbians to sort things out. They introduced me to some lesbian peers. That was utterly wrong. It didn't click. They were rather militant dykes.
I had read a lot of books about homosexuality by that time. I found out that I was attracted to a special kind of girl: fragile, and small for her age. After several crushes I noticed that the girls I preferred to play with were younger. They called me a granny then. I met those girls in the Scouts.
About the same time I met Peter. He was a radio ham like me, and also a paedophile—right in the middle of it! There was a lot of strange talk on the radio about child molesters, about things they were doing to children. I was fifteen then, and had a girlfriend of twelve. I saw a lot of Peter, saw him almost every day. At first radio hacking was my excuse. I had to meet him on the sly because of my parents. But I didn't know what I was looking for with Peter. Maybe it was unconscious.
She was then asked what paedophilia, at that time, meant to her.I came across the word “paedophilia” for the first time in a magazine. I thought it related to men who go for boys—that is the stereotype—and also men, maybe not so many, who are attracted to girls. At that time I knew about as much about paedophilia as my parents did. Peter gave me some articles to read. I recognized a lot in them that related to me, though none of them were about women. I couldn't imagine that paedophilia was applicable to women. So I didn't know whether what I was reading was applicable to me. It took a long time before I dared to pose this question. But I had the very same feelings I saw described for the girls I played with. In a way I felt comfortable with this label. I didn't know all the terrible things associated with paedophilia.
The moment at which I clearly recognized that what I felt were paedophile feelings was during a scouting weekend. My little twelve year old girlfriend was cuddling with me in my sleeping bag. When I awoke I felt very happy. It made me think of my other crushes. It became clear to me that this must be paedophilia.
Actually nothing. I had been having these feelings for sometime. But I was glad that I didn't have to think about being lesbian, and what went with that. I knew boys didn't mean a thing to me the way they did to other girls my age. I didn't really belong to the lesbian world. When I discovered that what I felt was paedophilia, it made me feel good. You want to be part of something at that age. In the beginning there were no negative feelings; they came later, because of the outside world.
First Experiences, First Conflicts
Because of her friendships with very young girls, Cindy was expelled from the Scouts. Her parents reacted with great hostility. They told her, among other things, that she was no longer their daughter. She ran away from home but returned after a while and had to conduct her friendships with little girls secretively. She could not keep this up, ran away again, and started to live on her own in another city. She was, by then, eighteen.
Her first new contacts with young girls were at a hobby club, and made her rather nervous. She hardly dared to look at them. Cindy said that the rejection she had endured from her parents and the Scouts made her refrain from starting new relationships. She also felt that these rejections made her come out as one of the few self-acknowledged female paedophiles. In response to the question why there were so few known female paedophiles, she answered:
I've been thinking about that for some time. I think they are there, paedophile women. But I don't know why they don't come out in the open. Maybe they can cover it up, creep into a profession where a lot is possible.
I think that I came out so openly because right from the beginning the issue gave me a lot of problems with people around me. If my parents and the Scouts hadn't reacted so vehemently then I wouldn't have experienced myself so consciously as a paedophile. Before all those people started to ask questions, I didn't see those experiences as strange. Other people felt differently, but I was okay, my way.
If you're in a nice atmosphere in which people think of you, “ah, motherly feelings,” then you don't have to come out so openly. But I'm sure they are there, paedophile women.
Affective Meaning of Paedophile Feelings
Paedophile desires were for Cindy a part of her character:
Paedophile feelings gave Cindy almost as many positive as negative feelings. The most intensely experienced positive feelings were joy, love, warmth, and enjoyment. The most frequent negative feelings were: powerlessness, stress, and loneliness. Cindy attributed the differing occurrence of these feelings to the way the outside world viewed her feelings:A lot of my daily experience is influenced by my paedophile feelings. At the same time there are a lot of other things which have nothing to do with it. First of all I'm just Cindy and then second, or third, or even fourth, I also have paedophile desires. I don't put them in first place.
