pbsi 210 chapter 14 - paraphilias and sexual variants

this chapter focuses on the third sexual issue

sexual practices that are "peculiar"

the statistical approach to normality

involves relying on prevalence rates

the sociocultural approach relies on the extent to which a behavior is

customary or normative within a given society or culture

"normal" is not an absolute designation but

is socially defined

the psychological approach focuses on

the psychological health of the individual and the impact that the individual's behaviors have on their health

a sexual preference or activity is considered to be abnormal if

it makes an individual feel distressed or guilty, interferes with their ability to function effectively in ordinary interpersonal, social, and occupational roles, or causes harm to others

paraphilias

group of uncommon sexual preferences in which repeatedly fantasizing about or engaging in sexual activity with non-human, non-mature, and or non consenting partners is the preferred way of obtaining sexual arousal and gratification

four distinguishing features of paraphilia

1. uncommon/atypical from both statistical and sociocultural perspectives

2. intense interest in sexual activities that do not involve physically mature, consenting, human partners

3. recurrent and persistent

4. engaging in or thinking this way is the person's preferred and primary way of obtaining sexual arousal and gratification

paraphilic disorder

paraphilia accompanied by significant personal distress, that impairs normal functioning or that has been acted on with a non consenting partner or causes harm or risk of harm to another

a paraphilia is necessary but not a sufficient condition for

having a paraphilic disorder

sexual variants

Unusual sexual behaviors, urges, or fantasies that are engaged in infrequently, perhaps for the sake of variety, and are not the preferred manner of becoming sexually aroused

most of the prevalence rates reported in the DSMV were extrapolated from existing reports of single sexually variant acts among small nonclinical samples of men and women, and therefore

may tell us very little about how common paraphilias are in the general population

DSMV lists 8 paraphilias but notes that

many dozens of distinct paraphilias have been identified and named and almost any of them could rise to the level of a paraphilic disorder

the ICD-10 lists 7 paraphilias as well as

an "other" category that includes the most uncommon paraphilias, and those that are "too rare or idiosyncratic to justify a separate term for each"

voyeurism

observing people who are naked, in the act of undressing, or engaging in sex without their consent or knowledge

exhibitionism

exposing one's genitals to unsuspecting others in inappropriate places

telephone scatalogia

making obscene phone calls

frotteurism

rubbing one's genitals against others in public

sexual sadism

inflicting pain or humiliation on others

sexual masochism

receiving pain or humiliation from others

paraphilias are more likely to occur among

men than women

individuals in treatment for one type of paraphilia often meet

diagnostic criteria for other paraphilias

courtship disorders include

voyeurism, exhibitionism, frotteurism, and telephone scatologia

what are courtship disorders?

a group of paraphilias often seen together

four phase sequence when interacting sexually

1. finding phase: locate and appraise a potential sexual partner

2. affiliative phase: make verbal and nonverbal ventures to the potential partner

3. tactile phase: physical contact

4. copulatory phase: sexual intercourse

voyeurism represents a disruption of

the first phase (finding)

voyeurism is most often paired with

exhibitionism

acts of voyeurism are common among teenage boys, and thus the DSMV

includes a minimum age requirement of 18

voyeurs often have

low self esteem, feelings of inadequacy and insecurity, shyness and poor social skills, and difficulty forming positive interpersonal relationships

voyeurism is the most

common of the paraphilias

exhibitionism is considered to be a disruption of the

affiliative phase of courtship

exhibitionists are also known as

flashers

most victims of exhibitionists are

women or children

the ICD-10 states that exhibitionism is almost entirely limited to

heterosexual males who expose to females

the large majority of male exhibitionists are described as

shy and/or personally immature but otherwise without serious emotional or mental disorders

although most exhibitionists are of normal or above-normal intelligence,

some cases of exhibitionism occur among people who are intellectually impaired, either since birth or as a result of a neurological disorder or age

