Personality profile across addictive behavior

Despite an enormous literature documenting the pathological sequelae of childhood sexual abuse, there is surprisingly little literature on the personality profile of the perpetrators. In this presentation, relevant literature is summarized and results from a study comparing male pedophiles with a group of healthy controls and a patient control group of substance abusers presented. Specifically, levels of impulsivity, psychopathy and propensity toward cognitive distortions were compared across groups. It was predicted that pedophiles, relative to substance abusers, would show lower levels of impulsivity, higher levels of propensity towards cognitive distortions, and higher levels of psychopathy. Measures included the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM IV disorders-Axis II (SCID II), the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), and the Barratt Impulsivity Scale. As predicted, pedophiles scored highest on Cluster A traits on SCID II, consistent with an elevated propensity towards cognitive distortion, which might explain the tendency towards minimizing the consequences of pedophilic behavior. Further, Substance Abusers scored higher than Pedophiles on the Barratt Impulsivity Scale. While both patient groups scored higher than controls on the Total and Behavioral (Factor 2) Psychopathy Score, only pedophiles scored higher than controls on the Attitudinal Psychopathy (Factor 1) score, suggesting psychopathy in Substance Abusers is more related to behavioral dyscontrol than it is in Pedophiles. Implications for treatment, assessment, and etiological theories of pedophilia will be discussed.