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Sexual Sadism

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

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Related Concepts

Concepts: Sadism; Severe sexual sadism; Sadomasochism; Sexual murder; Severe sexual aggression; Necrophilia

Discussion

The consideration of the relationship between these concepts and the specific notion of sexual sadism has been discussed by many authors (see reviews by Marshall and Kennedy 2003; Yates et al. 2008). The general conclusion of these studies is that while sexual sadism is conceptualized as distinct from these other concepts, the evidence of its uniqueness is not convincing. Each concept has various and overlapping features. In this entry we will attempt to delineate, as far as possible, the unique features of sexual sadism.

Definition

The most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5, APA 2013) specifies the criteria required for a person (usually but not always a male) to be diagnosed as a sexual sadist as having experienced “over a period of at least 6 months, recurrent and intense sexual arousal from the...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rockwood Psychological Services, Kingston, ON, Canada

    W. L. Marshall

  2. Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, Penetanguishene, ON, Canada

    L. E. Marshall

Authors
  1. W. L. Marshall
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  2. L. E. Marshall
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to W. L. Marshall .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Lakehead University, Orillia, Canada

    Beth A. Visser

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Marshall, W.L., Marshall, L.E. (2016). Sexual Sadism. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1112-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1112-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

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