Dear forum members of GirlChat,

From December 2017 to March 2018 we sent out a survey on this platform. Some of the results from this survey were published last week in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior (link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10508-019-01579-9). We have written a plain-language summary that we would like to share here. We can also send individual members the final paper in PDF format – due to copyright we unfortunately cannot post the PDF here. If you would like a copy, or have any questions, you could e-mail myself (Frederica Martijn) at martijnfrederica@gmail.com or Dr. Michael Seto at Michael.seto@theroyal.ca. We would like to thank all of you again for your participation.

Best regards,
Frederica Martijn, Dr. Kelly Babchishin, Dr. Lesleigh Pullman, and Dr. Michael Seto


Introduction
Dr. Seto proposed in a paper in 2017 that being sexually attracted to children could be considered a sexual orientation for age, just as homo-, bi-, or heterosexuality are considered sexual orientations for gender. One of the main aspects in his conceptualization of sexual orientation is romantic attraction (along with sexual attraction, early age of onset, and stability over time). Romantic attraction has not been discussed much in research about people who are attracted to children, while romantic feelings are thought to occur in most people – at least, in people who are attracted to adults.
Theories state there are two types of romantic attraction: the first is infatuation, which can also be called “having a crush on someone”; the second is attachment, which typically develops in longer term relationships. Most people experience romantic feelings for the same type of persons they have sexual feelings for, but not always.

Dimensions
There were three main dimensions along which we conceptualized sexual and romantic attraction. The first is age attraction categories, meaning that some people are attracted to one age category (for instance, only children 11 or younger, called pedophilia), and others are attracted to multiple age categories (for instance, children 11 or younger and children 12 to 14, called pedohebephilia). The second is exclusivity, i.e., whether someone is exclusively attracted to children, or to some degree (or even equally) sexually attracted to adults. The third is gender preference, i.e., being attracted to boys, girls, or both.

Romantic attraction and sexual offending
We also assessed the link between romantic attraction and sexual offending, for its relevance to clinical and intervention work. A previous study in 2016 found that relatively more persons who had committed a sexual offense against a child than persons who had not committed a sexual offense against a child had fallen in love with a child. However, this does not mean that romantic attraction automatically increases risk to sexually offend against a child.

Measures
We asked about demographic characteristics such as age and education level, sexual attraction patterns (age categories, exclusivity, and gender preference), having fallen in love, and infatuation and attachment.

Participants
In total, 306 male participants met all our inclusion criteria. Of them, most were 40 years or younger (68%), White (86%), had post-secondary education (75%), and were not in a relationship (77%). We also asked what identity label participants endorsed: 52% answered child lover, 51% pedophile, and 40% Minor Attracted Person.

Results
The majority (72%) of the sample had fallen in love with a child. Over half (56%) had fallen in love with an adult. The difference between these percentages was significant (meaning that statistically more participants had fallen in love with a child than an adult). Overall, participants reported higher feelings of attachment to children than infatuation.

Age attraction categories
* We could assign most participants to three groups: 25% pedophilia (i.e., attraction to children 11 or younger), 40% pedohebephilia (attraction to children 11 or younger and 12 to 14), and 27% pedohebe-ephebophilia (attraction to children 11 or younger, 12 to 14, and 15 to 18).
* Majorities of these groups had fallen in love with a child: 71% of persons with pedophilia, 81% of persons with pedohebephilia, and 62% of persons with pedohebe-ephebophilia. Participants with pedohebephilia had greater odds to have fallen in love with a child, and they reported higher attachment to children, than participants with pedohebe-ephebophilia.
* There were no differences of having fallen in love with a child, or infatuation or attachment between the other groups.

Exclusivity
* About 21% of the participants were exclusively attracted to children, 43% were strongly attracted to children, 23% were preferentially attracted to children, and 14% were equally attracted to children and adults.
* 78% of those exclusively attracted to children, 73% of those strongly attracted to children, 74% of those preferentially attracted to children, and 52% of those equally attracted to children and adults had fallen in love with a child. Participants equally attracted to children and adults had lower odds to have fallen in love with a child than participants exclusively attracted to children.
* There were no differences in infatuation or attachment across exclusivity.

Gender preference
* About 27% were exclusively attracted to boys, 48% attracted to both boys and girls, and 25% exclusively to girls.
* 74% of boy-attracted, 70% of boy-and-girl-attracted, and 71% of girl-attracted participants had fallen in love with a child.
* There were no differences for falling in love or infatuation/attachment across gender preference.

Sexual offenses
* 293 participants answered questions about their offending history. In total, 45 people had a history of sexual offenses: 18 admitted to a history of being arrested, charged, or convicted of a contact sexual offense, 32 of a child sexual exploitation material offense, and 3 of a non-contact offense (e.g., peeping).
* 70% of those who had never committed a sexual offense, and 82% of those who had committed a sexual offense, had fallen in love with a child. This difference was not statistically significant in our study, but it was similar in magnitude to a difference reported in a previous survey study by Bailey and colleagues, published in 2016.

Discussion
We found a prevalence of falling in love with a child between 52% and 81% in the sample, with an overall prevalence of 72%. This lends support for the hypothesis that sexual interest in children could be considered a sexual age orientation. We found higher attachment than infatuation in the overall sample, which was surprising as attachment is thought to be formed in longer term relationships. It is possible that some of the participants have ongoing (non-sexual/non-romantic) relationships with children, which we did not ask about.
We also found that most participants were non-exclusively attracted to children and attracted to multiple age categories. For a long time, researchers assumed that most minor attracted people were attracted to only one age category, but our data suggests this might be the exception rather than the rule. We also found a relation between sexual offending and having fallen in love with a child that was similar to a previous study. However, we do not know how these factors influence each other: for instance, if someone believes sexual contact between a child and an adult is harmful, would that person be more, or less likely to engage in sexual behavior with a child?
In conclusion, the study of romantic attraction to children in persons who are sexually attracted to children is important. We find that sexual and romantic attraction are not straightforward or simple constructs. Attraction to different ages is a complex aspect in the study of human sexuality.