Suicide and the publicly exposed pedophile.
Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Current clinical wisdom is that the vast majority of those who complete suicide suffer from a mental disorder. Uncritical adherence to this belief may limit our understanding and restrict the full range of prevention activities. We aimed to examine the public record for accounts of suicide by men who had been, or were about to be, investigated or apprehended for "sex only" child sex offences, with a view to presenting a collection of case histories, and identifying examples of suicide in the apparent absence of mental disorder other than pedophilia. METHODS: The public record (hard and electronic copy) was examined. RESULTS: Twenty case histories were identified of men with no apparent mental disorder (other than pedophilia) who completed suicide shortly after exposure or threatened public exposure and/or early or potential legal punishment. CONCLUSION: This evidence strongly suggests that exposure or threatened public exposure of pedophilia and/or early or potential legal punishment creates a predicament, which may lead to completed suicide.
Source: Europe PMC (PubMed Central)
Authors: Garry Walter, Saxby Pridmore
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2993570497