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. 2025 Aug;54(8):2779-2803.
doi: 10.1007/s10508-024-02941-2. Epub 2024 Aug 1.

Psychometric Evidence That Paraphilia Is a Natural Kind

J Michael Bailey  1 , Kevin J Hsu  2
Affiliations

Psychometric Evidence That Paraphilia Is a Natural Kind

J Michael Bailey et al. Arch Sex Behav. 2025 Aug.

Abstract

Is the category paraphilia a natural kind? That is, do different paraphilias share anything scientifically interesting or are they classified together because they are unusual and sometimes problematic? We investigated this question systematically in 11 samples of paraphilic males (N = 4,617) and 11 samples of control males (N = 1,494). Primary data consisted of responses to the 11-item Paraphilic Interests Scale. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, the scale mean was similar for paraphilic and control samples. Using logistic regression and the same items, we derived three highly correlated measures that robustly discriminated paraphilic and control samples (ds ranging from 0.86 to 0.92). These successful measures capitalized on the unanticipated fact that some items (especially those assessing transvestism and masochistic humiliation) were positively associated with membership in paraphilic samples, while others (especially those assessing voyeurism) were negatively associated with such membership. Subsequent analyses focused on one of the measures, the Paraphilic Interests Scale Contrast (PISC). Consistent with prior findings distinguishing paraphilias and homosexual orientation, PISC was not elevated among homosexual males compared with heterosexual males among the control groups. Within four paraphilic samples, PISC was positively associated with additional paraphilic phenomena. Results provide tentative support for both the proposition that paraphilia is a natural kind and the usefulness of PISC as a measure of paraphilia.

Keywords: Autogynephilia; DSM-5; Internalized sexual interest; Male sexuality; Paraphilia; Sexual orientation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflicts of interest: None to declare. Ethical Approval: The authors certify that the research complies with ethical standards and was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Northwestern University (sample numbers 1–20 and 22) and the Penn State IRB (sample number 21). Informed Consent: Electronic consent was obtained from all participants included in the study. On the first page of the online survey, participants were informed of the research purpose and potential risks and benefits of participating, that their participation was voluntary, and were presented with contact information for the researcher and for Northwestern University’s IRB. The research survey questions were displayed only if the participant clicked “agree” which indicated that the participant read and understood the information, were at least 18 years of age, and agreed to volunteer as a research participant for the study.

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