Minor attraction is a topic associated with widespread social debate and controversy (Seto, 2008). While pedophilia (sexual attraction to prepubescent children) is the most well-known and widely studied chronophilic category related to minor attraction, other categories involving a sexual attraction to children also exist (Blanchard et al., 2009; Seto, 2017), including hebephilia (sexual attraction to pubescent children) and ephebophilia (sexual attraction to postpubescent adolescent minors). In this article, we are interested in exploring the experiences of those individuals whose sexual orientation (Seto, 2012) is dominated by their sexual attraction toward children, regardless of their preferred or predominant age of attraction, and thus, the broader term “minor-attracted persons” (MAPs) is adopted to account for this. We may refer to “pedophilia” in places, however, as this has been used as a catch-all term for minor attraction in both popular and academic discourses (Harper & Hogue, 2015; King & Roberts, 2017).

While sexual interests toward minors and other paraphilias have been identified as key risk factors for sexual (re-)offending (Hanson & Morton-Bourgon, 2005; Helmus, Ó Ciardha, & Seto, 2015), contemporary research in Germany has reported that fewer than half of all individuals convicted of child abuse offenses actually have a pedophilic sexual preference (Schmidt, Mokros, & Banse, 2013). Further, there is an unknown number of individuals with pedophilia as their predominant sexual arousal pattern (as well as MAPs with other ages of attraction) in the community, who never commit any offenses at all (Cantor & McPhail, 2016). Some estimates place the specific prevalence of pedophilia within the general (male) population at between < .1–5% (Dombert et al., 2016; Seto, 2008). However, other researchers have found much higher rates of minor attraction when looking at sexual attraction to “children” in a more general sense. For example, around 10% of German men engage with sexual fantasies involving children (Ahlers et al., 2011), while one-in-four men would seemingly continue to sexualize an online conversation with somebody who reveals themselves as a child (Bergen, Antfolk, Jern, Alanko, & Santtila, 2013). These statistics indicate that low-level sexual interests in children may be widespread within the general population.

Against the popular conflation of “pedophile” (and “MAP”) with “child molester” (Feelgood & Hoyer, 2008; Harrison, Manning, & McCartan, 2010), there are several online communities of self-identified MAPs who engage with and support one another to prevent child sexual abuse and who engage with the general public in an effort to reduce this common misunderstanding (Holt, Blevins, & Burkert, 2010). In spite of this, those who are labeled as pedophiles (either accurately as a result of either their assessed or self-reported sexual orientation, or incorrectly as a result of some form of sexual offense against a child) face large amounts of stigmatization (Harper, Bartels, & Hogue, 2018; Imhoff, 2015; Jahnke, 2018a, 2018b; Jahnke & Hoyer, 2013; Jahnke, Imhoff, & Hoyer, 2015a). In this article, we build on this stigmatization research, by examining the extent to which thought suppression (a proxy measure of the internalization of social stigma) among MAPs may impact upon help-seeking behaviors and active attempts to avoid coming into contact with children.

The Stigmatization of Minor-Attracted Persons

Stigmatization is the process of forming negative evaluations of an individual or groups of people based on limited characteristics (Corrigan, Morris, Michaels, Rafacz, & Rusch, 2012). It is typically discussed in relation to three distinct but interrelated domains. First, stigmatization possesses an emotional component. This may be linked to negative automatic feelings about in individual or group based on their membership of that population (Harper et al., 2018; Vess, 2009). Second, stigmatization involves a cognitive process, whereby those who are responsible for doing the stigmatizing make specific (negative) attributions about the stigmatized group. In relation to people with sexual interests in minors, these attributions may involve ascribing choice to the sexual orientation, or making a presumption of offending behavior (Imhoff, 2015; for a comprehensive review, see Jahnke, 2018b). Third, there is a behavioral component to stigmatization, which may include the support for punitive policy positions in relation to a stigmatized group, or a desire to obtain social distance from them (Jahnke et al., 2015a).

