Executive Functioning in Pedophilia and Child Sexual Offending
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Executive Functioning in Pedophilia and Child Sexual Offending. / Massau, Claudia; Tenbergen, Gilian; Kärgel, Christian; Weiß, Simone; Gerwinn, Hannah; Pohl, Alexander; Amelung, Till; Mohnke, Sebastian; Kneer, Jonas; Wittfoth, Matthias; Ristow, Inka; Schiltz, Kolja; Beier, Klaus M; Ponseti, Jorge; Walter, Martin; Kruger, Tillmann H C; Walter, Henrik; Schiffer, Boris.
In: J INT NEUROPSYCH SOC, Vol. 23, No. 6, 07.2017, p. 460-470.Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Executive Functioning in Pedophilia and Child Sexual Offending
AU - Massau, Claudia
AU - Tenbergen, Gilian
AU - Kärgel, Christian
AU - Weiß, Simone
AU - Gerwinn, Hannah
AU - Pohl, Alexander
AU - Amelung, Till
AU - Mohnke, Sebastian
AU - Kneer, Jonas
AU - Wittfoth, Matthias
AU - Ristow, Inka
AU - Schiltz, Kolja
AU - Beier, Klaus M
AU - Ponseti, Jorge
AU - Walter, Martin
AU - Kruger, Tillmann H C
AU - Walter, Henrik
AU - Schiffer, Boris
PY - 2017/7
Y1 - 2017/7
N2 - OBJECTIVES: Pedophilia (P) is a psychiatric disease associated with sexual attraction toward children and often accompanied by child sexual offending (CSO). Consequently, it is important to address the understanding of executive dysfunctions that may increase the probability of CSO. Moreover, this research field has been lacking to disentangle executive deficits associated with pedophilia (as a deviant sexual preference) from those associated with CSO (as a deviant sexual behavior).METHODS: The German multi-sided research network NeMUP offers the opportunity to overcome these limitations. By applying the Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological Test Battery in four carefully matched groups of men: (1) pedophiles with (N=45) and (2) without (N=45) a history of sexual offending against children; (3) child molesters without pedophilia (N=19), and (4) non-offending controls (N=49), we were able to analyze executive functioning in pedophilia and CSO independently.RESULTS: Both CSO groups as compared to both non-CSO groups exhibited worsened response inhibition ability. However, only non-pedophilic offenders showed additionally disabled strategy use ability. Regarding set-shifting abilities, the P+CSO group showed the best performance. We also found that performances were affected by age: only in pedophiles, response inhibition worsened with age, while age-related deficits in set-shifting abilities were restricted to non-pedophilic participants. The latter also differentiated between both sexual preference groups.CONCLUSIONS: Our results are the first to demonstrate that executive dysfunctions are related to offense status rather than pedophilic preference. Furthermore, there was evidence for differentiating age and performance correlations between pedophiles and non-pedophiles, which warrants further investigation. (JINS, 2017, 23, 460-470).
AB - OBJECTIVES: Pedophilia (P) is a psychiatric disease associated with sexual attraction toward children and often accompanied by child sexual offending (CSO). Consequently, it is important to address the understanding of executive dysfunctions that may increase the probability of CSO. Moreover, this research field has been lacking to disentangle executive deficits associated with pedophilia (as a deviant sexual preference) from those associated with CSO (as a deviant sexual behavior).METHODS: The German multi-sided research network NeMUP offers the opportunity to overcome these limitations. By applying the Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological Test Battery in four carefully matched groups of men: (1) pedophiles with (N=45) and (2) without (N=45) a history of sexual offending against children; (3) child molesters without pedophilia (N=19), and (4) non-offending controls (N=49), we were able to analyze executive functioning in pedophilia and CSO independently.RESULTS: Both CSO groups as compared to both non-CSO groups exhibited worsened response inhibition ability. However, only non-pedophilic offenders showed additionally disabled strategy use ability. Regarding set-shifting abilities, the P+CSO group showed the best performance. We also found that performances were affected by age: only in pedophiles, response inhibition worsened with age, while age-related deficits in set-shifting abilities were restricted to non-pedophilic participants. The latter also differentiated between both sexual preference groups.CONCLUSIONS: Our results are the first to demonstrate that executive dysfunctions are related to offense status rather than pedophilic preference. Furthermore, there was evidence for differentiating age and performance correlations between pedophiles and non-pedophiles, which warrants further investigation. (JINS, 2017, 23, 460-470).
KW - Adult
KW - Child
KW - Child Abuse, Sexual
KW - Executive Function
KW - Humans
KW - Inhibition (Psychology)
KW - Male
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Pedophilia
KW - Comparative Study
KW - Journal Article
KW - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
U2 - 10.1017/S1355617717000315
DO - 10.1017/S1355617717000315
M3 - SCORING: Journal article
C2 - 28511726
VL - 23
SP - 460
EP - 470
JO - J INT NEUROPSYCH SOC
JF - J INT NEUROPSYCH SOC
SN - 1355-6177
IS - 6
ER -
