A Qualitative Exploration of Sleep-Related Sexual Interests: Somnophilia and Dormaphilia.

Somnophilia is an under-researched paraphilia. Consequently, there are discrepancies in its definition and conceptual understanding. Also, literature regarding the sexual interest in being asleep during sexual activity (dormaphilia) is even more limited. As such, there is a need to understand these paraphilias more deeply. This study recruited 232 participants online to discuss the content, origin, sexual appeal, emotional appraisal, and behavioural enactment of their somnophilic and dormaphilic interests and fantasies. A Thematic Analysis led to the identification of four main themes: (1) Relevance of Sleep State; (2) Roles within Sleep Sex; (3) Enactment of Sleep Paraphilia and (4) Lack of Consent and Awareness. These four themes spanned across both those reporting somnophilic and dormaphilic fantasies. The Discussion explores the multi-faceted nature of the interests, and implications for the understanding of somnophilia and dormaphilia. This study provides the first qualitative exploration of sleep-related paraphilias, opening avenues for future research and practice.

Public Perception of Men Who Have Committed Intrafamilial and Extrafamilial Sexual Offences Against Children.

This study examined whether the attitudinal responses toward child sexual abuse (CSA) differ due to the person's relationship with the victim (intrafamilial vs. extrafamilial) and/or proximity to the victim (close vs. distant). An online sample of 292 participants completed a measure assessing pre-existing attitudes toward people who commit sexual offenses, before being randomly presented with a vignette describing a CSA case committed by a biological father, biological uncle, babysitter, stranger, or stepfather. Participants then rated the perpetrator's level of dangerousness and pedophilic interest, their own feelings of disgust, and their punitive judgments. Controlling for pre-existing attitudes, the extrafamilial cases (stranger and babysitter) were perceived to be more dangerous (large effects; ds > .50) and more pedophilic than the stepfather (large effects; ds > .60). Also, participants reported greater levels of disgust toward the stranger than both the babysitter and uncle (medium effects; ds > .30). The findings demonstrate the need to account for the established heterogeneity of men who commit CSA when studying the public's attitudinal responses. Methodological limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Somnophilia: Examining Its Various Forms and Associated Constructs.

Somnophilia refers to the interest in having sex with a sleeping person. Using an online sample of 437 participants, the present study provides the first empirical examination of somnophilia, its various forms, and theorized correlates. Participants completed the newly developed Somnophilia Interest and Proclivity Scale, which comprises three subscales (active consensual, passive consensual, and active nonconsensual somnophilia). To test hypotheses about the convergent and divergent validity of different paraphilic interests, participants also completed scales measuring necrophilic, rape-related, and sadistic/masochistic sexual fantasies, rape proclivity, and the need for sexual dominance/submission. Male participants scored higher than females on all scales except the passive subscale. For both males and females, each subscale was associated most strongly with conceptually congruent variables. These results support existing theoretical assumptions about somnophilia, as well as offering newer insights, such as distinguishing between active and passive somnophilia. Limitations and implications for further research are discussed.

Implicit Theories of Child Sexual Exploitation Material Offenders: Cross-Cultural Validation of Interview Findings.

Offense-supportive cognitions are thought to result from underlying implicit theories (ITs). As child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) users are a distinct type of sex offender, Bartels and Merdian proposed that CSEM offenders hold five different ITs from those endorsed by contact sex offenders (i.e., Unhappy World, Self as Uncontrollable, Child as Sexual Object, Nature of Harm [CSEM variant], and Self as Collector), linked by an assumption about the Reinforcing Nature of the Internet. This article reports a conceptual content analysis of 23 interviews conducted with CSEM offenders in the United Kingdom and Spain. Support for all CSEM-specific ITs was found across both samples, providing an empirical validation of this conceptualization. Finally, four ITs originally identified for contact sex offenders were also identified, namely, Uncontrollability, Child as Sexual Being, Dangerous World, and Nature of Harm. Further validation of CSEM-related ITs is encouraged.

The Influence of Fantasy Proneness, Dissociation, and Vividness of Mental Imagery on Male's Aggressive Sexual Fantasies.

