Kurt Freund (17 January 1914 – 23 October 1996) was a Czech-Canadian

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and sexologist best known for developing the penile plethysmograph (a measurement of

sexual arousal Sexual arousal (also known as sexual excitement) describes the Physiology, physiological and psychological responses in preparation for sexual intercourse or when exposed to Sexual stimulation, sexual stimuli. A number of physiological response ...

in males), research studies in

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pube ...

, and for the " courtship disorder" hypothesis as a taxonomy of certain

paraphilia A paraphilia is an experience of recurring or intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, places, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as a sexual interest in anything other than a legally consenting human ...

s ( voyeurism, exhibitionism, toucherism, frotteurism, and what he called " preferential rape"). After unsuccessful attempts to change men's sexual orientation, he advocated against

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...

and in favor of the decriminalization of homosexuality.

Early life

Freund was born into a German-speaking Jewish family in Chrudim, then part of the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

, later

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, now in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. He married Anna Hlounová, a non-Jewish Czech pianist and music teacher, on 13 January 1942. In 1943, they divorced in order to protect Anna and their newborn daughter Helen from anti-Jewish and anti-miscegenation legislation implemented by the German Nazi Occupiers. They remarried after the war in 1945, and Anna gave birth to a son, Peter, in 1948. Many of Freund's relatives were murdered in

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, including his parents Heinrich and Hella, and his brother Hans.

Research

In 1948, Freund joined the Department of Psychiatry at

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

in Prague. Freund received his M.D. at Charles University of Prague, and later a

D.Sc. A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

degree there in 1962. He carried out post-doctoral research and later both research and clinical work at Charles University's Sexological Institute. Freund fled to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1968, in the wake of the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

. Freund then began plethysmography studies of male sexual orientation at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (then called the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry) in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, where much of the research and published data using PPG originated. The Kurt Freund Laboratory at that centre is named after him.

Homosexuality

Between 1950 and 1953, Freund treated 67 men for homosexual tendencies. Some of his patients voluntarily sought to change their sexual orientation, while others received remission of prosecution or legal penalties so that they could undergo the experiment. Taking a

behaviorist Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understand the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex elicited by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that indivi ...

perspective, he attempted to reinforce heterosexual feelings while punishing homosexual ones in order to change sexual orientation. Patients were given nausea-inducing drugs while exposed to images of other men, then given testosterone injections and exposed to photographs of naked women. Freund followed up with his patients in 1956 and 1958, concluding that the experiment was not a success. His empirical data showed some of the first evidence that sexual orientation

was generally futile. He demonstrated that even homosexually oriented men who appeared to have given up sexual relations with other men and established heterosexual marriages were still aroused by images of men rather than women. Freund also challenged contemporary psychoanalytic theories of male homosexuality that suggested it was due to a fear or aversion to women. In 1957, he began to advocate for the decriminalization of homosexuality, which happened in Czechoslovakia in 1961 following an official recommendation signed by Freund and other psychiatrists. Like other researchers at the time, however, he continued to see homosexuality as a

pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

. In 1977, he apologized for his attempt to change sexual orientation, writing that if his experiment "has 'helped' at all, has helped clients to enter into marriages that later became unbearable or almost unbearable" and expressing doubt that homosexuality should be considered an illness because of the chance that "reasonable social changes may virtually abolish all specific distress of homosexual persons". Freund advised his patients to make peace with their sexual orientation.

Penile plethysmography

Around 1953, Freund began to develop a device for penile plethysmography to measure blood flow to the penis, building off of earlier attempts to create such a device. He was initially commissioned to detect recruits attempting to evade

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

by falsely claiming to be homosexual.Wilson, R. J., & Mathon, H. F. (2006, fall). Remembering Kurt Freund (1914-1996). ''ATSA Forum''. Beaverton, OR: Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. Over his career, he refined the penile plethysmograph as part of a broad program of research on male sexual interest. Sex offenders could sometimes suppress arousal through concentration or surreptitiously causing themselves pain, similar to methods for producing false results on a

polygraph A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a pseudoscientific device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a ...

