The term
pedophile is commonly used by the public to describe all child sexual abuse offenders.
[8][12] This usage is considered problematic by researchers, because many child molesters do not have a strong sexual interest in prepubescent children, and are consequently not pedophiles.
[11][12][25] There are motives for child sexual abuse that are unrelated to pedophilia,
[81] such as stress, marital problems, the unavailability of an adult partner,
[102] general anti-social tendencies, high sex drive or alcohol use.
[103] As child sexual abuse is not automatically an indicator that its perpetrator is a pedophile, offenders can be separated into two types: pedophilic and non-pedophilic
[104] (or preferential and situational)