A particularly controversial section of the diagnostic and statistics manual is the section concerning the sexual disorders; specifically, the section containing the paraphilias, which is made up of abnormal sexual behaviours. The term paraphilia is a combination of the words para, meaning beyond the usual, and philia, meaning love (Firestone & Dozois, 2007).
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (fourth edition, text revision, DSM-IV-TR), there are two criterions that need to be taken into account when considering a paraphilic diagnosis (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2000). The first criterion is, within 6 months, a person has strong, persistent, strong sexual behaviours, urges, or fantasies regarding either nonhuman objects, humiliation or suffering of oneself or others, or toward nonconsenting persons or children (APA).
The second criterion is that significant distress or impairments in social, occupational, or other areas of normal everyday life must result because of these urges or behaviours (APA). The manual goes on to list conditions and specifiers for each of the individual paraphilias, which are: exhibitionism, fetishism, frotteurism, pedophilia, sexual masochism, sadism, transvestic fetishism, voyeurism, and paraphilias not otherwise specified (APA). There are, however, some exceptions to the second criterion for a diagnosis, depending on which paraphilia is being diagnosed. For pedophilia, voyeurism, exhibitionism, and frotteurism, criterion two can be satisfied if a person has acted on these sexual urges, not only if the person is markedly distressed (APA). For a diagnosis of sexual sadism, criterion two can also be satisfied if the person has acted on these urges with a nonconsenting person (APA). This article will begin by discussing the paraphilias as listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual in terms of diagnostic criteria, epidemiology, comorbitity, and etiology. Throughout this paper, comments will be made towards some of the possible confounds present in the research on paraphilias, such as sample sizes and the participants included in the studies. Finally, this paper will discuss some of the issues concerning reliability of the paraphilias as a diagnostic category. Before getting into an in-depth discussion about some of the issues in the literature, it is important to review some of the demographics concerning the epidemiology, comorbidity, and etiology of the paraphilias.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Paraphilias An Introduction
A particularly controversial section of the diagnostic and statistics manual is the section concerning the sexual disorders; specifically, the section containing the paraphilias, which is made up of abnormal sexual behaviours. The term paraphilia is a combination of the words para, meaning beyond the usual, and philia, meaning love (Firestone & Dozois, 2007).
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (fourth edition, text revision, DSM-IV-TR), there are two criterions that need to be taken into account when considering a paraphilic diagnosis (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2000). The first criterion is, within 6 months, a person has strong, persistent, strong sexual behaviours, urges, or fantasies regarding either nonhuman objects, humiliation or suffering of oneself or others, or toward nonconsenting persons or children (APA).
The second criterion is that significant distress or impairments in social, occupational, or other areas of normal everyday life must result because of these urges or behaviours (APA). The manual goes on to list conditions and specifiers for each of the individual paraphilias, which are: exhibitionism, fetishism, frotteurism, pedophilia, sexual masochism, sadism, transvestic fetishism, voyeurism, and paraphilias not otherwise specified (APA). There are, however, some exceptions to the second criterion for a diagnosis, depending on which paraphilia is being diagnosed. For pedophilia, voyeurism, exhibitionism, and frotteurism, criterion two can be satisfied if a person has acted on these sexual urges, not only if the person is markedly distressed (APA). For a diagnosis of sexual sadism, criterion two can also be satisfied if the person has acted on these urges with a nonconsenting person (APA). This article will begin by discussing the paraphilias as listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual in terms of diagnostic criteria, epidemiology, comorbitity, and etiology. Throughout this paper, comments will be made towards some of the possible confounds present in the research on paraphilias, such as sample sizes and the participants included in the studies. Finally, this paper will discuss some of the issues concerning reliability of the paraphilias as a diagnostic category. Before getting into an in-depth discussion about some of the issues in the literature, it is important to review some of the demographics concerning the epidemiology, comorbidity, and etiology of the paraphilias.
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