Psychopathy among pedophilic and non-pedophilic child molesters

Research is making increasing clear that, among men who sexually offend against prepubescent children, there are at least two subgroups, pedophiles and non-pedophiles, and that the groups differ in many important respects. Our ability to understand the etiology, nature, and most effective treatment for child molesters will depend, in no small part, on our ability to recognize the differences between these two groups of offenders. This paper reports on two studies which examined possible differences between the groups in psychopathy, a personality dimension long recognized as an important element in sexual offending. Utilizing a validated self-report measure of psychopathy, the Psychopathy Personality Inventory (PPI), both studies found non-pedophilic child molesters to score as significantly more psychopathic than their pedophilic counterparts.