Many researchers have studied the prevalence and content of men's aggressive sexual fantasies, including their link with rape-supportive cognition. However, little to no research has examined the link between imaginal ability and the use of such fantasies. Based on existing research and theory, we propose that men who hold hostile beliefs toward women will use aggressive sexual fantasies more often if they possess a greater ability to engage in a "rich fantasy life." Operationally, we argue this involves (a) a proneness to fantasize in general, (b) an ability to vividly envision mental imagery, and (c) frequent experiences of dissociation. To test this, the present study hypothesized that a latent variable termed "rich fantasy life," via "hostile beliefs about women," influences the use of "aggressive sexual fantasies." A sample of 159 community males was recruited. Each participant completed a measure of fantasy proneness, dissociation, and vividness of mental imagery, along with two measures that assess hostile beliefs about women. Assessing how often the participants fantasized about rape-related and sadistic themes provided a measure of aggressive sexual fantasies. Structural equation modeling (along with bootstrapping procedures) indicated that the data had a very good fit with the hypothesized model. The results offer an important contribution to our understanding of aggressive sexual fantasies, which may have implications for clinical assessment and treatment. The limitations of the study are discussed, along with suggestions for future research.

Tracking Mouse Trajectories Related to Decisions About Sexual Interest.

The current research explored continuous behavioral processes by recording participants' hand movements toward a response option using Mousetracker software. Across three studies, we tested the idea that sexual interest-related decisions can be indexed using automatic movements. Using a UK sample of self-identified same- and opposite-gender attracted men (N = 43), Study 1 showed that the process of approaching the response button was faster, more direct, and less curved when participants responded from their own (vs. a non-preferred) perspective. Study 2 supported these findings using a German sample of self-identified same- and opposite-gender attracted men (N = 66). Using a teleiophilic sample of 100 self-identified opposite-gender attracted men (n = 51) and women (n = 49), Study 3 examined age-specific sexual interests (i.e., responding to stimuli from a pedophilic and a teleiophilic perspective). As expected, in the teleiophilic block, participants' responses were faster, more direct, and less curved than in the pedophilic block. Collectively, the results suggest that mousetracking shows promise as a measure of sexual interest (across the dimension of both gender and age), providing grounds for future research.

Validating the Utility of the Wilson Sex Fantasy Questionnaire With Men Who Have Sexually Offended Against Children.

The Wilson Sex Fantasy Questionnaire (WSFQ) assesses the use of 40 specific sexual fantasies, which are grouped into four overarching themes (Intimate, Exploratory, Impersonal, and Sadomasochistic). It also includes two items that reflect characteristics associated with children. Since sexual fantasies are a key factor in sex offender treatment, the present study tested the validity of the WSFQ for use with men who have sexually offended against children (SOC). Differential validity was assessed by comparing 54 SOC, 22 community males with a sexual interest in children (C-SI), and 79 community males with no sexual interest in children (C-NSI) on each WSFQ subscale and child-related item. Results showed that SOCs scored lower on each subscale than both community groups. On the two child-related items, the SOCs and C-SIs scored higher than C-NSIs. For the "Sex with someone much younger than yourself" item, younger SOCs had greater scores than younger C-NSIs, while older C-NSIs had greater scores than older SOCs. Construct validity was assessed using the SOC sample by examining relationships between WSFQ variables and 1) the self-reported use of deviant sexual fantasies assessed via the Thoughts and Fantasies Questionnaire and 2) offending behavior derived from crime scene data. The WSFQ Intimacy subscale was unrelated to any deviant sexual fantasies, while the other subscales were most strongly associated with sadistic fantasies. The child-related WSFQ items were most strongly associated with sexual fantasies about prepubescent children. Very few relationships were observed between the WSFQ variables and crime scene behaviors. The implications of the results are discussed, along with the study's limitations and suggestions for future research.

The effect of bilateral eye-movements versus no eye-movements on sexual fantasies.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Bilateral eye-movements (EMs) and visual mental imagery both require working memory resources. When performed together, they compete for these resources, which can cause various forms of mental imagery to become impaired (e.g., less vivid). This study aimed to examine whether EMs impair sexual fantasies (a form of mental imagery) in the same manner. METHODS: Eighty undergraduates (40 males, 40 females) took part in four counterbalanced conditions: (1) EMs and an experience-based sexual fantasy; (2) EMs and an imagination-based sexual fantasy; (3) experience-based sexual fantasy only; and (4) imagination-based sexual fantasy only. In each condition, the vividness, emotionality, and arousability of the sexual fantasy were rated pre- and post-task. All three variables were predicted to decrease in the EM conditions. RESULTS: Sexual fantasies were reported as less vivid, positive, and arousing after performing concurrent EMs relative to fantasising only, for both memory- and imagination-based sexual fantasies. There were no gender differences. Demand did not appear to account for the effects. LIMITATIONS: Self-report measures were used rather than objective measures. Working memory taxation and capacity were not directly assessed. Also, negatively appraised sexual fantasies were not targeted and a 'no intervention' control was not included. CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral EMs were effective at impairing the phenomenological properties of sexual mental imagery, extending the literature on EM effects. Given the potential clinical implications, future research should focus on validating and extending these results, for example, by targeting negatively appraised sexual fantasies (including problematic and offense-related) and incorporating a 'no intervention' condition.

