Date of Award

Fall 2025

Language

English

Embargo Period

12-1-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

School of Social Welfare

Program

Social Welfare

First Advisor

Heather Larkin

Committee Members

Heather Horton, Sarah Mounts, Gilian Tenbergen

Keywords

sexual abuse, pedophilia, mental health

Subject Categories

Gender and Sexuality | Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance | Social Work

Abstract

Child sexual abuse prevention is a significant social concern in the United States and internationally. While there have been some successful efforts to reduce recidivism risk among individuals who have committed sexual offenses, we fall short when preventing first time offenses. Therefore, looking at ways to provide treatment to those who are more at-risk for a first offense seems like a potential solution to this problem. One such relevant risk-factor is attraction to minors. This study is a qualitative examination using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of how people who are attracted to minors make the decision to disclose their attraction, seek treatment and experience treatment. Non-offending minor-attracted persons (N=17) were interviewed in an effort to understand how they come to their decisions to disclose and seek treatment, as well as their experiences once they are in treatment. Findings suggest that there are multiple pathways to disclosure, treatment, and transitioning out of treatment and that feelings of acceptance play a significant role in the decision to disclose and to continue working with a treatment provider. The experiences of this population are discussed in detail.

License

This work is licensed under the University at Albany Standard Author Agreement.

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