Correlates of Chronic Suicidal Ideation Among Community-Based Minor-Attracted Persons

Abstract

Elevated suicidal risk has been documented in adults who are sexually attracted to minors but the topic has not been adequately investigated, particularly outside the context of the criminal justice system. In this study, risk factors for chronic suicidal ideation were assessed in 333 community-based minor-attracted persons (95% male) via an online survey. Chronic suicidal ideation was endorsed by 38.1% of the participants but was associated neither to history of sexually engaging with a child nor to prior contact with the criminal justice system. In bivariate logistic regression analyses, significant unadjusted correlates included young age, less education, prior mental health treatment, weaker attraction to adult women, history of sexual abuse in the participants’ own childhood, and the psychosocial effect of perceived stigma against pedophilia. In multivariable analysis, all these factors except education were uniquely associated with suicidal ideation. These results identify meaningful clinical risk factors and treatment targets in this population.

Media Coverage of Pedophilia: Benefits and Risks from Healthcare Practitioners’ Point of View

“…Accordingly, a survey by Cohen and colleagues [ 55 ] revealed that more than one-third of their community sample of participants with pedophilia reported chronic suicidal ideation. Against that background, it seems indispensable that non-offending pedophiles are given a higher news value to counteract one-sided media coverage, which may add to psychological distress.…”

Non-Offending Minor-Attracted Persons: Professional Practitioners’ Views on the Barriers to Seeking and Receiving Their Help

“…These striking results are consistent with other recent studies of MAPs. Levenson and Grady (2018), for example, found 30% of their sample had suicidal thoughts, whilst Cohen et al (2019) found chronic suicidal ideation in 38.1% of their sample. Not only has research indicated the value of mental health treatment to help-seeking MAPs (Amelung et al, 2012;Beier et al, 2009a;Beier, Grundmann, Kuhle, Scherner, Konrad & Amelung, 2015;Grossman, Martis & Fichtner, 1999;Kim, Benekos & Merlo, 2016), at some point in their lives the majority of MAPs want to speak to a mental health professional (B4U-ACT, 2011b).…”

“…The experience of stigmatization can have severe consequences on a person's mental health and psychological well-being (Cohen et al, 2019;Jahnke & Hoyer, 2013;Jahnke, Schmidt, Geradt & Hoyer, 2015b). Worryingly, the resulting social, emotional and cognitive problems MAPs experience are all factors that increase their likelihood of offending (Jahnke & Hoyer, 2013).…”

Primary health professionals’ beliefs, experiences, and willingness to treat minor attracted persons

“…The aim should therefore be to help service users to live healthy lives with their attractions (i.e., to gain selfacceptance), rather than being driven by a compulsive need to stop acting upon them (Hocken, 2018). Such a focus on mental wellbeing is also consistent with empirically observed mental health deficits among MAPs, with higher-than-expected levels of loneliness (Elchuk et al, 2021;Jahnke, 2018;Jahnke, Schmidt, et al, 2015) thought suppression (Lievesley et al, 2020), and lower-than-average levels of generalized mental wellbeing including suicidal ideation (Cohen et al, 2020;Konrad et al, 2017;Lievesley et al, 2020) being reported among MAPs. Addressing such mental wellbeing issues has been suggested as a potential indirect route to sexual abuse prevention (Lievesley et al, 2020;, given the associations between mental health issues, emotion regulation, and personality constructs with sexual offending among those with prior offense histories (Finkelhor, 1984;Gannon et al, 2012;Marshall, 2010;Ward & Beech, 2006;Ward & Siegert, 2002;Wielinga et al, 2021).…”