Physical height in pedophilic and hebephilic sexual offenders.
Adult men's height reflects, not only their genetic endowment, but also the conditions that were present during their development in utero and in childhood. We compared the adult heights of men who committed one or more sexual offenses and who were erotically interested in prepubescent children (pedophilic sexual offenders; n=223), those who were erotically interested in pubescent children (hebephilic sexual offenders; n=615), and those who were erotically interested in adults (teleiophilic sexual offenders; n=187), as well as men who had no known sexual offenses and who were erotically interested in adults (teleiophilic nonoffender controls; n=156). The pedophilic and the hebephilic sexual offenders were significantly shorter than the teleiophilic nonoffender controls. The teleiophilic sexual offenders were intermediate in height between the nonoffenders and the pedophilic and hebephilic sexual offenders and not significantly different from any of the other groups. This suggests that-regardless of whatever psychological sequelae might also have followed from the conditions present during early development-pedophilic and hebephilic sexual offenders were subject to conditions capable of affecting their physiological development.
Cantor
James M
JM
Law and Mental Health Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 1R8, Canada. james_cantor@camh.net
Kuban
Michael E
ME
Blak
Thomas
T
Klassen
Philip E
PE
Dickey
Robert
R
Blanchard
Ray
R
D000328:Adult; D001827:Body Height; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry; D006803:Human Development; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010378:Pedophilia