(lie detector). During one experiment, he found that 17% of heterosexuals or homosexuals were able to pretend to be the other sexual orientation during the test. Although he recognized its limitations, Freund continued to advocate for the use of the device to measure male sexual arousal, not only sexual orientation but also pedophilia. During the 1960s, he published several papers informing other researchers to recreate and use the device. There was controversy regarding potential abuses of devices to measure sexual interests, following fears that it might lead to discrimination against gay men. Phallometric testing has been shown, however, to be one of the most accurate, if not the single most accurate, methods of identifying the sexual offenders that are most likely to commit new sexual offenses against children. On the other hand, another study concluded that "although the validity of the technique for research and clinical assessment is now established, justification for the routine use of the technique must await a proper standardization of the technique and the publication of reliable norms."Launay, G. (1999) "The phallometric assessment of sex offenders: an update," ''Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health,'' 9 (3) 254–274.

Paraphilias and sex offenders

Initially focused on homosexuality, Freund later expanded his study to

, rape, transsexuality, and

. He developed the theory of courtship disorder, explaining paraphilias such as exhibitionism, voyeurism, telephone scatologia, frotteurism, and biastophilia (a preference for rape) as disorders of the normal courtship process. He focused on detection and diagnosis of sex offenders, particularly preference pedophiles, with a view to more appropriate treatment guidelines.Brzek A, Hubalek S. Homosexuals in Eastern Europe: Mental Health and Psychotherapy Issues. in Psychopathology and Psychotherapy in Homosexuality, Ed. Michael W. Ross, p. 160.

Death

Freund was diagnosed with cancer in 1994 and was a member of Dying with Dignity. When his health deteriorated in 1996, he took a lethal cocktail of

muscle relaxants A muscle relaxant is a drug that affects skeletal muscle function and decreases the muscle tone. It may be used to alleviate symptoms such as muscle spasms, pain, and hyperreflexia. The term "muscle relaxant" is used to refer to two major therapeu ...

, sleeping pills and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

. Freund was

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

, and his ashes were scattered on the lawn across from his office at the Clarke Institute in Toronto and on the grounds of Psychiatric Hospital

Bohnice Bohnice () is a cadastral district in Prague 8, Czechia, some 5 km north of the city centre. It is home to a psychiatric hospital and a large tenement housing estate in which all the streets are named after cities or regions of Poland. Ps ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, where he had worked for many years in Czechoslovakia.

