What are the age criteria for diagnosing pedophilia in a patient?

To diagnose pedophilia, one of the key criteria involves the age of the individual in relation to their sexual attraction to children. Specifically, the diagnosis requires that the individual is at least 16 years old and that they are at least five years older than the child they are attracted to. This means that for someone to meet the pedophilia criteria, not only must they be a certain age, but they must also have a specific age differential from the victim to establish the nature of the sexual attraction.

This age differential helps to contextualize the diagnosis within a framework that recognizes the disparity in power and maturity between an adult and a child. The aim is to delineate inappropriate sexual interests from those that might not involve exploitation or harm to a child. The other choices either do not establish the necessary age gap or specify an age that is not aligned with the diagnostic criteria detailed in the DSM-5, thereby failing to capture the severity of the behavior that qualifies as pedophilia.