This research is unique because it represents the first sociological study of pedophiles who use the Internet. The data were gathered from a Usenet newsgroup that is frequented by pedophiles. A content analysis was performed on all of the postings from admitted pedophiles (N=41) that appeared on this newsgroup during a one month period.
Scott and Lyman’s classic formulation of accounts served as the conceptual framework for this study. The primary research question was: "How do pedophiles who use the Internet account for their deviance?” There were four ancillary objectives to this analysis: (1) to ascertain the degree to which pedophiles who participate in this newsgroup provide validation to, and seek validation from, other users; (2) to investigate the extent to which pedophiles who participate in this forum provide information to, and seek information from, other users; (3) to assess the degree to which pedophiles use this newsgroup to seek correspondence with other pedophiles; and (4) to determine the extent to which users of this newsgroup are members of the pedophile organization NAMBLA (the North American/Man Boy Love Association).
Slightly more than one-half of the pedophiles in the sample provided some type of account in defense of pedophilia or adults having sex with children. Thirty-nine percent offered a denial of injury account; 31.7% proffered a condemnation of condemners account; 14.6% provided a BIRGing account; and 4.9% used an appeal to loyalties account. Also, nearly one-fourth of these pedophiles used polythematic accounts.
The results of this research also indicate that this computer forum serves a validation function for these pedophiles. Moreover, many of the postings that appeared on this newsgroup contained information that should be of interest to pedophiles. Some of these on-line pedophiles use this newsgroup to establish correspondence with other pedophiles. Although only a few of the pedophiles in this sample indicated a NAMBLA affiliation, these individuals frequently provided accounts which reflect the ideology of that pedophile organization. / Ph. D.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/38001 |
| Date | 06 June 2008 |
| Creators | Durkin, Keith F. |
| Contributors | Sociology, Bryant, Clifton D., Bailey, Carol A., de Wolf, Peggy L., Edwards, John N., Shoemaker, Donald J. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation, Text |
| Format | viii, 130 leaves, BTD, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | OCLC# 36093054, LD5655.V856_1996.D875.pdf |
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