During the interview, when Cindy reflected on her position in society, she stressed that she did not understand society's rejection of paedophilia. This societal attitude caused her problems by making her feel rejected. Her opinion of society predominantly stemmed from the negative reactions she had experienced regarding her first paedophile friendships.The situation makes me feel tense. I'm not so negative about the paedophile feelings themselves. I don't want to get rid of them. The outside world makes a mess of it. They tell me that my feelings are no good. And sometimes I'm stupid enough to believe it too! The moment I don't accept my feelings is when I have a lot to do with the outside world, which doesn't accept them. Then I even start to wonder whether maybe children really are harmed and all that bullshit. Usually I know that my relationships won't be harmful, because I know howl interact with children. But it is the outside world which makes you doubt. It gives you all those negative feelings.
She found it hard to accept that the outside world could determine the things she might or might not do.This is important to me, because I don't get why people are so rejecting. I just don't see the problem. But that may be because it is me who has these feelings. Nothing is the matter until people get to know that you have paedophile desires. That is difficult to accept. Things become totally different for them. In their eyes you suddenly become a totally different person.
Maybe I could accept the rejection if I could understand why people react this way. If. for instance, the girls I have been in touch with suddenly turned neurotic and ended up in an asylum, then you could say the people are right. I still could have these proclivities and act upon them or not, but at least their reactions would be understandable.
These negative reactions formed something Cindy could oppose, which could explain why the societal rejection also gave her such positive feelings as self-esteem and energy.I've seen that they are able to ruin your life in such a way that you hesitate to start new relationships.
Future
With respect to the future, Cindy hoped that she would once again come across a little girl with whom she could start a relationship:
If she is 7 when we start a relationship, then it will last for some years. I'm really longing for that. i've been talking with my friend, Albert, about what will happen when a little girlfriend joins in. He said that he will accept it as long as it doesn't jeopardize our relationship. But where to draw the line? When it happens I think I'll choose in favor of the girl. I think he is aware of that. But I'm not going to keep him dangling. That's not my style. Children would be able to do so. And I think I'll really put up with that, when a girl does it. I'm sure there will be a girlfriend once again.
Theo Sandfort is vice-president of the Gay and Lesbian Studies Department at the University of Utrecht, where he directs the Social Scientific AIDS Research Program. He has made several studies in the field of child sexuality, paedophilia, and sexual abuse. Among his publications is Boys on their Contacts with Men, an account of a study of 25 boys in on-going sexual relationships with men. His doctoral thesis was a study of young adults in which he assessed the effect of early sexual experiences on later sexual functioning.
Notes
1. See: J. James, N.J. Davis, P. Vitaliano, “Female Sexual Deviance: a Theoretical and Empirical Analysis,” Deviant Behavior, 3:2, 1982, pp. 175-195; and K. Rosenblum, “Female Deviancy and the Female Sex Role: a Preliminary Investigation,” British Journal of Sociology, nr. 25,1975, PP. 169-185.
2. John Money, Lovemaps (New York: Irvington, 1986).
3. G.D. Wilson and D.N. Cox, The Child-Lovers. A Study of Paedophiles in Society (London: Peter Owen, 1983).
4. K. Freund, “Pedophilia and Heterosexuality versus Homosexuality” (Publisher and place not available, 1984).
5. J. Wenderhold, “Pedofernie; een visie van Jan Wenderhold,” Chick, 5:31, l973,p. 11.
6. M.Z. Bradley, “Feminine Equivalents of Greek Love in Modem Fiction,” International Journal of Greek Love, 1:1, pp. 48-58. (no date). For a discussion ofpedagogical eros, see: Tb. G.M. Sandfort, E. Brongersrna, and A.X. van Naerssen, “Man-Boy Relationships: Diflèrent Concepts for a Diversity of Phenomena,” Journal of Homosexuality, 20:1/2, 1991. pp. 5-12.
7. Ibid, p. 57. For a discussion of women-girl “Greek love,” see the following novels: Colette, Claudine at School (New York: Farrar, Straw, 1957); Margaret Ferguson, Sign of Ram (Philadelphia: Blakiston, 1945); Pamela Moore, Chocolates for Breakfast (New York: Rinehart, 1956); Christa Winsloe, The Child Manuela (NewYork: Farrar, 1933).
8. Bradley, op cit. p. 48.
9. A.N. Groth, Men Who Rape (New York: Plenum, 1979).
10. D. Finkelhor and D. Russell, “Women as Perpetrators: Review of the Evidence,” in D. Finkelhor (ed.), Child Sexual Abuse: New Theory and Research (New York: Free Press, 1984), pp 171-185.
