Download Frotteurism. Ms Frakes, Ms. Fournier, Ms. Flynn & Mr. Garner

PSY 265
Kristin Frakes, Denise Fournier,
Erin Flynn, Matthew Garner
The Acts of Frottage
• Recurrent fantasies, actual rubbing or
touching of:
– breasts
– legs
– arms
– buttocks
• Frotteur uses his hands or genitals
• Victims generally female
(PsychNet-UK, 2003.)
• The incidents occur in
crowded,
conspicuous places:
–
–
–
–
–
Subways
Trains
Elevators, escalators
Buses
Busy crowds
• Easy escape from
detection
Profile of a Frotteur
-The typical frotteur is between the ages of 15 and 25,
typically begin at puberty and decrease after the age of
25
-Studies have also found that older men with shy and
reserved personalities or who withdraw socially are also
typical frotteurs
-Frotteurism is considered a criminal offense, as it is a
form of non-consensual sex. However, most frotteurs
disappear quickly into the crowd and do not remain
near their victims after the offense, also making it
difficult to assess any prevalence rates
-For the majority of cases, frotteurs are male and the
victims are female. Though any parts of the victim’s
body may be touched by the frotteur, most often the
offender will rub his hands or genitals on women’s
breasts, legs, or buttocks
(PsychNet-UK, 1998)
Comorbidity
•Persons diagnosed with
frotteurism are often also
diagnosed with another
paraphilia
•The most common
paraphilias comorbid with
frotteurism are voyeurism
and exhibitionism,
presumably because
these paraphilias involve a
private sexual experience
occuring in a public setting
(Hucker, 2001)
Frotteurism and Courtship
Disorder
• Research done by Doctor Kurt
Freund found frotteurism to be
a mode of an underlying
courtship disorder
• Freund placed normal malefemale erotic interaction in four
phases
• -Frotteurism is seen to be a
disorder of tactile interaction
• Studies have also been done
to show links to the similarity of
frotteurs’ actions to tribadism,
which is often practiced in
homosexual sex. These
studies have not received
much support
(Langevin, 1979)
(Hucker, 2001)
NORMAL MALEFEMALE
INTERACTION
1. Searching for a Partner
2. Pre-tactile Interaction
3. Tactile Interaction
4. Genital Union
Co-occurences of Frotteurism Behavior
When Voyeurism and Exhibitionism
Occured
Voyeurism
Exhibitionism
Frotteurism
Voyeurism
Exhibitionism
Frotteurism
______
39.9%
42.0%
82.4%
______
73.1%
40.0%
33.7%
______
Is Frotteurism a Crime?
• “Charles” is a 45 year old man who was
referred for psychiatric consultation after
his second arrest for rubbing up against
strangers in the subway. He would
choose his victim while they were still in
the station, then follow the women onto
the train where he would proceed to press
up against them from behind.
• Most women have experienced public
groping, but few feel threatened enough to
report it to the police
Crime Con’t
• There are cases of arrest among frotteurs,
however it is uncommon
• Most of the time the victim is unaware that
anything is happening.
• Because the acts are committed in
crowded public spaces, it is easy for the
frotteur to blend in with the crowd.
• In this day of sexual liberty, it is hard to
distinguish the line between ordinary
sexual behavior and sexual deviance.
However, Frotteurism can be considered
a crime because it involves an unwilling
partner.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
-The symptoms of frotteurism
have been found to be very
similar to those of mental
retardation, substance
intoxication, manic episode,
and schizophrenia
-Therefore, patients believed to
have frotteurism are typically
asked questions such as the
following in order to form a
complete and accurate
diagnosis:
For how many years have the symptoms been
present?
Has the patient had sexually arousing fantasies
involving touching and rubbing against a
nonconsenting person?
Yes
Has the patient had sexually arousing urges
involving touching and rubbing against a
nonconsenting person?
Yes
No
Has the patient engaged in sexually arousing
behaviors involving touching and rubbing
against a nonconsenting person?
Yes
No
Has the patient had sexually arousing fantasies,
urges, or behaviors involving touching and
rubbing against a nonconsenting person?
Yes
(Harper, 2002)
No
No
Diagnostic Criteria
• Over a period of at least 6 months,
recurrent, intense sexually arousing
fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors
involving touching and rubbing against a
non-consenting person.
• The person has acted on these urges, or
the sexual urges or fantasies cause
marked distress or interpersonal difficulty
Treatments
• insight-oriented psychotherapy
– aimed at uncovering and working through the
underlying cause of the behavior
• behavioral therapy
• group therapy
• medications
– Prozac
– Medroxyprogesterone
• used to decrease sexual desire.
Treatments Con’t
• There is very little in the way of controlled
outcome data, so it's difficult to say which of
these approaches works best. However, initial
data indicates that an integrated approach is
most effective.
• Teaching the individual more effective means of
self-regulation
– dealing with unpleasant emotions
• Helping them develop meaningful interpersonal
relationships are the most basic ways of dealing
with the disorder.
Works Cited
•
Bowen, Jon. Home Page. <http://http://www.visitware.com/cgi/ayashi/969750734.html>
•
Disorder Information Sheet. 19 July 2003. PsychNet-UK. 04 Apr. 2004
<http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/frotteurism.htm>.
•
Disorder Information-Paraphilias. 2 Feb. 1998. PsychNet-UK. 4 Apr. 2004
<http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/frotteurism.htm>.
•
Freund, Kurt, and Rpnom Watson. "Mapping the Boundaries of Courtship Disorder."
Journal of Sex Research 27 (1990): 589-606.
•
Frotteurism in Paraphilias and Sexual Disorders. ALLPSYCH Online. 04 Apr. 2004
<http://www.allpsych.com/disorders/paraphilias/fortteurism.html>.
•
Frotteurism-Online Diagnosis. Comp. Judith Harper. 2 Mar. 2002. The National
Medical Society. 4 Apr. 2004
<http://www.medical-library.org/journals/mddx/frotteurism/1_touching.htm>.
•
Hucker, Stephen. PsychDirect. 2002. FRCPsych. 04 Apr. 2004
<http://www.psychdirect.com/forensic/Criminology/para/frotteurism.htm>.
•
Hucker, Stephen. Assessment and Management of Violence Risk . 4 Mar. 2001. FRC
Psych. 4 Apr. 2004 <http://www.violence-risk.com/paraphilia/exhibition.htm>.
•
Langevin, R. "Etiology of Genital Exhibitionism." Archives of Sexual
Behavior 8 (1979): 121-146.