Adult men's height reflects, not only their genetic endowment, but also the conditions that were present during their development in utero and in childhood. We compared the adult heights of men who committed one or more sexual offenses and who were erotically interested in prepubescent children (pedophilic sexual offenders; n=223), those who were erotically interested in pubescent children (hebephilic sexual offenders; n=615), and those who were erotically interested in adults (teleiophilic sexual offenders; n=187), as well as men who had no known sexual offenses and who were erotically interested in adults (teleiophilic nonoffender controls; n=156). The pedophilic and the hebephilic sexual offenders were significantly shorter than the teleiophilic nonoffender controls. The teleiophilic sexual offenders were intermediate in height between the nonoffenders and the pedophilic and hebephilic sexual offenders and not significantly different from any of the other groups. This suggests that—regardless of whatever psychological sequelae might also have followed from the conditions present during early development—pedophilic and hebephilic sexual offenders were subject to conditions capable of affecting their physiological development.
Abbott, R.D., White, L.R., Ross, G.W., Petrovitch, H., Masaki, K.H., Snowdon, D.A., et al. (1998). Height as a marker of childhood development and late-life cognitive function: The Honolulu-Asia aging study. Pediatrics, 102, 602-609.
2.
Barker, D.J.P., Gluckman, P.D., Godfrey, K.M., Harding, J.E., Owens, J.A., & Robinson, J.S. (1993). Fetal nutrition and cardiovascular disease in adult life. Lancet, 341, 938-941.
3.
Beeri, M.S., Davidson, M., Silverman, J.M., Noy, S., Schmeidler, J., & Goldbourt, U. (2005). Relationship between body height and dementia . American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 13, 116-123.
4.
Blanchard, R., Barbaree, H.E., Bogaert, A.F., Dickey, R., Klassen, P., Kuban, M.E., et al. (2000). Fraternal birth order and sexual orientation in pedophiles. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 29, 463-478.
5.
Blanchard, R., Christensen, B.K., Strong, S.M., Cantor, J.M., Kuban, M.E., Klassen, P., et al. (2002). Retrospective self-reports of childhood accidents causing unconsciousness in phallometrically diagnosed pedophiles . Archives of Sexual Behavior, 31, 511-526.
6.
Blanchard, R., Klassen, P., Dickey, R., Kuban, M.E., & Blak, T. (2001). Sensitivity and specificity of the phallometric test for pedophilia in nonadmitting sex offenders. Psychological Assessment, 13, 118-126.
7.
Blanchard, R., Kolla, N.J., Cantor, J.M., Klassen, P.E., Dickey, R., Kuban, M.E., et al. (2007). IQ, handedness, and pedophilia in adult male patients stratified by referral source. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 19, 285-309.
8.
Blanchard, R., Kuban, M.E., Klassen, P., Dickey, R., Christensen, B.K., Cantor, J.M., et al. (2003). Selfreported injuries before and after age 13 in pedophilic and non-pedophilic men referred for clinical assessment . Archives of Sexual Behavior, 32, 573-581.
9.
Brooksbank, B.W.L., MacSweeney, D.A., Johnson, A.L., Cunningham, A.E., Wilson, D.A., & Coppen, A. (1970). Androgen excretion and physique in schizophrenia . British Journal of Psychiatry, 117, 413-420.
10.
Cantor, J.M., Blanchard, R., Christensen, B.K., Dickey, R., Klassen, P.E., Beckstead, A.L., et al. (2004). Intelligence, memory, and handedness in pedophilia. Neuropsychology, 18, 3-14.
11.
Cantor, J.M., Kabani, N., Christensen, B.K., Zipursky, R.B., Barbaree, H.E., Dickey, R., et al. (2006a). Pedophilia and brain morphology. Paper presented at the Thirty-Second Meeting of the International Academy of Sex Research, Amsterdam, Netherlands, July.
12.
Cantor, J.M., Klassen, P.E., Dickey, R., Christensen, B.K., Kuban, M.E., Blak, T., et al. (2005). Handedness in pedophilia and hebephilia . Archives of Sexual Behavior, 34, 447-459.
13.
Cantor, J.M., Kuban, M.E., Blak, T., Klassen, P.E., Dickey, R., & Blanchard, R. (2006b). Grade failure and special education placement in sexual offenders' educational histories. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35, 743-751.
