Paraphilia Research Study

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Inquiry

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Sexual Paraphilias as an Alternative Route to Emotional Intimacy

I am a student at Alliant International University conducting research on how one’s approach to intimacy relates to interest in different types of sexual paraphilias.

Are you 18 years of age or older? Do you read English fluently?

If you answer yes to these questions above please could you spare around 10 minutes of your time to complete the following online questionnaire? Your participation and responses to this questionnaire will be kept confidential and anonymous. Only the researcher will have access to your responses to the questionnaire and you will not be identifiable in any reports based on the results, de-identified responses and aggregate results.

The results of this research will be written up in a doctoral dissertation and may be submitted for potential publication in relevant journals.

If you would like to participate please click the link below:
https://alliant.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6sal6cluIEOWDjf

Should you have any questions about this research please contact the researcher:
Eric Jones, M.A.
Alliant International University
[email protected]

Thank you for your time

This post was approved by Moo.
 
I argue against your very first paragraph. And the very definition to begin with too.

For a very high number of us, being abdl simply is NOT based on any kind of sexuality. In this regard, abdl is NOT a paraphilia.

Being a diaper lover means loving to wear diapers. Loving a person doesn't make that relationship is based on sexuality, and neither does it apply with loving diapers. What we have is more appropriately classified as a compulsion, or even simply just a part of who we are.

It's also worth noting that not even a few decades ago, being abdl was called a sexual deviation. We can all pretty well agree this classification was completely wrong, greatly in part because we were misunderstood. And I do believe we can also agree there is much more to be learned before we will be better understood. And better classified.
 
Slomo said:
I argue against your very first paragraph. And the very definition to begin with too.

For a very high number of us, being abdl simply is NOT based on any kind of sexuality. In this regard, abdl is NOT a paraphilia.

I think it's fair to describe the interests of some people here as a "sexual paraphilia". It might not apply to you, but I wonder whether that's mostly because ABDL stuff doesn't really fit neatly into any of the current categories. There isn't really an accurate word or phrase that encompasses all of the complex overlapping subsets of ABDL other than... ABDL. :-/

I think it's quite reasonable for someone who may not be an expert to use the word "paraphilia" in an attempt to describe us (or some of us). We argue amongst ourselves enough about what "AB" or "DL" really mean that a non-ABDL trying to conduct research is going to struggle to find the right term that everyone will be comfortable with.

Actions and intentions are more important than words.

I, for one, welcome any academic research that might help to understand human nature better.

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Slomo said:
I do believe we can also agree there is much more to be learned before we will be better understood. And better classified.

Classified?! Oh, hell no! I don't want to be restricted by a classification!

Are you talking about the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders? That's just a taxonomy of conditions for the purposes of American medical insurance. Much of it is arbitrarily plucked out of thin air, or voted on by people with vested interests in medicalising an otherwise benign condition. It shouldn't be used to classify or categorise anyone, other than by American insurance companies.
 
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I fully understand that the nature of the study glosses over a fair amount of nuance, a quantitative study of this nature is never going to be able to be particularly nuanced. I do want to clarify that the study does allow for a distinction between AB/DL interest in a sexual context and not. I'd argue that that AB/DL in a sexual context is paraphilic, just as so many things the study examines can have sexual and non-sexual connotations. I will concede that "paraphilia" is a very problematic term and the thrust of the study, as Tiny noted, is to attempt to build understanding to help reduce stigmatization. In this instance however it was simply the best clinically appropriate term I could find to encompass the various flavors of sexual interests other than "vanilla".
 
Hello

I did your survey.

The answers rubric is standard.

I feel that a section for explanations would be nice.
 
