B4U-ACT collaborates with researchers by contributing to the development of study questionnaires and/or assisting in the recruitment of research subjects. Below is a list of studies in which B4U-ACT has played this role.

If you are a researcher interested in the possibility of collaborating with B4U-ACT, click here for more information.

For studies that are currently looking for participants, see the most up-to-date information here.

Dates Investigator Institution Purpose of Study Resulting Publications
2020-2021 Maggie Ingram, Doctoral student Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Mental Health We are interested in learning about the mental health, self-esteem, and social support of individuals who are attracted to children. Forthcoming
2020-2022 Maria Sklavou, Doctoral student University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK To examine conceptualizations of pedophilia, child sexual abuse, and relevant implications for policy-making in the USA, the UK and Germany. This study hopes to challenge the stigmatizing narratives about pedophilia and child sexual abuse on a comparative level. Forthcoming
2020-2022 Harriet Dymond, Doctoral student University of Nottingham, Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, Nottingham, UK To study how MAPs conceptualize and achieve self-acceptance, and to investigate the psychological and behavioural outcomes of self-acceptance, including mental health functioning, self-esteem, and attitudes towards adult-child contact. Forthcoming
2019-2021 Crystal Mundy, Doctoral student; Jan Cioe, Associate Professor University of British Columbia Okanagan, Department of Psychology, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada To understand how minority stress and stigma influence parenting intentions and decisions in the minor-attracted community. Further, this study seeks how support and services can be best used to assist minor-attracted people in regards to parenting. Forthcoming
2019-2021 Kailey Roche, Master's student; Skye Stephens, Assistant Professor Saint Mary's University, Department of Psychology, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada To develop an educational program for therapists who wish to work with MAPs. Forthcoming
2019-2021 Melissa Fernandes, Doctoral student City, University Of London, Department of Psychology, London, UK To study the life stories of MAPs who are not involved in the criminal justice system, to gain a deeper understanding of the development of their attraction, the context in which MAPs developed their attraction to minors and how this environment has impacted them. Forthcoming
2019-2020 Jaeda Buchanan, Undergraduate student Maryville College, Maryville, Tennessee, USA To investigate the effectiveness of narrative humanization to reduce the stigmatization of MAPs among mental health professionals and improve therapy for MAPs who seek it. Forthcoming
2019-2020 Kailey Roche, Master's student Saint Mary's University, Applied Psychology, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada To investigate mental health professionals' explicit biases and competences in treating MAP patients by conducting survyes of MAPs and mental health professionals. Forthcoming
2019-2020 Nicole Jordan, Master's student University of Southern Maine, School of Social Work, Portland, Maine, USA To explore the therapeutic experiences of MAPs. The goal is to hear the experiences of self-identifying MAPs in therapy so as to improve the quality of professional support available to meet the mental health needs of MAPs as defined by them. Forthcoming
2019-2020 Crystal Mundy, Doctoral student; Hailee Lewis, Undergraduate student; Jan Cioe, Associate Professor University of British Columbia Okanagan, Department of Psychology, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada To examine the reasons minor-attracted persons choose to engage in romantic relationships and sex with adult romantic partners. Forthcoming
2019-2020 Marie Ballentin, Master's student Aarhus University, Educational Sociology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark To examine the lived experiences of minor-attracted persons regarding their sense of belonging, and how it influences their well-being and self-acceptance. Forthcoming
2018-2020 Alexander Schmidt, Academic Officer; Sara Jahnke, Post-Doctoral Researcher; Juergen Hoyer, Professor Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany; Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena, Germany; Technische Universität, Dresden, Germany To examine wanted and unwanted sexual experiences during childhood as well as cognitive development (and other developmentally relevant factors) among adult men with different sexual orientations. Forthcoming
2017-2020 Frederica Martijn, Doctoral student Vrije University, Amsterdam, Netherlands; University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada To understand MAPs' feelings of sexual and romantic attraction to children. Martijn, F., Babchishin, K.M., Pullman, L.E., & Seto, M.C. (2020). Sexual Attraction and Falling in Love in Persons with Pedohebephilia, Archives of Sexual Behavior 49(2).
