Abstract:
The widespread conflation between having a sexual interest in children and engaging in sexually abusive behavior contributes significantly to elevated levels of stigma targeted at people living with a sexual interest in children. Stigmatization and societal punitiveness surrounding people living with these interests can impact their well-being, obstruct help-seeking, and potentially increase risk of offending behavior. Recent quantitative research employing stigma intervention strategies has produced encouraging results in reducing stigmatizing attitudes toward this population. The current study sought to expand on quantitative research findings to explore qualitatively the facilitators and barriers to understanding and accepting people living with sexual interest in children. Thirty participants were interviewed following completion of an online stigma intervention study. Participants were asked about their attitudinal responses to the earlier study and how personal and professional experiences contributed to shaping their attitudes surrounding people living with a sexual interest in children. Reflexive inductive thematic analysis was used to explore what factors promote understanding and what factors act as barriers to understanding people with sexual interest in children. The significance of experiences which challenged the dominant social narrative was identified across several themes which facilitated understanding and acceptance of people who have a sexual interest in children. Themes which reflected barriers to understanding included difficulty comprehending alternate narratives, parental concern, and reinforcement of current stereotypes. Implications for developing stigma-reduction interventions and future research are discussed.
摘要:
对儿童的性兴趣与从事性虐待行为之间的广泛融合在很大程度上导致了针对对儿童有性兴趣的人的污名化程度的提高。围绕这些利益的人的污名化和社会惩罚会影响他们的福祉,阻挠求助,并可能增加冒犯行为的风险。最近采用污名干预策略的定量研究在减少对该人群的污名化态度方面取得了令人鼓舞的结果。当前的研究试图扩大定量研究结果,以定性地探索理解和接受对儿童性感兴趣的人的促进者和障碍。在完成一项在线污名干预研究后,对30名参与者进行了采访。参与者被问及他们对早期研究的态度反应,以及个人和专业经验如何有助于塑造他们对儿童性兴趣的人的态度。反思性归纳主题分析用于探索哪些因素促进理解,哪些因素阻碍理解对儿童有性兴趣的人。在几个主题上确定了挑战占主导地位的社会叙事的经验的重要性,这些主题促进了对儿童有性兴趣的人的理解和接受。反映理解障碍的主题包括难以理解替代叙述,父母的关心,强化当前的陈规定型观念。讨论了发展减少污名化干预措施和未来研究的意义。