Research strategy for the prevention of child abuse by identifying psychophysiological markers for the classification of pedophilic inclination preference

Research strategy for the prevention of child abuse by identifying psychophysiological markers for the classification of pedophilic inclination preference - PREVENT

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

DRKS

Registry ID

DRKS00033563

Enrollment

Registered

2024-05-06

Start date

2024-05-23

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2025-04-07

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

F65.4

Interventions

Group 1: The study takes place at time point and consists of two parts. First, the constructs depression/anxiety/stress (DASS-21

SCL-90-S), attachment behavior (ECR-R8), empathy behavior (SPF-IRI), intelligence (MWT-B), personality structure (OPD-SFK), assessment of current emotional state (PANAS), alexithymia (TAS-20) are asse

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

Male

Age

18 Years to 50 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Patient group: - Sexual preference: pedophile - Only participants in the "Kein Täter werden" project Control group: - Sexual preference: teleiophilic

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: for patient group and control group: - neurological/psychiatric pre-existing conditions that impair visual perception, result in severe motor impairments or restrict the ability to concentrate (e.g. Parkinson's disease, Meniere's disease, dementia, post-stroke condition, psychosis) - acute substance abuse - uncorrected defective vision - insufficient language skills - employees of the Clinical Institute for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy for the control group in addition: - pedophilic tendency

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
The aim is to identify psychophysiological markers for the classification of pedophilia and to investigate the perception of empathy. For this purpose, the primary endpoints arousal and valence are recorded at time point when viewing visual stimuli. The two constructs are operationalized physiologically (objectively) by measuring electrodermal activity and heart rate and subjectively by the SAM scales. Another primary endpoint is empathy (affective and cognitive empathy), which is measured using the performance-based Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET).	—

Measure

Time frame

The aim is to identify psychophysiological markers for the classification of pedophilia and to investigate the perception of empathy. For this purpose, the primary endpoints arousal and valence are recorded at time point when viewing visual stimuli. The two constructs are operationalized physiologically (objectively) by measuring electrodermal activity and heart rate and subjectively by the SAM scales. Another primary endpoint is empathy (affective and cognitive empathy), which is measured using the performance-based Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET).

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
In addition, the following constructs are recorded in form of self-assessment questionnaires before the psychophysiological measurement: - Sociodemographics of the participant including information on mental illness and sexual orientation - Depressiveness/anxiety/stress (DASS-21), additional assessment of depression using the subscale of the SCL-90-S - Attachment behavior (ECR-R8) - Empathic behavior (SPF-IRI) - Intelligence (MWT-B) - Personality structure (OPD-SFK) - Assessment of current emotional state (PANAS) - Alexithymia (TAS-20)	—

Measure

Time frame

In addition, the following constructs are recorded in form of self-assessment questionnaires before the psychophysiological measurement: - Sociodemographics of the participant including information on mental illness and sexual orientation - Depressiveness/anxiety/stress (DASS-21), additional assessment of depression using the subscale of the SCL-90-S - Attachment behavior (ECR-R8) - Empathic behavior (SPF-IRI) - Intelligence (MWT-B) - Personality structure (OPD-SFK) - Assessment of current emotional state (PANAS) - Alexithymia (TAS-20)

—

Countries

Germany

Contacts

Public ContactUlrike Dinger-Ehrenthal

Klinisches Institut für Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie

Ulrike.Dinger-Ehrenthal@med.uni-duesseldorf.de+49 211 81 04007

Outcome results

None listed

Source: DRKS (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026