14.
Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S.G., & Aiken, L.S. (2003). Applied multiple regressionlcorrelation for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
15.
Elo, I.T., & Preston, S.H. (1992). Effects of early-life conditions on adult mortality: A review. Population Index, 58, 186-212.
16.
Fogelman, K.R., & Manor, O. (1988). Smoking in pregnancy and development in early adulthood. British Medical Journal, 297, 1233-1236.
17.
Freund, K., Seeley, H.R., Marshall, W.E., & Glinfort, E.K. (1972). Sexual offenders needing special assessment and/or therapy. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Corrections, 14, 345-365.
18.
Gebhard, P.H., Gagnon, J.H., Pomeroy, W.B., & Christenson, C.V. (1965). Sex offenders: An analysis of types. New York: Harper & Row.
19.
Gilmore, J. (1999). Body mass index and health. Health Reports, 11, 31-43. [Statistics Canada Catalogue Number 82-003].
20.
Glasser, M., Kolvin, J., Campbell, D., Glasser, A., Leitch, I., & Farrelly, S. (2001). Cycle of child sexual abuse: Links between being a victim and becoming a perpetrator. British Journal of Psychiatry , 179, 482-494.
21.
Glueck, B.C. (1955). Final report: Research project for the study and treatment of persons convicted of crimes involving sexual aberrations. June 1952 to June 1955. New York: New York State Department of Mental Hygiene.
22.
Gunnell, D. (2002). Commentary: Can adult anthropometry be used as a 'biomarker' for prenatal and childhood exposures? International Journal of Epidemiology, 31, 390-394.
23.
Hall, G.C.N., & Hirschman, R. (1992). Sexual aggression against children: A conceptual perspective of etiology. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 19, 8-23.
24.
Hanson, R.K., & Bussière, M.T. (1998). Predicting relapse: A meta-analysis of sexual offender recidivism studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 348-362.
25.
Hanson, R.K., & Morton-Bourgon, K.E. (2005). The characteristics of persistent sexual offenders: A meta-analysis of recidivism studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 1154-1163.
26.
Hanson, R.K., & Slater, S. (1988). Sexual victimization in the history of sexual abusers: A review. Annals of Sex Research, 1, 485-499.
27.
Hart, C.L., Hole, D.J., & Smith, G.D. (1999). Risk factors and 20-year stroke mortality in men and women in the Renfrew/Paisley study in Scotland. Stroke , 30, 1999-2007.
28.
Hepper, P.G., Shahidullah, S., & White, R. (1991). Handedness in the human fetus. Neuropsychologia, 29, 1107-1111.
29.
Hepper, P.G., Wells, D.L., & Lynch, C. (2005). Prenatal thumb sucking is related to postnatal handedness. Neuropsychologia, 43, 313-315.
30.
Houston, B.K., & Bloom, L.J. (1975). Constitutional factors, stature, and chronic schizophrenia . Journal of Clinical Psychology, 31, 26-29.
31.
Howes, R.J. (1995). A survey of plethysmographic assessment in North America. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment , 7, 9-24.
32.
Jones, K.L. (1997). Smith's recognizable patterns of human malformation (5th ed.). Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.
33.
Kemkes-Grottenthaler, A. (2005). The short die young: The interrelationship between stature and longevity-Evidence from skeletal remains. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 128, 340-347.
34.
Laws, D. R.,Hudson, S. M., & Ward, T. (Eds.) (2000). Remaking relapse prevention with sex offenders: A Sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
35.
Lundberg, O. (1993). The impact of childhood living conditions on illness and mortality in adulthood. Social Science and Medicine, 36, 1047-1052.
36.
Lundberg, M., Diderichsen, F., & Hallqvist, J. (2002). Is the association between short stature and myocardial infarction explained by childhood exposures-A population-based case referent study (SHEEP). Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 30, 249-258.
37.
Marshall, W.L., Champagne, F., Brown, C., & Miller, S. (1997). Empathy, intimacy, loneliness, and selfesteem in nonfamilial child molesters: A brief report. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 6, 87-98.
38.
