Investigating Paedo-Hebepho-Ephebophilic Sexual Interests and Underlying Correlates Among Women in a Community Sample From the UK, Canada and USA

Research investigating paedo-hebepho-ephebophilic sexual interests, a spectrum of atypical sexual interests toward minors under the age of 16 years old, has largely focused on men samples, while little is known about women. The present study aimed to contribute to this area by investigating the relationship between measures of experienced childhood trauma, empathy (dispositional as well as towards children), loneliness, intimacy, and paedo-hebepho-ephebophilic sexual interests or antisocial behaviour involving children in a community sample of 304 women – from the UK, Canada and USA – recruited through an online survey. Results revealed that between .7% ( N = 2) and 4.6% ( N = 14) reported different paedo-hebepho-ephebophilic sexual interests. Multiple regression analysis revealed that experiences of emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, empathy towards victims, and empathic concern were significant predictors of paedo-hebepho-ephebophilic sexual interests. These results have several implications that will be discussed in this paper.