Download McCammon IM Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen
Variant Sexual Behavior
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004
What is Normal Sexual Behavior?
• Criteria Used to Define “Normal” Sexual Behavior
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Prevalence
Moral correctness
Naturalness
Adaptiveness/Comfort
• Historical definitions change
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004
Variant Sexual Behaviors: Definitions and Overview - 1
Table 16-1 The DSM-IV-TR Major Paraphilias
Paraphilia
Description
Exhibitionism
Exposing one's genitals to a stranger or having a recurrent
urge to do so.
Frotteurism
Touching or rubbing a non-consenting person in a sexual
manner or having a recurrent urge to do so.
Pedophilia
Engaging in sexual behavior with a child or having a
recurrent urge to do so.
Voyeurism
Watching a person who is either nude, undressing, or
engaging in sexual behavior and is unaware that someone is
watching, or having a recurrent urge to do so.
Fetishism
Becoming sexually aroused by actual or fantasized objects
(such as leather, lingerie, or shoes).
Transvestic fetishism
Becoming sexually aroused by dressing in the clothes of the
other sex.
Sexual sadism
Becoming sexually aroused by actual or fantasized infliction
of pain, humiliation, or physical constraint on another.
Sexual masochism
Becoming sexually aroused by actual or fantasized inflicted
pain, humiliation, or physical constraint by another.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004
Variant Sexual Behaviors: Definitions
and Overview - 2
• Paraphilia
An overdependence on a culturally unacceptable or
unusual stimulus for sexual arousal and satisfaction.
• Legal Versus Illegal Paraphilias
Paraphilias are legal or illegal depending on the
degree to which the rights of others are affected.
• Personal Choices: Whose Business Is a
Paraphilia?
Persons with a paraphilia normally do not seek
treatment unless forced to do so.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004
Types of Paraphilias - 1
• Exhibitionism: Intense, recurrent sexual urge (for at
least 6 months) to expose one’s genitals to a stranger.
• Frotteurism: Recurring, intense, sexual urges (for at
least 6 months) accompanied by fantasies of touching
or rubbing, often with the genitals, against a
nonconsenting person. Toucherism involves using
the hands.
• Voyeurism: Recurrent, intense urges to look at
unsuspecting people who are naked, undressing, or
engaging in sexual behavior.
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Types of Paraphilias - 2
• Fetishism: A pattern of deriving sexual arousal or
sexual gratification from actual or fantasized
inanimate objects.
• Transvestic Fetishism (Cross-Dressing):
Recurrent, intense, sexual urges and sexually
arousing fantasies (for at least 6 months) involving
cross-dressing.
• Sexual Sadism: Recurrent, intense, sexual urges and
sexually arousing fantasies (for at least 6 months)
involving acts that hurt or humiliate the sexual partner.
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Types of Paraphilias - 3
• Stages in the Development of a Fetish
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Types of Paraphilias - 4
• Sexual Masochism: Recurrent, intense, sexual urges
(for at least 6 months) in which sexual arousal or
gratification is obtained through enacting scripts that
involve experiencing suffering and pain.
• Sadomasochistic Clubs and Subculture
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004
Types of Paraphilias - 5
•
Other Paraphilias
 Acrotomophilia: Deriving sexual arousal or gratification
from engaging in sex with an amputee
 Asphyxiophilia: Cutting off one’s air supply to enhance
orgasm
 Autonepiophilia: Deriving sexual arousal or gratification
from wearing wet diapers
 Gerontophilia: Becoming sexually aroused by elderly
individuals
 Necrophilia: Deriving sexual arousal or gratification from
sexual activity with a dead person
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Types of Paraphilias - 6
• Other Paraphilias (continued)
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Somnophilia: Fondling a person who is sleeping so as to
become sexually aroused. The person is often a stranger.
Urophilia: Using urine for sexual arousal either by watching
someone urinate or by urinating on someone.
Zoophilia: Becoming aroused by sexual contact with animals
(commonly known as bestiality).
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004
Types of Paraphilias -7
• Other Paraphilias (continued)
In addition to the acts listed above, other variant
activities that may be done for erotic motives include
tattooing, piercing, and scarification.
• Is Rape a Paraphilia?
There is professional disagreement over whether rape
should be classified as a paraphilia.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004
The Origins of Paraphilias:
Theoretical Perspectives - 1
• Psychoanalytic Theory
Paraphilias may be viewed as symptoms of
unresolved subconscious conflicts.
• Feminist Perspective
Paraphilias such as pedophilia and sexual sadism are
expressions of aggression more than sexuality.
• Learning Theory
Paraphilias are learned by means of both classical
and operant conditioning.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004
The Origins of Paraphilias:
Theoretical Perspectives - 2
• Biological Theory
The degree to which biological variables are
responsible for the development of paraphilias is
controversial.
• Paraphilia as a Vandalized Lovemap
Social experiences “vandalize” or disrupt traditional
sexual-erotic development socialization and may
contribute to the development of pedophilia.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004
The Origins of Paraphilias:
Theoretical Perspectives - 3
• Paraphilia as a Courtship Disorder
Courtship Disorder
A distortion of the standard sequence of interpersonal
events in courtship that lead to the development of an
intimate relationship.
Used as a theory to explain rape, the rapist short
circuits the courtship stages and progresses
immediately to intercourse.
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Treatment of Paraphilias - 1
• Stages in Treatment of Paraphilias
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Treatment of Paraphilias - 2
• Decreasing Deviant Sexual Arousal
 Aversive Conditioning
 Covert Sensitization
• Increasing Nondeviant Sexual Arousal
 Masturbatory conditioning
 Exposure
 Systematic desensitization
• Personal Choices: Can People Control Their Own
Paraphilias?
Therapists disagree about the degree to which persons with
paraphilias can control the behavioral expression of their
paraphilia.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004
Treatment of Paraphilias - 3
• Learning Social Skills
Treatment of paraphilias often involves teaching the
person how to:
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Initiate a conversation
Empathize
Listen
Keep a conversation going
• Changing Faulty Cognitions
Correcting these cognitive distortions often occurs in
the context of group therapy.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004
Treatment of Paraphilias - 4
• Resolving Sexual Dysfunctions
Unless the sexual dysfunctions are treated, the
individual with a paraphilia may continue to perceive
no alternative for sexual gratification other than
engaging in paraphilic behavior.
• Sexual Addictions: A False Concept?
Sexual Addiction
Sometimes described as an intimacy disorder
manifested by a compulsive cycle of preoccupation
and ritualization of sexual behavior and despair.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004