Have you ever wondered how to know if a pedophile or sex offender can ever be cured or rehabilitated. Would I be comfortable with them living in my neighborhood? If so, you're just like the rest of the world. Pedophilia is a real disease, and not only in my opinion also in DSMIV 302.2. We may never be truly comfortable with the idea that researchers say pedophiles can't be cured, but can be rehabilitated over time and have the tests to prove it. Pedophilia is a medical diagnosis defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or older adolescents, ages 16 and older. Pedophilia is characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children, usually aged 13 and younger. A pedophile's victim is usually at least five years younger in the case of adolescent pedophiles. The word pedophilia derives from the Greek word: παῖς (paîs), meaning “child”, and φιλία (philla) meaning “friendly love” or “friendship. This literal meaning has been modified to sexual attraction in modern times, under the headings "love of children" or "lovers of children", by pedophiles who use symbols and codes to identify their preferences. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSMIV) defines pedophilia as a person having intense, recurrent sexual urges and fantasies about being prepubescent. children and what feelings they acted on or which caused distress or interpersonal difficulties. According to a National Alert Registry article by Dr. Herbert Wagemaker, four percent of the population suffers from sexual orientation toward children. In 1999, 93,000 children were. sexually assaulted. 50% of the attackers were the parents of...... middle of article ......References1. Maletzky, B., Treating the sexual offender (Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1991.2). Burton, D. and Smith-Darden, J., North American Survey of Sexual Abuser Treatment and Patterns, 2000, Brandon, VT: Safer Society Foundation, 2001.3. 3. Report of the Interagency Council on the Treatment of Sex Offenders to the Senate Interim Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, 1993.4 Sex and Sexuality: Sexual Deviations and Sexual Offenses5. By Richard D. McAnulty, M. Michele Burnette, 20066. Lotringer, S., Overexposed: Dealing with Sexual Perversions in America, New York: Pantheon Books, 1988.7. Freeman-Longo, R., Bird, S., Stevenson, W. and Fiske, J., 1994 National Survey of Treatment Programs and Models, Brandon, VT: Safer Society Foundation, 1995.