Sexual Addiction Research Articles

La psychothérapie centrée sur le lien transférentiel dans la clinique des addictions sexuelles

ObjectiveThe article aims to share theoretical, clinical, and technical findings on the treatment of subjects with severe sexual addiction. MethodBased on theoretical research and clinical practice with sex-addicted patients, we examine the models (PFT) which led us to conceive of a psychoanalytical psychotherapy centered on the transferential link integrating the works of Kernberg, Fonagy, Bateman, but also those put into perspective by Anzieu, Bouvet, and Roussillon in France. ResultsIf these modalities of framework and technical interpretation were first developed for a population of borderline subjects, our empirical clinical findings tend to verify the performative value, for subjects presenting a severe sexual addiction, of a psychodynamic therapeutic process centered on the link. DiscussionAlthough the efficacy of pharmacological treatments, cognitive therapies, or group therapies has been demonstrated in the treatment of subjects with severe sexual addiction, no randomized controlled study currently exists to verify the efficacy of a bonding-focused analytical psychotherapy with this population. ConclusionThe article provides empirical qualitative results and opens a dialogue with other psychotherapeutic methodologies in order to think about a diversified offer of care models adapted to this population.

The Long-Lived Impacts of Sexual Addiction: Examples of Unwanted Gifts That Keep Giving

The Long-Lived Impacts of Sexual Addiction: Examples of Unwanted Gifts That Keep Giving

Making addicts: critical reflections on agency and responsibility from lawyers and decision makers

Various activities are increasingly characterised as ‘addictions’, including within the law, and raise important questions. Do ‘addicts’ have agency? Do addictions shape social problems such as family and sexual violence? And how do those involved in legal systems perceive addictions? This paper explores these questions. Drawing on qualitative interviews with lawyers and decision makers (N = 48), it explores addiction in law. Lawyers and decision makers see themselves as playing important roles in making addiction and ‘addicts’. Addiction is an effect principally of legal strategy, and other forces. Legal processes bring differing conceptions of agency and responsibility into being, problematising understandings of agency as an ‘effect’ of addiction, or as pre-existing legal processes. There are also important variations in approach regarding different addictions. Alcohol or other drug addiction is seen as ‘genuine’, and a major factor in family violence, while sex addiction lacks credibility. I explore some implications of these approaches.

Baccanti ebbre e ninfomani tra la fine della Repubblica e la prima età imperiale

Maenads in pop culture are usually women with a strong eroticism, distinguished by sexual addiction and pure lust, malice, and murders. However, the maenads in Ancient Greek iconography and drama were completely different, not connected to the sexual sphere or to the manipulation of men. Ancient Greek maenads preserve their chastity, and their task is to honor Dionysus with dances and rites. The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the common thread that has led to this contemporary sexual and gloomy distinctive characterization of maenads in modern media and to understand where this dark vision of maenadism comes from. The stages on this journey through times past are the Bacchanalia scandal (186 B.C.), the black legend of Messalina, some cases of Christian condemnations, and the conception of maenads during the Renaissance and Victorian Hellenism.

Mindfulness-Based Intervention and Sexuality: A Systematic Review.

Mindfulness has generated considerable interest in the last two decades in clinical and research settings. The efficacy of mindfulness has been evaluated for the sexual dysfunctions recognized by the DSM-5 and other sexual problems, such as compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD), also known as sex addiction or hypersexuality. Here, we review the evidence for various mindfulness-based treatments as mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioral treatment or mindfulness-based relapse prevention for different problems related to sexuality to respond our question: "Are Mindfulness-Based Treatments (MBT) effective in reducing the symptomatology of sexuality-related disorders?". Through a systematic search conducted following the PRISMA guidelines, we found 11 studies that met the inclusion criteria: (I) articles using MBT for sexuality-related problems, (II) clinical population, (III) no date range limits were applied, (IV) only empirical studies were included, (V) language and (VI) quality of studies. Evidence shows that mindfulness practice could be effective for some sexual disorders, such as female sexual arousal/desire disorder. However, due to scarcity of studies on other sexual problems such as situational erectile dysfunction, genitopelvic pain/penetration disorder, childhood sexual abuse or compulsive sexual behavior disorder, the findings cannot be generalized. Mindfulness-based therapies provides evidence to reduce the symptomatology associated with various sexual problems. However more studies are needed for these sexual problems. By last, future directions and implications are discussed.

