Pedophilia and Sexual Offending Against Children
In this thoroughly revised edition of his trailblazing book, Michael C. Seto summarizes and integrates advances in the study of pedophilia and sexual offending against children over the past 10 years.
His easy-to-read analyses of complex research across multiple disciplines will help mental health and legal professionals understand the psychological and neurobiological underpinnings of pedophilia and sexual offending against children.
The book dispels common myths — clarifying, for instance, that not all child sex offenders have pedophilia and not all people with pedophilia commit sexual offenses — and also distinguishes pedophilia from hebephilia (attraction to pubescent children).
Seto offers practical recommendations for conducting clinical evaluations, risk assessments, and interventions with pedophilic individuals and with sexual offenders in clinical and forensic settings. He also provides evidence-based suggestions for future studies and policy reforms.
New to this edition is an increased emphasis on prevention efforts with at-risk individuals who have pedophilia or hebephilia.
Preface
Introduction
- Defining Pedophilia
- Assessment
- Different Approaches to Studying Pedophilia
- Explaining Sexual Offending Against Children
- Etiology of Pedophilia
- Incest
- Risk Assessment
- Treatment
- Prevention
Afterword
References
Index
About the Author
Michael C. Seto, PhD, received his doctorate in psychology in 1997 from Queen's University in Kingston, Canada.
He is a registered clinical forensic psychologist and a forensic research director with the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group. He also has adjunct professorship appointments in psychology and/or psychiatry at four universities: the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, Carleton University, and the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Seto has published extensively on pedophilia, child pornography, sexual offending, violence risk assessment, and offenders with mental disorders, and he regularly presents at scientific meetings and professional workshops on these topics. The first edition of this book was published in 2008 (Seto, 2008) and a follow-up volume on internet sexual offending was published in 2013 (Seto, 2013), both published by APA.
Further professional information is available from Dr. Seto's LinkedIn profileopens in new window. Information about his research, including scoring guides for the SSPI-2 and CPORT, conference handouts, and access to peer-reviewed papers, is available through his ResearchGate pageopens in new window. Follow him on Twitter, @MCSeto.
This excellent book, written by an expert in the field, addresses an important topic through theory, assessment, treatment, and prevention. The second edition is justified because there are updates in many of the chapters, as the research foundation has expanded greatly in the past 10 years.
—Doody's Review Service
As one might expect from an American Psychological Association publication, the writing, editing, and production are all flawless. However, Seto's clear thinking and accessible style are what elevate this volume from good to truly excellent.
—Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers
In this second edition, Seto provides an update of the research on etiology and causal theories, risk assessment, treatment, and prevention. He describes what is known, what is not yet known, and the implications of the current state of knowledge for clinical practice, prevention, public policy, and future research.
—Michael H. Miner, PhD, LP
Professor and Research Director, Program in Human Sexuality, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Seto presents a masterful integration of classic and current research on pedophilia and child sexual abuse, two distinct concepts often erroneously viewed as synonymous, and discusses the implications for assessment, treatment, and prevention.
—Franca Cortoni, PhD, CPsych
Professor, School of Criminology, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada
