Examining paraphilia and emotional regulation with Norwegian speaking adults

Abstract

Exploration of paraphilia has become an interesting topic for researchers the latest years. Norway lacks sufficient research on paraphilia. Current literature has shown distinct sex differences with men reporting more interest in paraphilia than women. Emotional regulation is suggested from research as a plausible psychological factor that could affect paraphilia. We started a collaboration with SIFER to explore paraphilia and emotional regulation from a non-clinical Norwegian-speaking sample. Two questionnaires were administered: The Paraphilia Scale and DERS-18. Data material was collected through an online study. 313 participants (N = 114 males, 191 females) took part in our study with age from 18 to over 50 years old. To simplify our analysis, The Paraphilia Scale was divided into 13 themes. Findings indicate evident sex differences when looking at paraphilic interests. Masochism and Sadism were the two most popular paraphilic themes for both male and female participants. The least popular themes were found to be Pedohebephilia and Zoophilia. The following paraphilic themes demonstrated sex differences: Biastophilia, Cro/Urophilia, Exhibitionism, Fetishism, Frotteurism, Pedohebephilia, Sadism, Somnophilia and Voyeurism. Male participants reported higher interest on these paraphilic themes. There were no sex differences when only assessing paraphilic behaviors. The relationship between paraphilic interests and paraphilic behaviors showed correlations that were moderate to strong on Biastophilia, Eroticized Gender, Masochism, Sadism, Telephone Scatologia and Voyeurism. The two questionnaires provide evidence showing only one significant association between emotional regulation and paraphilic interests. Implications of our results for research and clinical purposes on The Paraphilia Scale and DERS-18 are discussed.