"Adult Baby Syndrome" Article

[Darkfinn]

I was browsing the 'net and found this article from the American Journal of Psychiatry. It's an interesting read... and also may be of some assistance to any of you who are undergoing psychiatric therapy for infantilism. You can download the full PDF article for ease of reading.

Adult Baby Syndrome -- Pate and Gabbard 160 (11): 1932 -- Am J Psychiatry

 

[Embraer]

Hmmm... Im almost positive ive seen that somewhere too, good read tho.

 

[Thunder]

It was interesting to read, but this guy sounded like he had some kind of other problems. Honestly, they proboably should have looked more into this subject or giving some kind of counter-argument. Thanks for posting this though.

 

[Corri]

My assessment of this article is that, the doctors had not done enough research into this subject. Nor, had they committed to any other case studies. Their conclusion was flawed based on his.
I can also infer that Mr.A, was clearly in a corner so to speak. Reading deeker stories will do that.

 

[ade]

*b/dl's should seek the advice of a pyschologist, not a psychiatrist (should they wish). psychology deals/treats with behaviours and disorders of the mind while psychiatry treats mental 'diseases' - the latter being a very vague term which has led to many dubious practices.
overall, i would shy away from both as they are more cults than science.

 

[Corri]

would shy away from both as they are more cults than science.

Have you ever studied psychology..at all?
Please shy away from stating things such as this. Psyc is a very powerful and broad science... its not all hypnotists and drugs.

 

[IncompleteDude]

That guy they described was obviously nuts. That's just insane. I had to stop reading it halfway through, because I was so appalled by his behaviour. He's completely obsessed.

 

[Fire2box]

This is in Bitter Gray's website. I am pretty sure that's where you seen this before, I was hoping this was a new one.

 

[ade]

Have you ever studied psychology..at all?
Please shy away from stating things such as this. Psyc is a very powerful and broad science... its not all hypnotists and drugs.

was i preaching to the converted?

 

[phished]

read that before, definitely some good non-biased material.

 

[Darkfinn]

read that before, definitely some good non-biased material.

I wouldn't say it was non-biased. The authors obviously thought there was something wrong with this individual... and sought to cure him of it. It was, however, a better analysis than some others I have seen.

 

[weswissa]

Awesome, I'm a syndrome now!!!!

 

[Darkfinn]

That is one thing that I dislike... they have taken the more neutral term "infantilism" and put a negative spin on it by calling it a "syndrome".

As I have said in my posts on ADD/HD and "Aspergers"... everybody's gotta have something wrong with them if you believe modern medicine.

 

[mizzycub]

To be honest, I have come across this article before and I don't think that highly of it. For one thing, I don't wish to be associated with the person involved. I'd much rather be considered to be the young adult me first, not so desperate to be babied that I inflict myself on a psychologist or a psychiatrist or whatever in order to get try and get it. Also, this article is from 1932 originally, when professionalism was less scrupulous and subjective opinion or even moral judgement could influence the content of such reports. Furthermore, it uses the term syndrome, suggesting something is 'wrong' with being infantilist (technically a syndrome is a group of symptoms, but people take it as a negative word). This is not a good view to have, neither is it a good view to be put forward by articles on it. I found this article an interesting read when I first found it, but to be honest there is other stuff on the web that I would say is far better and more useful then this article.

 

[BitterGrey]

My assessment of this article is that, the doctors had not done enough research into this subject.

True. It isn't a bad article, but could have been a lot better. The title was a reference to a TV drama. Four very different cases are referenced, and they don't present the significant pattern of symptoms necessary to define a syndrome.

Of course, the authors weren't alone in their lack of definition. If Mr A had been more clear about what he wanted, both doctor and patient would have had a better experience. The article also wouldn't have made ABDLs look so disfunctional.

This is in Bitter Gray's website.

I've got several links to it and have discussed it in my studies, but haven't asked to mirror it. We all need to be careful about copying copyrighted material. (This is yet another way in which we can look bad.)

