Gaze Behavior Towards Children in Pedophilia and Hebephilia ^†

Abstract

Background: Indirect measurement methods play a central role in the assessment of deviant sexual interests, including pedohebephilia. Among these approaches, eye-tracking paradigms that assess gaze behavior may serve as indirect indicators of deviant vs. non-deviant sexual interest. However, the diagnostic utility of eye-tracking measures for distinguishing pedohebephilia from sexual interest in adults (teleiophilia) remains unclear. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine differences in gaze behavior among individuals with pedohebephilic and teleiophilic sexual interest and to determine the extent to which eye-tracking measures can differentiate pedophilia and hebephilia from teleiophilia. Method: Gaze behavior was assessed using an eye tracker while images of children were presented alongside images of adults. Gaze measures included the time to first fixation, first fixation count and total duration of fixation. Sexual interest was determined through a clinical interview as part of a standard intake procedure of an outpatient prevention program. Results: The sample comprised men with pedophilia, hebephilia and a teleiophilic control group. Men with pedophilic sexual interest showed a significantly higher number of first fixations and a shorter time to first fixation on child stimuli compared with adult stimuli, while the teleiophilic group showed the opposite pattern. Findings for the hebephilic group were inconclusive. Total fixation duration was more evenly distributed between child and adult stimuli in the pedophilic group, whereas the other two groups showed longer fixation durations for adult stimuli [1]. Conclusions: The findings suggest that eye-tracking may provide a useful additional approach for assessing deviant sexual interest.