Childhood Trauma as a Risk Factor for High Risk Behaviors in Adolescents with Borderline Personality Disorder.

Objective: Childhood trauma is associated with many major short-term and lifelong consequences, such as deterioration of mental health, higher frequency of affective dysregulation, changes in consciousness and attention, personality disorders, etc. Therefore, this study aims to examine childhood trauma as a possible factor in the incidence of high risk behaviors in adolescents with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Method : 120 individuals aged 12-18 years were selected based on purposive sampling and included in the research group (including 60 BPD adolescents and 60 non-BPD adolescents). After receiving ethical approval from official institutions, data was collected from the participants through demographic, childhood trauma, sexual addiction screening, eating attitudes, RAFFT, and suicidal behavior questionnaires. The collected data was analyzed using chi-square test, independent t-test, prevalence, odds ratio and correlation analyses using the SPSS V21.0 software. Results: All adolescents with BPD had experienced some forms of psychotraumatic events in childhood. The BPD group experienced more traumatic events than the non-BPD group (P < 0.05). After controlling for gender, age and years of education, all differences remained significant. Furthermore, statistically significant correlations were found between the scores of the emotional abuse and eating disorders scales in the group of girls with BPD (r = 0.788, P < 0.01). Moderate correlations were discovered between emotional abuse and suicidal behaviors in boys with BPD (r = 0.641, P < 0.01). Moreover, it was found that the most significant factors in the formation of addictive behaviors among adolescents with BPD were emotional abuse (r = 0.527) and emotional neglect (r = 0.513, P < 0.05). Conclusion: These findings reinforce the role of childhood trauma in the formation of BPD symptoms during adolescence. Successful detection of the earliest risk factors in the form of childhood trauma and its different forms can provide specific high risk behavior targets for early intervention.

The splitting and its embargoes on sexual addiction

RESUMO: Categoria notável no panorama dos casos fronteiriços, a adicção sexual é uma configuração psicopatológica em que o ato sexual adquire teor irrefreável e nocivo, a despeito da compreensão intelectual e possíveis racionalizações do sex-addict sobre o problema. O objetivo deste artigo é investigar a primazia do mecanismo de defesa da clivagem no engendramento da adicção sexual, a partir de uma revisão metapsicológica e da apresentação de duas vinhetas clínicas. Destaca-se o caráter pseudo-reparador da atividade sexual que, sem êxito, visaria suturar fendas no sistema de um ego clivado, estagnado em suas capacidades integrativas e eróticas.

A study on the relationship between child abuse and neglect and sexual addiction in a predominantly female population seeking partners for sex

A study on the relationship between child abuse and neglect and sexual addiction in a predominantly female population seeking partners for sex

Higher Education and Cultural Liberalism: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from Romania

Some studies suggest that university attendance exerts a liberalizing effect on attitudes toward cultural issues such as sexuality and sexual identity, prostitution, drug addiction, abortion, capital punishment, divorce, parenting, gender, race, religion, science, and technology. Other studies find only a weak effect or no effect. Divergent findings may stem from research designs that rest largely on observational data when assignment to treatment is nonrandom and there are many threats to inference. In this study, we enlist a unique research setting in Romania that allows for a fuzzy regression discontinuity design separating those qualified to matriculate to university from those unqualified to do so. We find that university attendance contributes to a more liberal outlook as measured by our composite index, corroborating the main (preregistered) hypothesis. Evidence for subsidiary hypotheses is mixed.