While a growing amount of research is emerging in relation to the social stigmatization of MAPs (e.g. Harper et al., 2018; Imhoff, 2015; Imhoff & Jahnke, 2018; Jahnke, 2018a; Jahnke et al., 2015a), our focus is on the transference of this into self-stigmatization, MAP well-being, and help-seeking behavior. The self-stigmatization that takes place within the MAP community has been reported as being associated with an exaggerated fear of discovery, as well as reductions in cognitive and emotional functioning (Jahnke, Schmidt, Geradt, & Hoyer, 2015b). These deficits include significant associations between having a MAP identity and having a heightened fear of discovery, perceived social distance from the rest of the population, lower levels of self-esteem, and higher levels of subjective social isolation (Jahnke et al., 2015b). Not only do these issues link to well-being, but they are also implicated as potential risk factors for the commission of sexual offenses (see e.g., Gillespie, Mitchell, Fisher, & Beech, 2012). Having more psychosocial issues, a history of mental health problems, and difficulties in controlling one’s sexual attractions were all recently reported as being associated with sexual offending in a community sample of MAPs (Cohen, Ndukwe, Yaseen, & Galynker, 2018; though see Neutze, Seto, Schaefer, Mundt, & Beier, 2011), who found relatively few differences between those who have and have not acted on their attractions to minors. However, the social isolation of MAPs has also been linked to a lack of willingness to actively seek therapeutic support for these sexual interests (Jahnke & Hoyer, 2013), potentially compounding both low levels of well-being and further distancing this group from services aimed at both improving MAP well-being and preventing child sexual abuse. In their open-ended questionnaire study, Grady, Levenson, Mesias, Kavanagh, and Charles (2019) reported social stigma and a fear of discovery as the most important barriers to help-seeking behavior among MAPs, with internalized stigma (i.e., seeing themselves as a “bad person” because of their unchosen sexual attractions Grady et al., 2019) and a fear of being reported to legal authorities also being prominent themes in participant narratives. Jahnke (2018b) also sets out a series of recommendations for professionals working with MAPs. While Jahnke reported that a large proportion of people who are predominantly attracted to minors (i.e., their minor attraction is more than their attraction to adults) had thought about seeking professional help, there is commonly either a lack of willingness to treat this group (Koops, Turner, Jahnke, Märker, & Briken, 2016; Steils-Glenn, 2010) or a mismatch between therapist and MAPs treatment goals (for results from a non-peer-reviewed survey of MAPs on this topic, see B4U-ACT, 2011). These data suggest that perceptions of stigma (and, in some cases, internalized stigma) can act as a barrier to help-seeking and access to professional support services.

Internalized Stigma in Minor-Attracted Persons

According to the literature within social psychology, members of stigmatized and marginalized social groups experience high levels of stress. The minority stress model (Meyer, 2003) offers a theoretical framework for understanding this and builds on seminal theorizing on the intra- and interpersonal effects of prejudice and experienced stigma (Allport, 1954; Goffman, 1963; Link & Phelan, 2001). This model was developed after an examination of the experiences and effects of such stigmatization and purports minority stress to be unique (i.e., it is additive to normal everyday stresses that are experienced by everybody), chronic (i.e., it is stable over time), and rooted in established social structures, norms, and hierarchies. Meyer (2003) proposed that three processes are at play when considering minorities’ experiences of trauma, stress, or prejudice within society. First, there is either a chronic or acute experience. In the case of MAPs, this could be a physical attack (an acute event), or the continued experience of hate within society via the media (a chronic event; see Jahnke et al., 2015a). Second, there is a process of expectation, whereby minorities begin to anticipate such negative experiences and become hyper-vigilant and sensitive to potential stressors. Third, there is some degree of internalization of social stigmatization, which is commonly accompanied by concealment activities. These strategies have been observed in homosexual (Mohr & Daly, 2008) and transgender populations (Beemyn & Rankin, 2011). The internalization of negative social attitudes, stereotypes, and attributions is what we refer to as the experience of internalized stigma and has been observed among these groups (e.g., Hendricks & Testa, 2012), with this being posited as a motivation to engage in stress-ameliorating strategies in the form of distancing oneself from the minority identity via concealment (hiding one’s identity from those external to oneself), and suppression (refusing to accept one’s own minority identity).

An interaction between concealment and internalization could lead some minority groups to actively attempt to suppress their identities. That is, suppression may act as a form of self-concealment, such as to ameliorate minority stress and distance the minority individual from the negative feelings that they may have begun to internalize about themselves. Examples of groups in which thought suppression has been viewed as a method of identity (self-)concealment includes women who have had abortions (Major & Gramzow, 1999) and members of the LGBT community (Crocker & Major, 1989; Hendricks & Testa, 2012). Although Jahnke (2018b) described how this process could work in relation to MAPs (i.e., social stigma leading to attempts to conceal one’s MAP identity), no study has previously examined suppression efforts within the MAP community in a direct or empirical manner.

While this process of thought suppression can be a positive strategy for alleviating acute experiences of stigma in the short term, there is the potential that this strategy could be counterproductive in the longer term. For example, Smart and Wegner (2000) describe many cognitive burdens that are associated with the constant suppression of one’s identity. Having to maintain an outward appearance that is different to internal processes can lead to a preoccupation with suppressing (Meyer, 2003), which can lead the individual living an internal “private hell” (Smart & Wegner, 2000, p. 229). This may be especially the case among MAPs who, even when in private, have no legal way of acting on their sexual attractions, meaning that suppression could become a totalizing experience in all areas of life with profoundly negative effects on psychological well-being. This is particularly troubling in light of evidence of a potential rebound effect that is associated with suppressing unwanted thoughts. Erskine and Georgiou (2011) described a range of evidence, suggesting that trying not to think about particular things (e.g., memories or actions) may actually increase rumination on those topics and reduce self-regulation processes (see also Abramowitz, Tolin, & Street, 2001). For example, dieters who suppress thoughts of hunger or thirst have been found to eat less in the short term, but binge at a later time (Denzler, Förster, Liberman, & Rozenman, 2010; Erskine, 2008), while the same outcomes are observed among smokers trying to reduce their cigarette consumption (Erskine, Georgiou, & Kvavilashvili, 2010). In the sexual domain, suppressing sexual thoughts has been associated with higher levels of compulsive sexual behaviors in religious groups (Efrati, 2019). The implications in relation to MAPs are stark in this regard. That is, if increased levels of suppression are associated with a rebound effect in relation to increased engagement in the thoughts and behaviors being suppressed, then thought suppression related to minor attraction could paradoxically increase a propensity to engage with sexual thoughts involving children.