Inquiry said:
I fully understand that the nature of the study glosses over a fair amount of nuance, a quantitative study of this nature is never going to be able to be particularly nuanced. I do want to clarify that the study does allow for a distinction between AB/DL interest in a sexual context and not. I'd argue that that AB/DL in a sexual context is paraphilic, just as so many things the study examines can have sexual and non-sexual connotations. I will concede that "paraphilia" is a very problematic term and the thrust of the study, as Tiny noted, is to attempt to build understanding to help reduce stigmatization. In this instance however it was simply the best clinically appropriate term I could find to encompass the various flavors of sexual interests other than "vanilla".
Here's what I'm hearing Inquiry say. Inquiry, tell me if I'm right or wrong.

"You gotta work with what language there is, and, while I know it hurts, it is what it is."

It's always been my understanding that sexuals are classified as fetishists, because their sex is strange, and non-sexuals are classified as fetishists because our love, i.e. giving and receiving, is strange, and, even though it hurts, you can like it, love it, live with it, or lump it, but, love and sex aren't always that far apart. The title of the study alone, is enough to tell me that someone, somewhere, gets that it's a, "love language," thing, that isn't always sexual, because it says, "as an alternative route to emotional intimacy," not sexual intimacy.

Look, Slomo, I know. I'm not sexual with it either, but I don't go trying to stamp out the idea it can be. Shouting down every opinion different from your own, and coming up with terms no one has ever heard of, like SD (sexual diapers) ceases to be ASD at some point, and starts to be confirmation bias and rudeness.
 
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Yes, that's a pretty good summary of my point. I think beyond that, I'm not saying that AB/DL is inherently sexual, but since there are those who engage in a sexual context, then in that case it can meet criteria for a paraphilia. As to the second point, the overlap between sexual and emotional intimacy is part of what I'm trying to explore with the study.
 
I for one am happy to participate. I would also love to read your study when it's complete; keep us posted yeah?
 
I certainly will once it's all finished. In the mean time, any ideas or help getting more people on board are greatly appreciated!
 
tiny said:
I think it's fair to describe the interests of some people here as a "sexual paraphilia". It might not apply to you, but I wonder whether that's mostly because ABDL stuff doesn't really fit neatly into any of the current categories. There isn't really an accurate word or phrase that encompasses all of the complex overlapping subsets of ABDL other than... ABDL. :-/

I think it's quite reasonable for someone who may not be an expert to use the word "paraphilia" in an attempt to describe us (or some of us). We argue amongst ourselves enough about what "AB" or "DL" really mean that a non-ABDL trying to conduct research is going to struggle to find the right term that everyone will be comfortable with.

Actions and intentions are more important than words.

I, for one, welcome any academic research that might help to understand human nature better.

- - - Updated - - -



Classified?! Oh, hell no! I don't want to be restricted by a classification!

Are you talking about the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders? That's just a taxonomy of conditions for the purposes of American medical insurance. Much of it is arbitrarily plucked out of thin air, or voted on by people with vested interests in medicalising an otherwise benign condition. It shouldn't be used to classify or categorise anyone, other than by American insurance companies.

I mean a classification that better encompases us all than paraphilia. Yes it certainly applies to some of us, but not even half. Probably much less. And that classification restricts our being understood too much as it is. That's why we need something better- less restricting, and more all encompasing. What that would be, I don't know though.
 
Enough with these ill-equipped researches!

The study of Paraphilia is loosely centered around Sigmund Freud's analysis of sexual deviancy including homosexuality and mental distortions. Such sexual desires were classified as a diagnoses of disease or mental disorder. Further, there is inclination in detail and description in paraphilia as sociopathic, psychopathic, or psychotic behavior. This classification is bereft in even remotely trying to classify a niche group in the area of kink.

Paraphilia is an out-dated and obtuse classification of sexuality. There is little to no reasoning behind any conclusions in research as they had standard moral basis involving religion and ethical creed supporting their analysis weighed upon a standard of what was considered "normal societal behavior". Such early behavioral studies were based upon fixing abnormalities in society.