Implicit Theories and Offender Representativeness in Judgments About Sexual Crime.

Implicit theories structure the way people understand and respond to various human actions. Typically, people believe attributes are either fixed (entitists) or malleable (incrementalists). The present study aimed to examine (a) whether attitudes toward sexual offenders differ depending upon one's implicit theory about human nature and sexual offenders, and (b) whether implicit theories are associated with judgments made about different types of child abusers. A sample of 252 community participants was recruited. Their attitudes, implicit theories, and political orientation were assessed via self-report. One of three vignettes describing an incidence of child sexual abuse was then presented. The cases were identical except the perpetrator was either an adult male, an adult female, or a male juvenile. Participants then made judgments about the offender's deserved sentence and moral character. Entitists (across both domains) held more negative attitudes than incrementalists, although the magnitude of the difference was greatest when examining implicit theories about sexual offenders. Compared with those with an incremental theory of sexual offenders, entity theorists judged sexual offending to be more (a) indicative of the perpetrator's moral character and (b) deserving of punishment. However, scores were greater toward the adult male relative to the adult female and juvenile. The findings suggest that implicit theories about sexual offenders are domain specific. They also indicate that judgments made by those with an entity theory (about sexual offenders) are affected by whether a case is representative of a stereotypical sexual offender. Implications of the findings are discussed, along with limitations and future research.

Assessing Sexual Interest in Children Using the Go/No-Go Association Test.

The present study investigated whether a latency-based Go/No-Go Association Task (GNAT) could be used as an indirect measure of sexual interest in children. A sample of 29 individuals with a history of exclusive extrafamilial offenses against a child and 15 individuals with either a history of exclusive intrafamilial or mixed offenses (i.e., against both adults and children) were recruited from a treatment center in the United States. Also, a sample of 26 nonoffenders was recruited from a university in the United Kingdom. All participants completed the Sexual Fantasy-GNAT, a Control-GNAT, and two self-report measures of sexual fantasy. It was hypothesized that, relative to the two comparison groups, the extrafamilial group would respond faster on the block that paired "sexual fantasy" and "children." Also, GNAT scores were expected to correlate with child-related sexual fantasies. Support was found for both hypotheses. Response-latency indices were also found to effectively distinguish the extrafamilial group, as well as those who self-reported using child-related sexual fantasies. The implications of these findings, along with the study's limitations and suggestions for future research, are discussed.

Reducing Stigma and Punitive Attitudes Toward Pedophiles Through Narrative Humanization.

Stigmatization and societal punitiveness about pedophilia have a range of potential consequences, such as the social isolation of people with sexual interest in children, and the formation of policies that are not consistent with empirical research findings. Previous research has shown that people with pedophilic sexual interests use societal thinking to self-stigmatize, which in turn may actually serve to increase their risk of committing a sexual offense. In this study, we compared two attitudinal interventions (first-person narrative vs. expert opinion) using a student sample ( N = 100). It was hypothesized that both interventions would lead to reductions in stigmatization and punitive attitudes about pedophiles on an explicit (self-report) level but that only the narrative intervention would lead to reductions of these constructs at the implicit level. Our findings supported both hypotheses. We further discuss the role of narrative humanization in this area and offer suggestions for further research based upon the theoretical and methodological implications of the findings.

Using Video Stimuli to Examine Judgments of Nonoffending and Offending Pedophiles: A Brief Communication.

In this experimental study, 89 participants were allocated to an offending pedophile, nonoffending pedophile, or control video condition. They then watched two short help-seeking video clips of an older male and a younger male (counterbalanced). Judgments about each male were assessed, as were general attitudes toward pedophiles and sexual offenders. Offending pedophiles were judged as more deserving of punishment than the nonoffending pedophiles and controls. Age of the male was found to have an effect on judgments of dangerousness. Existing attitudes toward pedophiles and sexual offenders did not statistically differ. Limitations and future research ideas are discussed.

Assessment and treatment of distorted schemas in sexual offenders.

The aim of this review is to examine the literature related to the assessment and treatment of sex offenders' distorted schemas. Where appropriate, the review draws upon current insights from the field of social cognition to aid in the critical evaluation of the findings. First, the review considers the various different methodologies for assessing distorted schemas, discussing their strengths and limitations. Second, the review examines the work related to the treatment of sex offenders' schemas. Suggestions for future research, and the implications for clinical practice, are highlighted in the article.