A key problem associated with adequate knowledge generation in pedophilia is that theories and studies predominantly examine abusive pedophilia. Acting abusively in relation to children—even where pedophilia is present—is likely to involve a different set of processes to those involved in the underlying concept of pedophilia itself. What is required is a consistent definition of pedophilia, as well as an explanation of its composition, to promote insight into the etiological mechanisms underpinning pedophilia independent of abusive behavior. In this manuscript, I critically review both the concept of pedophilia and existing pedophilia theory. Then, using the Phenomena Detection Method of Theory Construction (PDM-TC; Ward & Clack, 2019), I generate a compositional explanatory theory of pedophilia (CEToP). The CEToP examines the composition and possible causes of pedophilia via an overarching framework that specifies two key pathways as being responsible for the central clinical features of pedophilia and reconciles biological and environmental explanations of pedophilia. I examine this new theory according to key evaluative components associated with theory construction and conclude by highlighting the CEToPs potential application for research and practice with individuals experiencing pedophilia.

与恋童癖中产生足够知识相关的一个关键问题是，理论和研究主要检查虐待恋童癖。对儿童采取虐待行为——即使存在恋童癖——也可能涉及与恋童癖本身潜在概念不同的一系列过程。所需要的是对恋童癖的一致定义，以及对其构成的解释，以促进对支持恋童癖的病因机制的深入了解，而不受虐待行为的影响。在这份手稿中，我批判性地回顾了恋童癖的概念和现有的恋童癖理论。然后，使用理论构建的现象检测方法（PDM-TC；Ward & Clack，2019），我生成了恋童癖的成分解释理论（CEToP）。CEToP 通过一个总体框架检查恋童癖的构成和可能的原因，该框架指定了导致恋童癖的主要临床特征的两个关键途径，并协调了恋童癖的生物学和环境解释。我根据与理论构建相关的关键评估组件来研究这一新理论，并通过强调 CEToP 在恋童癖个体研究和实践中的潜在应用得出结论。