In the course of the present study 445 users of zoophilia forums were asked to complete an online survey measuring social anxiety, self-esteem and empathy. Comparisons between the recruited sample and existing classifications of zoophilia demonstrated that only about a half of the sample (51.5%) stated engaging in sexual activity with animals by answering detailed questions about the nature of their sexual interaction. A large part of the sample for example reported high self-esteem (85.7%) which is inconsistent with previous findings linking zoosexuality to a deficit in selfesteem. In consideration of the findings a new classification of Zoophilia is proposed.
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