TY - JOUR
T1 - A Survey of the United Kingdom
T2 - Investigating Five Paraphilic Interest Groups and their Demographic and Psychological Correlates
AU - Brown, Ashley
AU - Barker, Edward
AU - Friedreich, Stella
AU - Rahman, Qazi
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2025/4/28
Y1 - 2025/4/28
N2 - We explored demographic, psychological, and behavioral characteristics of five paraphilic interest groups in the UK: BDSM, pet play, age play/ABDL, furries, and balloon fetishists – chosen for their prevalence, power dynamics, and varied activities. Through an anonymous survey (N = 470), we assessed role identities, engagement patterns, and relational dynamics. Groups were more likely to have non-heterosexual, non-monogamous, and non-cisgender identities, with high levels of co-occurrence across paraphilic interests. Participants were predominantly cisgender men, though over 25% identified as non-cisgender. Men were more likely to take on dominant roles, women submissive roles, and nonbinary people switch roles. There were differences in Dark Triad traits based on role identity. A minority of participants did not pair their interests with sex, especially pet players and furries. Bimodal distributions in the centrality of paraphilic interests to sexual identity underscore implications for sub-group classification and add to discourse of paraphilias as a dimension of sexual orientation. Relationship satisfaction correlated with shared paraphilic interests. Some associations were found between age play and pedophilic fantasies and behaviors and pet play/furries and zoophilic fantasies and behaviors, but this was only for a small minority. This work expands on existing literature by contextualizing findings within broader societal and relational frameworks and addressing stigmatized stereotypes. Recommendations include longitudinal and cross-cultural studies to explore the evolution of paraphilic interests and their intersection with psychosocial variables.
AB - We explored demographic, psychological, and behavioral characteristics of five paraphilic interest groups in the UK: BDSM, pet play, age play/ABDL, furries, and balloon fetishists – chosen for their prevalence, power dynamics, and varied activities. Through an anonymous survey (N = 470), we assessed role identities, engagement patterns, and relational dynamics. Groups were more likely to have non-heterosexual, non-monogamous, and non-cisgender identities, with high levels of co-occurrence across paraphilic interests. Participants were predominantly cisgender men, though over 25% identified as non-cisgender. Men were more likely to take on dominant roles, women submissive roles, and nonbinary people switch roles. There were differences in Dark Triad traits based on role identity. A minority of participants did not pair their interests with sex, especially pet players and furries. Bimodal distributions in the centrality of paraphilic interests to sexual identity underscore implications for sub-group classification and add to discourse of paraphilias as a dimension of sexual orientation. Relationship satisfaction correlated with shared paraphilic interests. Some associations were found between age play and pedophilic fantasies and behaviors and pet play/furries and zoophilic fantasies and behaviors, but this was only for a small minority. This work expands on existing literature by contextualizing findings within broader societal and relational frameworks and addressing stigmatized stereotypes. Recommendations include longitudinal and cross-cultural studies to explore the evolution of paraphilic interests and their intersection with psychosocial variables.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105003871091&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00224499.2025.2486472
DO - 10.1080/00224499.2025.2486472
M3 - Article
SN - 0022-4499
JO - JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH
JF - JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH
ER -