Marshall, W.L., Cripps, E., Anderson, D., & Cortoni, F.A. (1999). Self-esteem and coping strategies in child molesters . Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, 955-962.
39.
Marshall, W.L., & Marshall, L.E. (2000). The origins of sexual offending . Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 1, 250-263.
40.
McCarron, P., Greenwood, R., Ebrahim, S., Elwood, P., & Smith, G.D. (2000). Adult height is inversely associated with ischaemic stroke: The Caerphilly and Speedwell Collaborative Studies. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 54, 239-240.
41.
Mellan, J., Nedoma, K., & Pondelickova, J. (1969). Somatosexualni nalezy u pedofilnich muzu [Somatosexual findings in pedophilic men]. Ceskoslovenska Psychiatrie, 65, 30-33.
42.
Mohr, J.W., Turner, R.E., & Jerry, M.B. (1964). Pedophilia and exhibitionism. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
43.
Montgomery, S.M., Bartley, M.J., & Wilkinson, R.G. (1997). Family conflict and slow growth. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 77, 326-330.
44.
Nopoulos, P., Flaum, M., Arndt, S., & Andreasen, N. (1998). Morphometry in schizophrenia revisited: Height and its relationship to pre-morbid function. Psychological Medicine, 28, 655-663.
45.
Parker, D.R., Lapane, K.L., Lasater, T.M., & Carleton, R.A. (1998). Short stature and cardiovascular disease among men and women from two southeastern New England communities . International Journal of Epidemiology, 27, 970-975.
46.
Perri, F., Pastore, M., Leandro, G., Clemente, R., Ghoos, Y., Peeters, M., et al. (1997). Helicobacter pylori infection and growth delay in older children. Archives of Diseases in Childhood , 77, 46-49.
47.
Rahkonen, O., Lahelma, E., & Huuhka, M. (1997). Past or present? Childhood living situations and current socioeconomic status as determinants of adult health. Social Science and Medicine, 44, 327-336.
48.
Schiffer, B., Peschel, T., Paul, T., Gizewski, E., Forsting, M., Leygraf, N., et al. (2007). Structural brain abnormalities in the frontostriatal system and cerebellum in pedophilia. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 41, 753-762.
49.
Schiltz, K., Witzel, J., Northoff, G., Zierhut, K., Gubka, U., Fillmann, H., et al. (2007). Brain pathology in pedophilic offenders: Evidence of volume reduction in the right amygdala and related diencephalic structures. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 737-746.
50.
Silventoinen, K., Lahelma, E., & Rahkonen, O. (1999). Social background, adult body-height and health . International Journal of Epidemiology, 28, 911-918.
51.
Smith, G.D., Hart, C.L., Blane, D., & Hole, D. (1998). Adverse socioeconomic conditions in childhood and cause specific adult mortality: Prospective observational study. British Medical Journal, 316, 1631-1635.
52.
Song, Y.-M., Smith, G.D., & Sung, J. (2003). Adult height and cause-specific mortality: A large prospective study of South Korean men. American Journal of Epidemiology, 158, 479-485.
53.
Taylor, D., Myers, W.C., Robbins, L., & Barnard, G.W. (1993). An anthropometric study of pedophiles and rapists . Journal of Forensic Sciences, 38, 765-768.
54.
Tingle, D., Barnard, G.W., Robbins, L., Newman, G., & Hutchinson, D. (1986). Childhood and adolescent characteristics of pedophiles and rapists. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 9, 103-116.
55.
von Krafft-Ebing, R. (1965). Psychopathia sexualis: A medico-forensic study (H. E. Wedeck, Trans.). New York: Putnam. (Original work published 1886.)
56.
Wadsworth, M.E.J., Hardy, R.J., Paul, A.A., Marshall, S.F., & Cole, T.J. (2002). Leg and trunk length at 43 years in relation to childhood health, diet and family circumstances; evidence from the 1946 national birth cohort. International Journal of Epidemiology, 31, 383-390.
57.
Walker, M., Shaper, A.G., Phillips, A.N., & Cook, D.G. (1989). Short stature, lung function and risk of a heart attack. International Journal of Epidemiology, 18, 602-606.
58.
Weeks, R., & Widom, C.S. (1998). Self-reports of early childhood victimization among incarcerated adult male felons. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 13, 346-361.