Selected publications

*Freund, K., J. Diamant, and V. Pinkava. 1958. "On the validity and reliability of the phalloplethysmographic (Php) diagnosis of some sexual deviations." Rev Czech Med 4:145-51. *Freund, K. 1963. "A Laboratory Method For Diagnosing Predominance of Homo- Or Hetero-Erotic Interest in Male." Behav Res Ther 21:85-93. *Freund, K. 1962. ''Homosexualita u muže'' (Homosexuality in man), Praha: Státní zdravotnické nakladatelství (State Medical Publisher), 274 pp., 3000 copies. **Freund, K. 1963. ''Die Homosexualität beim Mann'', 1st ed., Leipzig : S. Hirzel Verlag, 275 pp. **Freund, K. 1965. ''Die Homosexualität beim Mann'', 2nd, expanded ed., Leipzig : S. Hirzel Verlag, 321 pp. *Freund, K. 1965. "A simple device for measuring volume changes of the male genital organ." Československá psychiatrie 61:164-6. *Freund, K. 1967. "Diagnosing homo- or heterosexuality and erotic age-preference by means of a psychophysiological test." Behav Res Ther 5:209-28. *Freund, K. 1974. "Male homosexuality: an analysis of the pattern." in Understanding Homosexuality: Its biological and psychological bases, edited by J. A. Lorraine. Lancaster, England: Medical and Technical Publishing Company, Inc. *Freund, K. 1977. "Should homosexuality arouse therapeutic concern?" J Homosex 2:235-40. *Freund, K. 1977. "Psychophysiological assessment of change in erotic preferences." Behavioral Research and Therapy 15:297-301. *Freund, K. 1978. "A conceptual framework for the study of anomalous erotic preferences." J Sex Marital Ther 4:3-10. *Freund, K., S. Chan, and R. Coulthard. 1979. "Phallometric diagnosis with 'nonadmitters'." Behav Res Ther 17:451-7. *Freund, K., B. W. Steiner, and S. Chan. 1982. "Two types of cross-gender identity." Arch Sex Behav 11:49-63. *Freund, K. and R. Blanchard. 1983. "Is the distant relationship of fathers and homosexual sons related to the sons' erotic preference for male partners, or to the sons' atypical gender identity, or to both?" J Homosex 9:7-25. *Freund, K., H. Scher, and S. Hucker. 1983. "The courtship disorders." Arch Sex Behav 12:369-79. *Freund, K., H. Scher, I. G. Racansky, K. Campbell, and G. Heasman. 1986. "Males disposed to commit rape." Arch Sex Behav 15:23-35. *Freund, K. and R. Blanchard. 1986. "The concept of courtship disorder." J Sex Marital Ther 12:79-92. *Freund, K., Wilson, R. & Rienzo, D. (1987). A comparison of sex offenders against male and female minors. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 13, 260–264. *Freund, K., Wilson, R. & Rienzo, D. (1988). Signs of feigning in the phallometric test. Behaviour Research & Therapy, 26, 105–112. *Freund, K., Wilson, R. & Rienzo, D. (1988). The value of self-reports in the study of voyeurism and exhibitionism. Annals of Sex Research, 1, 243–262. *Freund, K., Wilson, R. & Rienzo, D. (1989). Heterosexuality, homosexuality, and erotic age preference. The Journal of Sex Research, 26, 107–117. *Freund, K. & Wilson, R. (1990). Mapping the boundaries of courtship disorder. Journal of Sex Research, 27, 589–606. *Freund, K., Wilson, R. & Dickey, R. (1990). Does sexual abuse in childhood causes pedophilia? An exploratory study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 19, 557–568. *Freund, K. & Wilson, R. (1991). Assessment of the sensitivity and specificity of a phallometric test: An update of "Phallometric diagnosis of pedophilia". Psychological Assessment, 3, 254–260. *Freund, K., Wilson, R., Dickey, R., & Rienzo, D. (1991). Erotic gender differentiation in pedophilia. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 20, 555–566. *Freund, K., Wilson, R. & Dickey, R. (1991). Sex offenses against female children perpetrated by men who are not pedophiles. Journal of Sex Research, 28, 409–423. *Freund, K., Wilson, R., & Dickey, R. (1991). The types of heterosexual gender identity disorder. Annals of Sex Research, 4, 93–105. *Freund, K. & Wilson, R.J. (1992). The proportions of heterosexual and homosexual pedophiles among sex offenders against children. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 18, 34–43. *Freund, K. & Wilson, R.J. (1993). Gender identity disorder and courtship disorder. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 22, 13–21. *Freund, K. and M. Kuban. 1993. "Toward a testable developmental model of pedophilia: the development of erotic age preference." Child Abuse Negl 17:315-24.

References

External links

Kurt Freund biography
via Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers
Prague Psychiatric Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freund, Kurt 1914 births 1996 suicides People from Chrudim Czech health professionals Sexologists 20th-century Czech scientists Czech psychiatrists Canadian sexologists Jewish Canadian scientists Canadian people of Czech-Jewish descent Czech emigrants to Canada Suicides in Ontario Charles University alumni Scientists from Toronto Canadian psychiatrists 20th-century Canadian physicians 20th-century Canadian scientists 1996 deaths Drug-related suicides in Canada Czech Jews