 

[Millenniumfalsehood]

I really wish we could get an article published in the AJM or some psychiatric publication that makes things clear about how this fetish affects our lives and the lives of those around us. Perhaps if people knew more accurate information about us we'd be more accepted. Maybe not totally, at least not for now, but if there's hope for gays, there's hope for us.

 

[Lorica]

That is one thing that I dislike... they have taken the more neutral term "infantilism" and put a negative spin on it by calling it a "syndrome".

As I have said in my posts on ADD/HD and "Aspergers"... everybody's gotta have something wrong with them if you believe modern medicine.

More doctors means more things that are wrong with you.

Here, I think, is where the difference lies. The man in this report stated that his fetish was inhibiting his ability to have a "normal relationship" with a woman. His overwhelming desire to be "turned into a baby", sounds like he's been fueling his fetish with totally unreal expectations from pornography and erotic stories.

I think this guy really did need help, because his fetish was taking over his life, denying him the relationship he desired.

But when it comes to media coverage of this topic, the attitude will always be to put on a digital sideshow. "Hey look at this freak! He derives erotic pleasure from wearing diapers, he must be a nut! Haha, now you, the viewer can feel more normal because we found this guy to put on display!".

Everyone gets turned on by something.

Personally I can't fathom being turned on by like, balloons, but there are people that do, so I'm not going to sit here and judge them based solely on that. I say that a fetish becomes a problem when you stop balancing the other aspects of your life and devote your time an energy into say, trying to turn your psychiatrist into your Diaper Dominatrix.

 

[FullMetal]

I read through it all, which I did not think I would. That was a very interesting piece, thank you, Dark, for posting this. I would also like to state that I do believe Felstorm is right. A fetish is supposed to be nothing more than a side-note while examining your sexuality. If this is not a fetish, then it should be a side-note while examining your life, and the motives which fuel this life.

I feel as though, instead of a side-note in Mr. A's life, infantilism was taking over his existence. Now I am not one to say that he should not do this, but on a practical note, he just shouldn't. I say 'on a practical note' because the life he is trying to live is not an extremely realistic one. If he can obtain that life, then I am proven wrong, but common sense tells me that the amount of money one needs to have, plus the amount of support, plus the amount of solitude that one needs to have, is not yet in reach, and common sense also tells me that it will never be in reach.

The man did need some help in rearranging his life on a more realistic scale.

FullMetal

 

[BitterGrey]

I really wish we could get an article published in the AJM or some psychiatric publication that makes things clear about how this fetish affects our lives and the lives of those around us. Perhaps if people knew more accurate information about us we'd be more accepted. Maybe not totally, at least not for now, but if there's hope for gays, there's hope for us.

Actually, there are a few things that complicate such articles. The largest hurdle is that of heterogeneity. ABDLs just aren't all alike. First off, roughly one in ten* might not have any condition at all. He or she might have chose to try diapers and liked them. These aren't representative of those with paraphilic infantilism or diaper fetishism, who generally don't have a choice. (Roughly 4 in 10* ABDLs would meet the criteria. Others might have these conditions, but don't meet the criteria.)


And worst of all, there are other conditions that ABDLs have, that involve more severe symptoms than just wanting to regress and wear diapers sometimes. Since even the AJM has lapses (one case in the article had mental retardation, not infantilism) we need to be careful and educate however we can. Retardation, OCD, BPD, etc., are different conditions than paraphilic infantilism or diaper fetishism. If someone has direct** symptoms more severe than diaper rash, it is a fair bet that they have a condition more severe than infantilism or fetishism.


I'll keep trying to explore and document our diversity. This won't carry the weight of peer-reviewed medical research, but it might help the researchers ask the right questions.


* - The Changing ABDL Community
** - I suspect that being in a stigmatized minority can cause depression, but this is only an indirect result of the paraphilia, caused by the stigmatization.