[Phenomenology and history of the origin of exhibitionism]

Exhibitionism should not be misunderstood as a throw back into phylogenetically highly primitive "sexual advertising". The issue is also missed if one shares the widespread belief that at least some of the cases could be explained by an abnormally increased sexual drive. This sexual deviation mostly appears for the first time at the turn of the second to the third decade of life. The relatively close association with age is not conspicuous when we take a look at first police reports or at the sum total of culpable criminal offences. Only about one-tenth of the cases concern late delinquency beyond 35 or 40 years of age. More than 75% of the adult delinquents had married. Marriage practically never implied a turning-point within the sexual maldevelopment, perhaps also largely due to the specific choice of the spouse. It is more likely that the original conflicts are even aggravated as a result of the confrontation with the marriage partner. There is a sharp contrast between the general tendency on the part of the exhibitionists to follow a set behavioural pattern which is stereotyped and rather mechanical, on the one hand, and the wide variety of "victims" selected by many of these delinquents on the other. There is also a noticeable affinity to theft and misappropriation of property--a criminologically interesting aspect. Among the factors contributing to a lack of self-concept and deficient feeling of male identity, the following have been determined to act in combination with other negative influences: The delinquents grow up in a large family comprising many brothers and sisters, a highly significant factor being a predominance of boys among the siblings; often, there is no positive male reference person as would be represented by the father; or the patient is himself an illegitimate offspring. There may often be a physical malformation or handicap acting as a kind of social stigma. This can result in amplifying the subjective feeling of rejection or non-acceptance. Conflicts of the type of a dysmorphophobia were in far more than one-third of the examined 40 patients contributory to the prerequisites of sexual anomaly. Lack of confidence in one's own capacities is one of the main factors in preventing the delinquents from being professionally as successful as their fathers--which would offer a chance of raising their self-esteem. Self-limitation because of strong aggressive inhibition seems to be the main reason for the albeit slight deterioration in status-determined behaviour and hence social status.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)