ABSTRACT
Sexual attraction to children occurs in roughly 3 to 9 percent of the population. However, most knowledge about such desires comes from forensic samples, and most studies fail to assess preferred sexual activity and sexual partner. A new multimodal assessment of sexual desire was used to investigate interest in consensual and nonconsensual sex with adults and children in an online sample of men sexually attracted to children (n = 101). Desires were compared across history of sex offending behavior and preferred gender of child victim. Men who have and have not acted on their sexual attractions to children reported similar levels of sexual desire. Men primarily attracted to girls reported greater desire for sex with adults than did men primarily attracted to boys. Results highlight the heterogeneity of men sexually attracted to children as well as possible distinctions across gender of children to whom they are primarily attracted.
