Height may point to a biological basis for pedophilia, suggests a study in Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. The researchers behind the study say they found that pedophilic males were shorter on average than males without a sexual attraction to children.
The findings were based on an analysis of the heights of over 1,000 men who were assessed for pedophilia or other sexual disorders between 1995 and 2006 at the Kurt Freund Laboratory in Toronto, Canada. The researchers suggest that pedophiles may have been exposed to pre-birth conditions that affected their physical development. Further research is necessary, say the researchers, but this finding re-enforces evidence that pedophilia has a biological cause, possibly related to brain development before birth.
Interestingly, a difference in average height is a trait found in other illnesses with biological links. Shorter heights are associated with both schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. "This research does not mean that pedophiles are not criminally responsible for their behavior," said lead researcher James Cantor, "but the discovery of biological markers for pedophilia has important implications for future study and possibly treatment."
Previous research from the same team found that pedophiles have lower IQs, are three times more likely to be left-handed, failed school grades significantly more frequently, and suffered more head injuries as children.
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Source: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
