Advisor(s)
Cindy Cain
Committee Member(s)
Gabe Miller
Lindsay Leban
Mieke Thomeer
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
6-18-2026
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
School
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Social & Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
The process of human problems coming to be defined as medical conditions and thus under the purview of medical professionals is called medicalization. This study examines how psychiatrists medicalize perpetrators of sexual violence, looking particularly at debates around whether to include a new disorder, Paraphilic Coercive Disorder, in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. Using a content analysis of n=102 articles, it finds that discussions of the pathology of sexual violence perpetration were prevalent among psychiatric journals from 2000-2024. Psychiatrists medicalize rapists through three pathways: advocating for a new medical disorder; attributing the cause of sexual violence perpetration to psychological or physiological factors; and recommending medical treatment for managing sexual deviance. The study concludes with a discussion of limitations and future directions.
Keywords
medicalization;paraphilias;paraphilic coercive disorder;rape;sex offenses;sexual violence perpetration
ProQuest ID
Recommended Citation
Plowden, Lily, "The Medicalization Of Rapists In Psychiatry From 2000-2024" (2026). ETDs from 2020-2029. 223.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-2020s/223