While the above commentary suggests that thought suppression (along with an associated index of psychological well-being) acts as a direct proxy measure of internalized stigma, there may be other explanations as to why MAPs would suppress their sexual attractions. For example, it could be that experiences of societal stigma (and the reduced levels of well-being that are associated with this; Jahnke et al., 2015b) leads some MAPs suppress their sexual thoughts. While suppressing sexual thoughts about children helps some MAPs to function better in their everyday lives and avoid ruminating on their sexual interests and does not, in itself, reflect internalized stigma, the conscious effort that this suppression takes does reflect some degree of not wishing to experience those sexual thoughts. In doing so, MAPs who suppress for this reason are internally “admitting” that there is something wrong with their sexual thoughts—even in the absence of offending behavior. This indirectly does indicate a form of internalized stigma, as experiencing a sexual thought is subjectively different to causing harm by acting upon it. The former can be experienced in a healthy way and alleviated without causing harm (e.g., via fantasy engagement and masturbation), while the latter causes harm at both the individual and societal levels (for a meta-analysis of the effects of child sexual abuse, see Paolucci, Genius, & Violato, 2001). In suppressing sexual attractions that can be expressed in a healthy way, MAPs may themselves conflate their attractions with something more sinister, thus internalizing the stigma that they face within society in a manner consistent with Meyer’s (2003) minority stress model.

Taking this further, it may be that this internalization of social stigma has subsequent effects on help-seeking behaviors. As reported previously, Grady et al. (2019) found that MAPs who viewed themselves as inherently bad people (they referred to this as shame in relation to sexual attractions) were less likely to seek help from professionals for issues arising from their attractions to minors. If we adopt the view that suppression represents the internalization of social stigma, and this stigma leads to shame and social withdrawal (Jahnke et al., 2015b), we might expect higher levels of thought suppression to be associated with a lesser willingness to seek professional support, even if this suppression is associated with increased shame and worse emotional well-being.

The Present Study

In this study, we sought to examine the role of internalized social stigma in relation to help-seeking behavior among an online community of self-identifying MAPs. We used suppression of unwanted thoughts as a proxy measure of internalized social stigma about a sexual interest in minors for a number of reasons. First, suppression is associated with the active avoidance of unwanted thoughts (Rassin, 2003)—a process commonly observed among stigmatized groups demonstrating higher levels of minority stress (Meyer, 2003). Given that sexual cognitions and fleeting sexual themes are common in intrusive thoughts (Cathey & Wetterneck, 2013), and that having sexual interests in minors is a highly socially stigmatized issue (Jahnke & Hoyer, 2013), we start with the assumption that sexual thoughts (and associated reminders of the social stigma related to their sexual orientation) will be prevalent among samples of MAPs. However, by asking about the suppression of unwanted thoughts more generally (as measured using the White Bear Suppression Inventory [WBSI; Wegner & Zanakos, 1994]), we can examine this idea in a more subtle manner without potential demand characteristics associated with explicitly priming thoughts of a minor-attracted identity. This is also consistent with associated research in other areas of clinical psychology, which have also used the WBSI to examine levels of thought suppression in patients with mental health issues such as depression (Thimm, Wang, Waterloo, Eisemann, & Halvorsen, 2018), obsessive–compulsive disorder (Ching & Williams, 2018), and schizophrenia-related symptoms (Jones & Fernyhough, 2009) At the same time, the advertising of our survey (i.e., a research project hosted on a website for self-identified MAPs) may subjectively or implicitly prime participants to consider their responses within the broader context of their status as MAPs.

We predicted that high levels of suppression would be positively associated with feelings of shame and guilt about their sexual interests in minors, but negatively associated with hope for the future. We also predicted that suppression would be negatively associated with a general measure of psychological well-being (Hypothesis 1). Further, we predicted that those who had sought help for their sexual interests would be less likely to suppress unwanted thoughts than those who had not previously sought support (Hypothesis 2). We also expected suppression to be associated with both a desire for more support with their sexual interests (Hypothesis 3) and a propensity to engage in the active avoidance of children (Hypothesis 4).