Family duty in careless society: a qualitative study in iranian sex addicts

<h3>Objectives</h3> The purpose of this study was to examine what self-identified sex addicts think and feel about their addiction in their own words. <h3>Methods</h3> Thirteen self-identified sex addicts participated in a semi-structural interview. They were asked to explain their feelings and motivations in regard to their problematic sexual behaviors. The data was gathered though conventional qualitative content analysis <h3>Results</h3> Analysis of the interviews revealed 222 codes which were summarized in 3 categories including personal related issues which were comprised of "disability in managing disturbing feelings and emotions", "adverse childhood experience" and "specific personality traits"; messy family constituted of "lack of supportive, affective and responsive atmosphere", "Strict and rigid family", "Addiction in family", "Parents' negligence in controlling the Internet of children and adolescents" and finally inattentiveness of the society about sex education included of "not providing education for teachers", "not providing education for parents", "not providing education by Media" and "Lack of awareness about sex addiction". <h3>Conclusions</h3> In a carelessness society about sexual issues, parents and family play a pivotal role not only in providing a supportive and nurturing atmosphere but also in educating and monitoring of children and adolescents. <h3>Conflicts of Interest</h3> The authors report no conflict of interest.

Love addiction, sexual addiction and perceived social support: exploratory empirical research on a group of love addicts

Our study aimed to examine the relationship between love addiction and sex addiction and the degree in which they are influenced by perceived social support. Our study involved a clinical group comprising 497 participants undergoing psychotherapy for love addiction, and a 409-people control group. Participants were asked to complete an online questionnaire which, besides questions asking for several socio-demographic information, consisted of three tools: the Love Addiction Inventory (LAI; Costa et al., 2019) and the Italian versions of the Hypersexual Behaviour Inventory (HBI; Ciocca et al., 2020) and of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS; Di Fabio & Palazzeschi, 2015). In addition to descriptive analyses, Student's t-test was conducted to analyze intergroup differences among tools scores. Pearson correlations were then calculated and, also making use of Fisher's r-to-z transformation, we examined the way they differed between the two samples. The clinical group scored significantly higher on every LAI and HBI scale and lower on each MSPSS scale. All correlations between LAI and HBI scales resulted significant, although those displaying moderate effect sizes were more numerous in the control group. MSPSS correlated with LAI scales in both groups and with HBI in the control group only. The significance of our results lays in the fact that they help gaining a deeper understanding of the dynamics underlying love addiction and sex addiction. Although, in part, they resulted significantly correlated, they are to a larger extent independent one from the other, and the relationship between them appears to be influenced by several factors, among which is perceived social support. Lorenzo Borrello, Paolo Antonelli, Gioele Salvatori and Davide Dèttore declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Potential sexual addiction (psa) among men who have sex with men who attended an stc clinic in a tertiary care hospital, sri lanka

<h3>Objectives</h3> To describe the prevalence of PSA and its associating factors among MSMs who attend an STD clinic in a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka. <h3>Methods</h3> A cross-sectional study among 240 MSM clinic attendees was conducted using the PATHOS screening tool via an interviewer-administered questionnaire to assess the prevalence of PSA. PATHOS consists of six items found in both the Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST) and its revision, and the cut-off value is 3. This is the first study conducted in Sri Lanka using this tool <h3>Results</h3> The mean age of participants was 29.38 years. (SD 9.7). The majority were unmarried and had male partners only. 88% had 1 or more partners in the last 3 months. 24.6% were diagnosed with a new STD and among them, 3 were diagnosed with HIV. 82 MSMs had PATHOS cut-off value, giving a prevalence of 34% PSA. Two third of HIV infected and 40.6% of the MSMs with an STI diagnosis had PSA. 75.6% felt that their life was controlled by sexual desire, and 40% felt depressed following sex. The presence of PSA was not significantly associated with the presence of an STI (p=0.224623), type of partners (p=0.289935), number of partners during the last 3 months(p=0.609), 1 year(p=0.631), or lifetime (p=0.270). But, potential sexual addiction was significantly associated with behaviors such as insertive and receptive anal sex (p=0.041046 & p=0.037916) and feeling depressed following a sexual act (p <0.00001). <h3>Conclusions</h3> Potential sexual addiction is high among MSMs who attended this STD clinic which needs further psychosexual assessment. Incorporating methods to identify and address this among the MSMs will lead to increased quality of sexual health care. <h3>Conflicts of Interest</h3> None

