Are paedophiles merely immature people?

It depends on whether they are in fact a pedophile. Some people just don't really care who they victimize, it just is whoever is accessible and vulnerable. And then there are some who just enjoy having power over someone weaker than themselves, and who could be weaker or more vulnerable than a child?

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There are a fair amount of pedophiles who have fixations with childhood and behave in a very immature way however there are many people who are immature and/or unsuccessful with the opposite sex who aren't pedophiles so I wouldn't say they are "merely" immature. It is more complex than that.

I think it's probably one of the better theories out there. It could be one of several different possibilities that would have some validity.

Studies have shown the phenomenon does not affect the person in other ways of adult life (granted they were only able to sample from sexual offenders, but the fact that it applied to that group makes it all the more convincing). However, the romantic life, and the biological feelings related to it are interesting. It could be possible that some unresolved yearning, perhaps a crush from childhood that has gone unfulfilled, affects one's sexual attraction development. That doesn't mean a pedophile doesn't necessarily get involved in an adult relationship, but it could explain why the primary or secondary attraction is to prepubescent or adolescent children.

Now obviously this doesn't mean anyone who has had feelings for peers at a young age and was never really in a romantic situation at the time is a pedophile. But, it could have some weight in why some individuals end up with pedophilic feelings.

I stress that this is different from the situations where power or an outlet is the motivation for child sexual abuse, because the feelings themselves pertaining to that isn't really pedophilia at all.

I fit that description of yours but I'm not a paedophile. Actually, I've always been mostly interested in people quite older than me. It's very relative.

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Obadiah Obadiah, Jah Jah sent us here to catch vampire

I've had zero sexual experience with others but I have no attraction to children whatsoever! I do prefer younger men, but they definitely have to be older than 18. I think paedophilia occurs either due to the paedophiles being abused when they were children too, or some other related trauma happening at a young age. However, I still don't think ALL abused children would grow up to become paedophiles- I think you have to have a certain disposition to become that way.

It usually stems from some severe trauma experienced in childhood, such as sexual abuse or violence.

There are plenty of kissless virgins out there, but those folks are as scared of children as they are of adults so they tend to be socially disassociative in general.

I think there is also a genetic component that contributes to the tendency as well, which is why some people can suffer extreme trauma in childhood and come out okay, and others can experience one single event and become pederasts.

I have thought about this very same theory myself. But, I don't think it's necessarily the case with pedophiles.

I myself have never had any sexual contact whatsoever (not even kissing) and I am a 23-year-old woman. It's not because of religious beliefs or anything like that... it's because I have social anxiety disorder and severely low self-esteem. But, I am not sexually attracted to children. I will admit though, at times I find teenage boys attractive (including ones under 18) and I don't think that's any big crime. Teen boys are sexually mature and a lot of them look like adults anyway. Plus, a beautiful person is a beautiful person no matter what age, imo. It may not be right in society's eyes for an adult to think a teenager is attractive and want to have sex with them, but I think it's normal (as long as you don't act on those urges of course).

But being sexually attracted to children is much different. And, like other posters have already mentioned, I think pedophiles' urges are more often caused by abuse in childhood. There's a theory that a lot of people who are abused as children will go on to become abusers themselves. But obviously I am no psychologist, and the reasons for pedophiles' attractions/urges are probably more complex than that.

You remind me of a white crayon... totally useless.