Paraphilias
A class of sexual disorder that involves behavior most
people find distasteful, unusual or abnormal. They produce clinically
significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other
important areas of psychosocial functioning. Some of these disorders can
also be criminal acts.
Paraphilias are recurrent,
intense, sexually arousing fantasies, urges, or behaviors that are
distressing or disabling and that involve inanimate objects, children or
other nonconsenting adults, or suffering or humiliation of oneself or the
partner.
The arousal patterns are considered pathologic only when:
They become obligatory for sexual functioning (ie,
erection or orgasm cannot occur without the stimulus).
They involve inappropriate partners (eg, children, nonconsenting adults).
They cause significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or
other important areas of functioning.
People suffering with a paraphilia may have an impaired or nonexistent capacity for affectionate, reciprocal emotional and sexual intimacy with a consenting partner
The pattern of disturbed
erotic arousal is usually fairly well developed before puberty. At least 3
processes are involved:
Anxiety or early emotional trauma interferes with
normal psychosexual development.
The standard pattern of arousal is replaced by another pattern, sometimes
through early exposure to highly charged sexual experiences that reinforce
the person's experience of sexual pleasure.
The pattern of sexual arousal often acquires symbolic and conditioning
elements (eg, a fetish symbolizes the object of arousal but may have been
chosen because the fetish was accidentally associated with sexual curiosity,
desire, and excitement).
Paraphilia are common in males usually.