ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the two predominant psychoanalytic theories regarding the aetiology of homosexual paedophilia: the Freudian-based approach and the Kohutian-based approach. Both theories recognize the importance of early developmental issues as being implicated in this disorder, yet each suggests important differences in what these early developmental issues are and their importance for the interpretation and analysis of clinical case material. The myth about paedophiles that scientific investigation has erased is the popular belief that paedophilia and homosexuality, if not synonymous, are nonetheless inextricably intertwined. However, pedophilia should not be confused with homosexuality, even when it deals with a same-sex relationship. The National Center cites evidence that most men who sexually abuse male children are heterosexual in their adult orientation. Evidence from more research of homosexual paedophiles is beginning to establish the significance of early developmental difficulties as being critically implicated in the aetiology of the deviant behaviour. I. Fitch found homosexual paedophiles to be “immature”.
