Etymology and Definitions
The word comes from the Greek: παῖς (paîs), meaning "child", and φιλία (philía), "friendly love" or "friendship". This literal meaning has been altered toward sexual attraction in modern times, under the titles "child love" or "child lover", by pedophiles who use symbols and codes to identify their preferences.
Pedophilia is used for individuals with a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children aged 13 or younger. Nepiophilia (Infantophilia) is pedophilia, but is used to refer to a sexual preference for infants and toddlers (ages 0–3 or those under age 5). Hebephilia is defined as individuals with a primary or exclusive sexual interest in 11-14 year old pubescents. The DSM IV does not list hebephilia among the diagnoses, while the ICD-10 includes hebephilia in its pedophilia definition, covering the physical development overlap between the two philias. In addition to "hebephilia", some clinicians have proposed other cateogories that are somewhat or completely distinguished from pedophilia; these include "pedohebephilia" (a combination of pedophilia and hebephilia) and "ephebophilia" (though ephebophilia is not considered pathological).
Read more about this topic: Pedophilia
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