Accounts and sexual deviance in cyberspace: the case of pedophilia

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dc.contributor.authorDurkin, Keith F.en
dc.contributor.committeechairBryant, Clifton D.en
dc.contributor.committeememberBailey, Carol A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberde Wolf, Peggy L.en
dc.contributor.committeememberEdwards, John N.en
dc.contributor.committeememberShoemaker, Donald J.en
dc.contributor.departmentSociologyen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T21:12:05Zen
dc.date.adate2008-06-06en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T21:12:05Zen
dc.date.issued1996-08-05en
dc.date.rdate2008-06-06en
dc.date.sdate2008-06-06en
dc.description.abstractThis research is unique because it represents the first sociological study of pedophiles who use the Internet. The data were gathered from a Usenet newsgroup that is frequented by pedophiles. A content analysis was performed on all of the postings from admitted pedophiles (N=41) that appeared on this newsgroup during a one month period. Scott and Lyman’s classic formulation of accounts served as the conceptual framework for this study. The primary research question was: "How do pedophiles who use the Internet account for their deviance?” There were four ancillary objectives to this analysis: (1) to ascertain the degree to which pedophiles who participate in this newsgroup provide validation to, and seek validation from, other users; (2) to investigate the extent to which pedophiles who participate in this forum provide information to, and seek information from, other users; (3) to assess the degree to which pedophiles use this newsgroup to seek correspondence with other pedophiles; and (4) to determine the extent to which users of this newsgroup are members of the pedophile organization NAMBLA (the North American/Man Boy Love Association). Slightly more than one-half of the pedophiles in the sample provided some type of account in defense of pedophilia or adults having sex with children. Thirty-nine percent offered a denial of injury account; 31.7% proffered a condemnation of condemners account; 14.6% provided a BIRGing account; and 4.9% used an appeal to loyalties account. Also, nearly one-fourth of these pedophiles used polythematic accounts. The results of this research also indicate that this computer forum serves a validation function for these pedophiles. Moreover, many of the postings that appeared on this newsgroup contained information that should be of interest to pedophiles. Some of these on-line pedophiles use this newsgroup to establish correspondence with other pedophiles. Although only a few of the pedophiles in this sample indicated a NAMBLA affiliation, these individuals frequently provided accounts which reflect the ideology of that pedophile organization.en
dc.description.degreePh. D.en
dc.format.extentviii, 130 leavesen
dc.format.mediumBTDen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.otheretd-06062008-151315en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-06062008-151315/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/38001en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartLD5655.V856_1996.D875.pdfen
dc.relation.isformatofOCLC# 36093054en
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectsexual devianceen
dc.subjectaccountsen
dc.subjectpedophiliaen
dc.subjectdeviant behavioren
dc.subjectsociologyen
dc.subject.lccLD5655.V856 1996.D875en
dc.titleAccounts and sexual deviance in cyberspace: the case of pedophiliaen
dc.typeDissertationen
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
thesis.degree.disciplineSociologyen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.leveldoctoralen
thesis.degree.namePh. D.en

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