Neurobiological underpinnings of pedophilia and child sexual offending

Boris Schiffer

The German research consortium NeMUP (an acronym for neurobiological mechanisms underlying pedophilia) has published numerous studies over the last two years showing that child sexual offending rather than pedophilia is associated with a number of neurobiological abnormalities.

In this presentation, behavioral and neurobiological findings will be summarized and related to each other within the framework of an empirically-founded model which explicate the interrelations that presumably contribute to the commitment of sexual child abuse.

Boris Schiffer, PhD

Division of Forensic Psychiatry, LWL-University Hospital, Bochum & LWL-Hospital for Forensic Psychiatry, Herne

Dr. Schiffer has been conducting research focusing on the neural correlates underlying (sexually) deviant behaviour in schizophrenia, substance use disorders, antisocial personality disorder and pedophilia for about 15 years. He has more than 50 peer-reviewed papers, published in Brain, Schizophrenia Bulletin, Archives of General Psychiatry, and Translational Psychiatry, and has made numerous conference presentations on different forensic and mental health issues.

He is currently Clinical Director of the LWL-Hospital for Forensic Psychiatry, Herne as well as Professor and Head of the Research Division of Forensic Psychiatry at the LWL-University Hospital Bochum.