Associations among boredom proneness, attachment styles, and compulsive sexual behavior

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction It has been hypothesized that compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) may be a result of a biological vulnerability for affective dysregulation and impulsive control, which may emerge as a result of underlying neurobiological disruptions, childhood adversity, or attachment instability. Boredom proneness and attachment style have been shown to be empirical components associated with both CSB and dysphoric mood states. Thus, individuals who are prone to boredom may use CSB to mitigate negative affect, whereas individuals who have an attachment instability may use CSB to regulate negative affect linked with their insecure attachment. Investigations of these components in association with CSB may benefit in understanding the function of emotional dysregulation in individuals who experience nonparaphilic out-of-control or dysregulated sexual behavior patterns. Objective This study explores associations among boredom proneness, attachment styles, and CSB in order to understand the underlying mechanisms of emotion dysregulation. Method Participants were recruited through MTurk to obtain a sample of adults (age 18+) that is representative of the US-population in terms of gender and race-ethnicity. Participants (n=879) completed scales, including the Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory (CSBI-13); the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ-22) measuring by subscales Fearful, Preoccupied, Secure, and Dismissing attachment styles; and the Short Boredom Proneness Scale (SBPS-8). The scores are interpreted as follows, the higher the score, the greater the problem or the characteristic of the assessed condition. Pearson product-moment correlations were used to estimate the associations between variables, and multiple mediation analyses were conducted using PROCESS_v3.5.4: outcome variable=CSBI-13, predictor=SBPS-8, and mediator variables=four subscales of ASQ-22. Effect significance was estimated using the test bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) confidence interval of 95% and bootstrapping technique (n=5000). Results The CSBI-13 had a significant medium positive correlation with the SBPS-8 (r=.48) and the Fearful (r=.34) and Preoccupied (r=.37) subscales on the ASQ-22. A small significant and negative correlation was found for the Secure attachment style (r=-.20). No significant correlation was identified between the CSBI-13 and the Dismissing subscale. The mediation analyses indicated that the Fearful and Preoccupied subscales of ASQ-22 were significant mediators in the association between boredom and CSB, explaining 15% and 14% of the association, respectively. Conclusion The current findings demonstrate that boredom proneness and insecure attachment styles, namely those at the high-end of the anxiety dimension (i.e.,Fearful and Preoccupied), are positively associated with CSBI-13 scores. These findings support the theorized associations between emotion dysregulation and CSB. When boredom proneness and insecure attachment styles were combined, mediation results indicated that a small percentage of the explanation was transferred from one to the other. This indicates that they are distinct psychological components, despite some overlap and common internal mechanisms relating to dysphoric states, most likely related to a shared anxiety component. Furthermore, reiterated that emotional dysregulation is a complex process in CSB, making it difficult to distinguish whether a negative state and/or an unbalanced aspect of one's existence are a cause and/or an effect. While additional research is necessary, these findings suggest that clinicians should evaluate emotional dysregulation components in a multifactor and comprehensive manner when diagnosing CSB. Disclosure Work supported by industry: no.