How does sexual deviance develop?

Unusual sexual interests can be problematic if they negatively affect someone’s life or act as a risk factor for sexual offenses. In those cases, it can be necessary to address unusual sexual interests in treatment. Current treatment may, however, not be optimal, not least because it is unclear how unusual sexual interests develop. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the question: how do unusual sexual interests develop? Changeable factors seem to contribute to the development of deviant sexual interests, among which the transfer of arousal between various emotions (“excitation transfer”) and a lack of sexual response to “normative”, appropriate sexual stimuli. These factors have been further investigated in this dissertation using different methodologies and in different research groups. It is concluded that unusual sexual interests seem malleable, to some extent. Being able to regulate emotions, and potentially improving normative sexuality, seem useful tools to manage sexuality.