I am a full-on proponent of studying infantilism, it's causes, and propensities, but there is a vast discord between classifications in ABDL and anything relating to antiquated classifications of paraphilia. If you want a true study of one niche, there is plenty of information to be garnered. If you try to couple a study with the stigma of old textbooks, there is plenty of obfuscation and lag-definition material available. This forum will hardly answer any of your questions as they are not directed toward the community in whole. (I perused the first page of the link) Infantilism is of course a complex mechanism that operates primarily in the Prefrontal Cortex and the Sensory Association Cortex in the human brain. There are many variations that mix into the behavioral process involved with it including early brain-mapping and trauma, but not all are responsible for juvenile patterns of sexuality or propensity.

This is not a hospital and we have not stepped into your clinic for an evaluation. If you wish to extract some information why do you not ask specific questions on the forum? This site is a support forum and not a litmus test for research projects. We have filled out question forms before and had no feedback or answers from the poster.

In conclusion, I only represent a portion of ADISC and my opinion can be taken as subjective.
 
Slomo said:
I mean a classification that better encompases us all than paraphilia. Yes it certainly applies to some of us, but not even half. Probably much less. And that classification restricts our being understood too much as it is. That's why we need something better- less restricting, and more all encompasing. What that would be, I don't know though.

Ah, right. I can see your point. It's tricky to find the right word. But maybe Inquiry is only interested in the paraphilic aspects of ABDL-ism...?

ilostthesheriff said:
The study of Paraphilia is loosely centered around Sigmund Freud's analysis... Paraphilia is an out-dated and obtuse classification of sexuality...

It's just a word. "Inquiry" used it (I understand) in the absence of any better word that refers to the desire to wear diapers for non-medical need. I don't think any Freudian ideology was intentionally implied.

ilostthesheriff said:
This is not a hospital and we have not stepped into your clinic for an evaluation.

Huh?! You've seen a thread that you can freely ignore, politely inviting you to participate in an anonymous academic study with no obligation. How can that be in any way offensive? :dunno:

"Inquiry" even went to the trouble to get permission from Moo before posting. That's as courteous as anyone could be when seeking information from a community like ours, isn't it?

ilostthesheriff said:
In conclusion, I only represent a portion of ADISC and my opinion can be taken as subjective.

Phew! Same goes for me! We're a diverse group with many different points of view. :smile:

I find ABDL behaviour/interests quite fascinating. If you imagine a Venn diagram, there are circles representing sexual/fetishistic behaviour, sexual avoidance, depression/anxiety/emotional coping-mechanisms, a fear of adult responsibility, and many other things that I can't call to mind right now. We're a diverse group, and no single, short, focussed study is going to be sophisticated enough to analyse every possible behavioural/psychological trait and say, "Here! This study explains everything!"

Baby steps and all that. :p
 
Going to fill this out. I'd also like to compliment the first page of the qualtrics survey. That's an excellent, clearly worded privacy statement as far as these sorts of things go, and while I know a lot of people don't read them, I appreciate that you've gone about preparing this correctly to be as thoughtful as possible towards the participants. Well done.
 
Thank you for that ArchieRoni, but I can hardly take all that much credit. The content is pretty strictly determined by the review board, and there's not a lot of room for creativity.

Tiny, I got your message but I cannot reply because my account hasn't gotten the privileges for a PM yet. I will say thanks, I totally get it, and I appreciate the support.
 
I don't think Paraphilia, as it's understood, is the best term, but, etymologically, I can at least see it, because nothing could possibly fit better. Para-- beside, aside philios-- Loving. A strange way to show, and receive love, as I said, so, etymologically, since it is a love thing, isn't paraphilia best? Why, oh, why isn't the understood meaning closer to the etymological thingy?! Love and sex aren't always that far apart, but are not the same! C'mon, there's no word for f%$* in Latin?! #aspielogic.

Slomo made a great point. What the hell else would they call us?! I'm sure they'd pick something even more wrong! Maybe they'd pick mentally ill. Yikes!
 
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There's one answer missing there are some things I do but not sexuality.
There should have been I enjoy wetting but not sexual.
Things like that .
 
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