Paraphilia Among Undergraduates in a Nigerian University

Abstract

There is a paucity of information regarding paraphilia in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims to take a preliminary look at the prevalence of paraphilia in a population representative of young adults in Nigeria. A total of 871 randomly selected full-time undergraduate students aged 18 or more years and enrolled at the University of Calabar had their paraphilia self-administered proforma analyzed. For the purpose of this study probable paraphilia was defined as paraphilic symptoms lasting over 6 months and associated with moderate to severe distress. The combined prevalence of paraphilia which described the number of subjects with at least one paraphilia was 14.8%. The most prevalent paraphilia subtype was voyeurism while pedophilia was the least prevalent. Paraphilia was significantly more likely to be present among younger students. In contrast to most reports however, there was no significant relationship between gender and paraphilia. Paraphilia research should thus not exclude women or be restricted to populations dominated by men. Longitudinal studies should be carried out in the future to explore the relationship(s) between possible risk factors and paraphilia.