This pilot study was designed to collect and analyze a broad range of descriptive data on out-patient pedophiles. Eighteen males with at least one legally charged pedophilic offense (excluding incest) participated in the research. Seven of the subjects sexually molested a male child (homosexual pedophiles) and eleven subjects sexually molested a female child (heterosexual pedophiles). / Subjects were administered the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). Subjects and their therapists also participated in a structured interview which sought data on psycho-social and offense variables. / Analysis of the MCMI results found that when profile configurations were compared, the homosexual group showed higher mean sub-scale elevations, a more cohesive pattern of sub-scale elevations, and significantly higher sub-scale scores for Passive-Aggressive personality as a feature. The heterosexual group shared Avoidant/Dependent features of personality with the homosexual group but individual profile configurations were much less homogeneous in sub-scale elevations. The analysis of the NPI results found no significant difference between the groups. A comparison of the structured interview data for the groups strongly suggests that homosexual offenders are more structured in their pedophilic interest than heterosexual offenders. / The results are discussed in relation to the validity of the fixated/regressed model for homosexual and heterosexual pedophiles, respectively. The relationship between personality, aetiology of pedophilic behavior, and offense pattern is considered. Implications and suggestions for future research are outlined.

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D.Litt. et Phil / This study has aimed at exploring the narratives of perpetrators of child sexual abuse within a social constructionist research approach. Tape-recorded conversations were held with twelve participants who were engaged in a treatment programme at Childline Johannesburg and Childline KwaZulu Natal. The conversations with these men served to punctuate the participants' own experiences both in childhood and throughout the course of their adolescent and adult lives in order to elicit meaning and understanding of their offending behaviour. These narratives were compared to the traditional empirical research literature. The narratives highlighted some similarities to the traditional research literature; however, various differences were also noted. The similarities pertain particularly to: their experiences of having had traumatic and disruptive childhoods; an apparent lack of empathy for the victim; the employment of a wide range of rationalisations in order to explain their offences; a lack of self-esteem; a dearth of sex education in their home environment. Differences between narratives and the traditional research literature encompassed: the role of alcohol as a causal factor in offending; the belief in the abused-abuser hypothesis; the notion that most offenders begin their aberrant pattern of offending in adolescence; an absence of the popular stereotype that paedophiles are sexually and/or physically attracted to children. The participants in this study indicated an emotional attraction to their victims.