pedophilia

Pedophilia (alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty at age 10 or 11, and boys at age 11 or 12, psychiatric diagnostic criteria for pedophilia often extend the cut-off point for prepubescence to age 13. People with the disorder are often referred to as pedophiles (or paedophiles).

Pedophilia is a paraphilia. In recent versions of formal diagnostic coding systems such as the DSM-5 and ICD-11, "pedophilia" is distinguished from "pedophilic disorder", which is considered the corresponding paraphilic disorder. Pedophilic disorder is defined as a pattern of pedophilic arousal accompanied by either subjective distress or interpersonal difficulty, or having acted on that arousal. The DSM-5 requires that a person must be at least 16 years old, and at least five years older than the prepubescent child or children they are aroused by, for the attraction to be diagnosed as pedophilic disorder. Similarly, the ICD-11 excludes sexual behavior among post-pubertal children who are close in age. The DSM requires the arousal pattern must be present for 6 months or longer, while the ICD lacks this requirement. The ICD criteria also refrain from specifying chronological ages.