Peer-reviewed article
A Descriptive Study of the Attitudes, Characteristics and Behaviours Differentiating Men Who Do and Do Not Want Help for Their Sexual Interest in Children.
Salter M, Whitten T, Woodlock D, Lu M, Lamond M et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This peer-reviewed study surveyed 4,918 men across Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States to identify characteristics distinguishing men with sexual interest in children who seek help from those who do not. The research found that men who wanted help were more likely to be married, working with children, and concerned about the impact on relationships and reputation. The study aims to inform secondary prevention services that target people concerned about their sexual interest in children before offending occurs.
Key points
- 642 men in the survey (13% of sample) reported sexual interest in children
- Men seeking help were significantly more likely to be married or living with a partner
- Help-seeking was motivated by concern about impact on close relationships and social reputation
- Men seeking help showed higher rates of other sexual deviancy and use of encrypted apps to hide activity
- Study findings intended to help secondary prevention services engage earlier with at-risk individuals
Limitations
This is a descriptive survey study without longitudinal follow-up or experimental design, so it cannot establish causation or predict which interventions will effectively increase help-seeking. The study relies on self-reported data from men, which may be subject to social desirability bias or underreporting.
Abstract
In the field of child sexual abuse prevention, secondary prevention services seek to engage with people concerned about their sexual interest and behaviours towards children prior to the onset of offending. There is a lack of robust information to inform program development and to seek to engage earlier with people concerned about their risk to children. Accordingly, this paper reports on the findings of a survey of 4,918 men, drawn from representative samples in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The paper described the proportion of men in the survey with a sexual interest in children (n = 642), and the factors that distinguish between men who wanted help for that interest and men who did not want help. Study findings indicate that offending behaviour is a key motivator for help-seeking amongst men with a sexual interest in children. Men who wanted help were significantly more likely to be married or living with a partner and working with children, and they reported closer social bonds, compared to men with sexual feelings who did not want help, which suggests that their help-seeking may be motivated by concern about the impact of their offending on their close relationships, social ties, and reputation. This group also displayed heightened rates of other forms of sexual deviancy, such as arousal to animal pornography, as well as the use of encrypted social media apps, potentially to camouflage or hide their offending activity. These findings may be useful for secondary prevention services in order to build motivation to seek help amongst men with a sexual interest in children.