“I can’t talk about that”: Stigma and fear as barriers to preventive services for minor-attracted persons.

Abstract

Minor-attracted persons (MAPs; N = 293; 154 completed all questions) responded to 10 open-ended questions that were designed to capture in their own words their experiences of seeking treatment. We conducted a qualitative analysis of their responses using grounded theory, which is designed to allow themes to emerge from their responses without preconceived notions or expectations. Using this method, we coded answers and then calculated the total number of times that each theme was cited across the entirety of the survey. The most prominent theme that participants cited in their responses was the experience and/or fear of stigma (n = 87). Stigma plays a significant role in their willingness to engage in the treatment process. Some participants noted their concerns about how some attractions to minors should be viewed as “normal” and is unfairly stigmatized (“normalizing”; n = 63). Other prominent themes included shame (n = 50), which focused on internal views of themselves as a “bad person”; a perceived lack of understanding by professionals about MAPs (n = 50); and the importance of building a community with other nonoffending MAPs (either in person or online; n = 45). In addition, other identified themes included fear of being judged (n = 31), statements that they had never acted on their attractions (n = 31), and a fear of being reported (n = 31). Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

The internalization of social stigma among minor-attracted persons: Implications for treatment

“…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 (2018) 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, Schmidt, Geradt, & Hoyer, 2015), 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 wellbeing.…”

“…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 wellbeing and further distancing this group from services aimed at both improving MAP wellbeing and preventing child sexual abuse. In their openended questionnaire study, Grady, Levenson, Mesias, Kavanagh, and Charles (2018) 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, 2018, p. 1) and a fear of being reported to legal authorities also being prominent themes in participant narratives.…”

“…While this lack of 'treatment success' may call into question the validity of such schemes, it may be that these schemes emerge as being much more successful if broader psychosocial constructs related to wellbeing were also assessed. Further, the risk-based framing of such schemes (i.e., 'prevention projects') implicitly assumes that MAPs need to be 'prevented' from offending , rather than 'supported' though their psychosocial experiences of being attracted to minors (Grady et al, 2018;Jahnke, 2018b;Jahnke, Schmidt, Geradt, & Hoyer, 2015). This is a claim supported by self-reported experiences and expectations of MAPs when surveyed about what they believe therapist aims are (B4U-ACT, 2011), and may mean that those wishing to distance themselves from such a label do not reach out to access services that could lead to significant wellbeing improvements .…”

“…Not only does the framing of MAP support services have implications for help-seeking behavior, but there may also be subsequent effects on the internalization of social (and perceived professional) stigma. That is, when presented with hostility from the general community, and perceiving risk reduction and abuse prevention and the core aims of professional and clinical support services, MAPs may begin to take on this stigmatization and incorporate it into their own identities (Grady et al, 2018). This may go some way to explain the high levels of thought suppression within our sample, with WBSI scores among MAPs being higher than or equivalent to those observed in patients with depression, eating disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (Ching & Williams, 2018;Ferreira, Palmeira, Trindade, & Catarino, 2015;Thimm et al, 2018).…”

The Internalization of Social Stigma Among Minor-Attracted Persons: Implications for Treatment

“…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.…”