11. Ibid.
12. A.P. Bell, M.S. Weinberg, and S.K. Hammersmith, Sexual Preference. Its Development in Men and Women (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981).
13. Th. G.M. Sandfort and W.T.A.M. Everaerd, (1990). “Male juvenile partners in pedophilia,” in M. Perry (ed.), Handbook. of Sexology, vol. 7: Childhood and Adolescent Sexology (Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1990) pp. 361-380.
14. D. Vandenbosch (pseud.), Dour sta jt' dan... . alleen! (Eindhoven: JEP, 1984).
15. See: Th. G.M. Sandfort, The Sexual Aspect of Paedophile Relations (Amsterdam: Pan/Spartacus, 1982); Th. G.M. Sandfort, “Sex in Paedophiliac Rela tionships: an empirical investigation among a nonrepresentative group of boys,” Journal of Sex Research, 20:2, 1984, pp.. 123-142.; and Tb. G.M. Sandfort, Boys on Their Contacts with Men, (Elmhurst NY: Global Academic Publishers, 1987).
16. Th. Lap, De binnen- en buitenkatzt van kinderen. Wat pedofielen aantrekkelUk vinden in kin deren (Utrecht: privately published, 1987).
17. One of the ways to study “meaning” is with the so called Self-Confrontation Method. This method was developed in the Netherlands by Hermans, on the basis of the so-called “valuation theory.” (See H.J M Her-mans, Value areas and their development: theory and method of self-confrontation (Amsterdam: Swets & Zeitlinger, 1976); HIM. Herrnans, (1987). “Self as an Organized System ofValuations: Toward a Dialogue with the Person,” Journal of Counseling Psychology, 34:1, 1987, pp. 10-19; and H.J.M. Hermans, R. Fiddelaets, R. De Groot, and J.F. Nauta, “Self-Confrontation as a Method for Assessment and Intervention in Counseling,” Journal of Counseling and Development, 69:2, 1990, pp. 156-162.)
The aim of the method is to find the central aspects that are important to a person at a certain moment in his or her life, the “valuations,” and the affective meaning of these valuations. In the first session, the valuations are elicited by a series of open-ended questions, covering several dimensions of human life. The valuations are then listed and the individual relates each of these to a standard list of affect terms and also says to what extent he or she is experiencing that affect in relationship to a particular valuation. A value ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much) is chosen by the subject. The scores which result from this procedure are used to calculate several indices, and these are used to study the interrelations between the valuations. After tabulation, the results of the first session are discussed with the person in a second session.
The method can be used in diagnostic, evaluative, or therapeutic ways. When used therapeutically, the outcomes from the first two sessions form the “input” for a process of validation and invalidation of the structure of valuations. The results can be applied to farther sessions.
The standard method was slightly adapted with Cindy to meet the special purposes of a single case-study. To supplement the standard valuation categories, Cindy was also asked to assign values to certain supplemental categories regarding paedophilia. To get a picture of the part paedophilia played in her life, she was asked to include as a valuation in her self-survey: “My paedophile desires.” She was also asked to include three other valuations. It was assumed that, because of her attraction, children would have a special meaning to her. Her attraction could concern children as a class as well as a special kind of child. Therefore, she was asked to include the valuations: “Children in general” and “Children to whom I feel erotically attracted.” To put the resulting data in relief, she was also asked to include as a valuation “Adults in general.”
In Table I the scores for the affect terms are correlated against the valuations. By using an adapted version of the Self-Confrontation Method, it was expected to tap deeper layers of meaning than by posing such simple questions as: “What do children mean to you?” This might easily have resulted in superficial, unauthentic stories which were only partly related to the way she experienced her world.
In the second session, the valuations were compared with the findings from the first session. The subject was asked to associate on the possible “causes” for the affects she often experienced in relation to her paedophile desires. With the remaining three valuations, the scores belonging to the same affect label had been compared with one another. When the difference between two scores was large, the subject was asked to give an explanation for this. This was done with questions such as: “What kind of features do children have that they give you this special feeling more often than adults do?” or “What is the difference between children you feel erotically attracted to, compared to children in general, that the former make you feel safer?”