exhibitionists erotic turn-on is directly related to

the victim's reaction of shock, disgust, and fear

telephone scatalogia constitutes a disruption of the

affiliate phase

the scatophiliac's arousal is proportionate to

the victim's reaction, and the sense it gives them

one difference between telephone scatalogia and exhibitionism is that

many scatophiliacs desire complete anonymity

telephone scatalogia is one of the most

common sexual offenses on PAPER

frotteurism is considered to be a disruption of the

third phase (tactile)

frotteurists typically seek out

crowded buses or other places where bumping into strangers is less likely to be noticed or cause them to be arrested

to be considered pedophilia,

the adult must be at least 16 years old and at least 5 years older than the child

to be designated as pedophilia, sexual relations with children must be

the primary and preferred source of sexual excitement and gratification

some pedophiles do not

act on their urges, but those who do would be diagnosed with pedophilic disorder

erotic fetishism

sexual arousal and gratification are dependent on using or fantasizing about an inanimate object or body part

a variation of fetishism, called partialism, is

string and recurrent sexual arousal to a specific part of the body that is not usually considered to be an erogenous zone

when their fetish involved clothing or shoes, these men greatly prefer

articles that have been used and have an odor

in its most extreme form, the fetishist does not

need or desire the partner at all

sexual arousal to specific objects or body parts has been explained in terms of

a two-step learning process involving both classical and operant conditioning

transvestism

condition in which sexual arousal is achieved repeatedly by dressing as a member of the opposite sex, aka transvestic fetishism

the large majority of transvestites are

heterosexual men and most are married, college educated and in professional careers

fewer than 3% of adult men report ever having been sexually aroused by

dressing in women's clothing

urophiliacs

repeated and persistent sexual arousal caused by urine

coprophiliacs

repeated and peristenr sexual arousal to feces

mysophilia

condition in which sexual arousal is persistently and preferentially caused by filth or filthy surroundings or objects

klismaphilia

repeated and persistent sexual arousal to enemas

bestiality

the act of having sexual contact with an animal

zoophilia

Using sexual contact with animals as the primary means of achieving sexual gratification

sadism (sexual)

paraphilia in which sexual arousal is associated with inflicting pain or humiliation

masochism (sexual)

a paraphilia in which individuals obtain sexual pleasure primarily from fantasizing about or actually having pain and/or humiliation inflicted on them

sadomasochism (s&m)

a term used to indicate the linkage of sadism with masochism

asphyxophilia

subtype of sexual masochism in which sexu arousal is achieved by restricting breathing

bdsm

bond age and discipline, dominance and submission, and/or sadomasochism

it is not the actual experience of pain, humiliation, and submission of dominance, discipline, and coercion that excites participants,

but the appearance of pain/submission and the illusion of dominance/control

bdsm participants differentiate between

hurt and harm (not interested in harm)

men are more likely than women to participate in

bdsm activities

some necrophiliacs __ in order to obtain corpses and thus can be regarded as both sexual amsadists and necrophiliacs

murder

somnophilia

fondling a person who is sleeping so as to become sexually aroused

vampirism

sexual gratification from drinking blood

narratophilia

Sexual arousal by using dirty language with a partner

Vomerophilia

sexual arousal by focusing on the process of vomiting

Stigmatophilia

Deriving sexual pleasure from skin piercing or a tattoo

autogynephilia

Sexual arousal of a natal male associated with the idea or image of being a woman.

Autoandrophilia

a man is highly aroused by the fantasy of having a more attractive male body

freudian theorists believe that paraphilias are rhe result of

arrested psychosexual development, often due to a failure to resolve emotional conflicts

learning theorists attribute paraphilias to

learned associations

conventional sexual relationships may be

too complex and paychologicallly and her personally threatening for the typical paraphiliac

some researchers have observed a similarity between paraphilias and

other obsessive-compulsive disorders

men with paraphilias may have

abnormal brain chemistry, abnormal prenatal neurodevelopment, and/pr abnormal frontal-temporal lobe function

a possible reason as to why most paraphilias are men is because

men experience spontaneous sexual urges more often than women

it is difficult to find the right therapy treatment for paraphilia because

the large majority of individuals with paraphilic disorders do not want to change

the current solution to hyper sexuality and harmful sexual behavior is

lower testosterone levels medically