1/5 to 1/3 of men are hebephiles and pedophiles
Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2026 1:12 am
I notice that people believe that hebephilia (sexual preference for 11-14 year olds) and pedophilia (sexual preference for children 10 or younger) are rare. I asked someone how common is hebephilia in the male population and they said its in between homosexuality and transgenderism in terms of commonness (around 3% of men are homosexual, 0.2% are transgender). Canadian psychologist Michael Seto estimated that 1% of adult males are pedophiles, and hebephilia is slightly more common (presumably he means less than 5%).
I've looked into this and i believe a much higher percentage of men actually have a sexual preference for children 13 or younger, roughly 20% to 33%. Only 1-5% of men admit to have sexual attraction to children 13 or younger (Dawson et al 2014, Dombert et al 2016). However, in phallometric studies, where they measure sexual arousal from penis with a device, roughly 20-33% of men are equally or more aroused by prepubescent children than by adults. Roughly 40-50% of child sex offenders are equally or more aroused by prepubescent children than by adults. This suggests that these men are either hebephiles or pedophiles.
Additionally, 67% of child sex offenders are diagnosed with pedophilic disorder (Eher et al, 2019). Pedophilic disorder is defined as "defined by recurrent, intense sexual urges, fantasies, or behaviors involving prepubescent children (typically age 13 or younger)".
So most likely 1/5 to 1/3 of normal men are hebephiles and pedophiles.
I've looked into this and i believe a much higher percentage of men actually have a sexual preference for children 13 or younger, roughly 20% to 33%. Only 1-5% of men admit to have sexual attraction to children 13 or younger (Dawson et al 2014, Dombert et al 2016). However, in phallometric studies, where they measure sexual arousal from penis with a device, roughly 20-33% of men are equally or more aroused by prepubescent children than by adults. Roughly 40-50% of child sex offenders are equally or more aroused by prepubescent children than by adults. This suggests that these men are either hebephiles or pedophiles.
Additionally, 67% of child sex offenders are diagnosed with pedophilic disorder (Eher et al, 2019). Pedophilic disorder is defined as "defined by recurrent, intense sexual urges, fantasies, or behaviors involving prepubescent children (typically age 13 or younger)".
So most likely 1/5 to 1/3 of normal men are hebephiles and pedophiles.