Exhibitionism

Dyspareunia

The literature gives conflicting answers to the question whether there is any significant association between exhibitionism and more serious sexual offences. Recent papers are quoted which contradict the traditional view that exhibitionists are harmless; and claim that a proportion of exhibitionists commit sexual offences involving force, while others molest children. A series of 30 persistent exhibitionists is presented, with evidence suggesting that sexual violence was exceptional among them, while a comparatively high proportion had a history of paedophiliac or hebephiliac activities. There were three cases of incest. Other sexual deviations reported by these subjects are considered, and their relationship to genital exploratory behaviour in childhood is discussed. Exposing, peeping, touching and paedophiliac activities appear to develop on the basis of an innately determined behavioural complex which first appears in childhood. The overlap between these activities even in the established exhibitionists of the present series indicates the difficulties inherent in thinking of exhibitionism as some kind of clinical entity or syndrome. Current disagreement over the relationship between sexual aggressiveness, child molesting and exhibitionism may be the outcome of considering exhibitionists as though they were a homogeneous group of offenders. It is concluded that future studies could profitably focus on some of the differences between exhibitionists; the present study suggesting, for instance, that persistent exhibitionists have a low incidence of sexual offences involving force, and might usefully be compared with incidental exhibitionists in this respect; while an investigation into the effect of choice of witness might clarify the relationship between exhibitionism and incestuous or paedophiliac behaviour.