2017-2018 Emma Fellowes, Doctoral student University of Surrey, Department of Psychology, Guildford, U.K. To explore the thoughts, feelings and experiences of people with an attraction to prepubescent or pubescent children / young adolescents in relation to voluntary help seeking in the U.K. and Northern Ireland. Forthcoming
2017 Mikkel Rask Pedersen, Masters student Aarhus University, Department of Anthropology, Aarhus, Denmark To gain a better insight into the lived experience of being a minor-attracted person through listening to MAPs' life stories, and to explore how the discourses in western societies shape, influence and restrict the ways MAPs are expected to act. Pedersen, M.R. (2017). The Politics of Being a Pedophile. (Master's Thesis).
2016-2017 Heather Cacciatori, Doctoral student Walden University, Department of Psychology, Minneapolis, MN, USA To gain an understanding of the professional help-seeking behaviors of people who are sexually attracted to minors, how the decision to seek or not seek help impacts their well-being, and how mental health professionals can make therapeutic services more readily available to them. Cacciatori, H. (2017). The Lived Experiences of Men Attracted to Minors and Their Therapy-Seeking Behaviors (Doctoral Dissertation)
2016-2017 Marc-André Goudreault, Doctoral student Université de Montréal, Department of Psychology, Montreal, Quebec, Canada To examine the psychological and physiological traits of adult males depending on their sexual orientation. The researchers wish to develop a better and more accurate understanding of MAPs by studying those in the community rather than forensic samples. Goudreault, M.-A. (2017).  Study of the Psychological and Physiological Characteristics of a Community Sample of Pedophiles (Doctoral Dissertation; note that while some parts of this paper are in French, its main body is in English.)
2016-2017 Allyn Walker, Doctoral student John Jay College, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA To investigate issues related to mental health, stigma, abstinence, and resilience among minor-attracted individuals. Results from this study are expected to contribute to the development of mental health treatment options for minor-attracted populations, so the goal is to understand the opinions and experiences of minor-attracted people directly. Walker, A. (2017). Understanding Resilience Strategies Among Minor-Attracted Individuals. (Doctoral dissertation)
2015-2016 Brian Cash, Master's student Cornell University, Department of Human Development, Ithaca, NY, USA To study sexual and romantic development among minor-attracted persons, specifically in areas such as self-identification, disclosures, and sexual and romantic preferences, in a way that highlights and respects MAPs' lives and experiences. Cash, B.M. (2016). Self-Identifications, Sexual Development, And Wellbeing In Minor-Attracted People: An Exploratory Study. (Master's Thesis).
2014-2015 Kevin Hsu, Doctoral student Northwestern University, Department of Psychology, Evanston, IL, USA Exploration of aspects of MAPs' sexuality and personality that have not been studied well previously, such as the degree of attraction to adults and more unusual sexual interests. Hsu, K. J., & Bailey, J. M. (2017). Autopedophilia: erotic-target identity inversions in men sexually attracted to children.
2014-2015 Philip Tromovitch, Professor Science and Engineering Research Institute, Doshisha University, Kyoto City, Japan To collect national data for research in psychology, sexology, and cross-cultural studies for numerous purposes, including but not limited to studying the effects of childhood and early adolescent experiences on adult psychological functioning. If sufficient data is collected, the study will examine whether MAPs differ in personality traits from non-MAPs. Forthcoming
2014-2017 Lisa J. Cohen, Professor of Psychiatry Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York, NY, USA To investigate the psychological features and subjective experience of MAPs who have refrained from sexual activity with underage minors and compare such findings with those of MAPs within the criminal justice system. The goal is to correct for biased information based on individuals in the criminal justice system. Lisa J. Cohen, L.J. et al. (2019). Correlates of Chronic Suicidal Ideation Among Community-Based Minor-Attracted Persons
2013-2014 J. Michael Bailey, Professor Northwestern University, Department of Psychology, Evanston, IL, USA To survey pedohebephilic men regarding their sexual interests, their social developmental history, and their history of adjudicated offenses. Bailey, J.M., K.J. Hsu, & P.A. Bernhard (2016). An Internet Study of Men Sexually Attracted to Children: Sexual Attraction Patterns
2012-2013 Carin Freimond, Master's student Simon Fraser University, Department of Sociology, Burnaby, BC, Canada To investigate how minor-attracted people understand and manage their stigmatized identities Freimond, C. (2013). Navigating the Stigma of Pedophilia: The Experiences of Nine Minor-Attracted Men in Canada. (Master's Thesis).