Journal of Forensic Psychology

Meeting the Pedophile: Attitudes toward Pedophilia among Psychology Students

5^th International Conference on Forensic Psychology & Criminology

August 23-24,2021 | Webinar

Dr Rebecca Heron

University of Houston Victoria

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Foren Psy

Abstract:

Adverse consequences of stigma towards pedophilia can, among other things, increase dynamic risk factors for sexual offending. Decreasing stigma, therefore, is a plausible approach in the attempt to prevent child sexual abuse. Stigma research suggests that providing direct contact to a stigmatized individual is the most effi cient way of reducing stigma. The present study involved an educational intervention, followed by direct contact to a pedophile, to maximize effectiveness. It aimed at fi nding out whether a dichotomous anti-stigma intervention can change psychology students' attitudes towards pedophiles regarding perceived dangerousness, intentionality, deviance, and punitive attitudes. In a one sample pre-post design, 162 students of the University of Groningen attended a lecture about pedophilia, which was held by a psychology master’s student. Participants learned about child sex offending and pedophilia in addition to the importance of distinguishing between pedophiles and child sex offenders (CSOs). The guest lecturer Gabriel shared his experiences about growing up, coping, and living with pedophilia. Results of the Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed signifi cantly diminished negative attitudes towards pedophiles after the intervention. Students perceived pedophiles as less dangerous, having less intent, and being less psychologically deviant. Additionally, students’ punitive attitudes towards pedophiles diminished signifi cantly. Also, a thematic analysis revealed that students were highly interested in the topic of pedophilia and greatly appreciative of Gabriel sharing his story. This study was the fi rst to provide direct contact to a pedophile within an anti-stigma intervention.

Biography :

Dr Heron completed her doctorated at the age of 25 years from the University of Nottingham in the UK. She is an assistant proffessor at the University of Houston and has worked as a forensic psycholgist in the United Kingdom prior to also working at the University of Groningen. Her researh interests are domestic violence and sexual offending.