Neurobiological research on pedophilia - results and their consequences for the assessment of pedophilic offenders

The difficulty with the assessment of pedophilic offenders is in the valid assessment of a pedophilic interest. The current methods lack of validity and reliability. In the last decade the amount of neurobiological investigations in pedophilia accelerates, however, the results are very heterogeneous. Relevant results for the assessment of pedophilia do not exist yet. In addition a verification of the validity and reliability of the used designs is absent. It is the challenge of the neurobiological forensic research to examine carefully the potential in assessing pedophilic offenders.