Investigating Psychosocial Predictors of Self-Harming Thoughts among Lagos State University Undergraduates During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Pre-COVID-19 pandemic, suicide, and suicidal behaviour were serious public health concerns that had a global influence on youth. However, there are concerns about the possible Pandemic-related factors contributing to self-harming thoughts and behaviours. At the same time, the antecedents of self-harm thought have been examined previously; this study aimed at exploring suicidal ideation –the preoccupation to kill oneself — among young adults who are prone to be affected by pandemic-related conditions. This Cross-sectional study investigated the role of sex, psychological distress, and social media addiction in predicting Self-harm thoughts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three hundred forty undergraduates cutting across the various faculties were conveniently selected from LASU to respond to the standardised questionnaire. It was hypothesised that male undergraduate students would be more susceptible to self-harm thoughts than female undergraduate students, and psychological distress and social media will have an independent and joint influence on Self-harm thoughts. The result revealed that there was a significant influence of sex on self-harm thoughts (t= 2.17; df (340); P &lt;.05). Furthermore, male undergraduate students were more likely to have thoughts of self-harm than female undergraduate students. It was also revealed that psychological distress and social media addiction jointly (R2 = 0.89, F (2,339) = 16.56, p &lt; .05) and independently predicted Self-harm thoughts. The findings suggested that Clinicians and counsellors, when assessing students with thoughts of self-harm, should consider finding out the extent of usage of social media and its addiction as it should be one of the important aspects to look out for during assessment. Additionally, University management should work on novel and practical approaches to detect early symptoms of psychological distress and advance suicide prevention efforts to secure the precious lives of Students

Moral incongruence and addiction: A registered report.

Diagnostic guidelines for compulsive sexual behavior disorder note that moral distress related to sexual behavior is not sufficient to receive the diagnosis. Recent work has questioned the uniqueness of moral distress in predicting self-reported feelings of sexual addiction, demonstrating that other so-called addictive behaviors (e.g., gaming and internet use) are well-predicted by moral disapproval of those behaviors. The present work tested if moral incongruence (the interaction of behavioral frequency and moral disapproval of a behavior) is uniquely related to sexual behavior, or if it generalizes to other addictions as well. This work used a large sample (N = 4,363) involving a representative sample of the U.S. population (n = 2,806) and a sample of sports-wagering individuals in the U.S. (n = 1,557). Interactions between moral disapproval and behavioral frequency were tested for several behaviors (i.e., pornography use, gambling, and several substances). The interaction of behavioral frequency and behavioral disapproval (i.e., moral incongruence) predicted self-reported feelings of addiction to pornography and gambling. Moral incongruence was consistently unrelated to self-reported feelings of addiction to tobacco, illicit substances, and prescription drugs. Results regarding alcohol and marijuana were inconclusive. Moral incongruence is clearly a salient factor in understanding compulsive sexual behavior, and it appears to also be salient to gambling disorder. Though moral incongruence does not seem relevant to some substances (i.e., nicotine, prescription drug misuse, or illicit drug use), further research is needed regarding the effect of moral incongruence on self-reported feelings of addiction to alcohol and marijuana. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Increased Risk of Generalized Anxiety Disorder According to Frequent Sedentary Times Based on the 16th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey.

This study aimed to identify the association between sedentary behavior and anxiety disorders in 53,510 Korean adolescents. It analyzed data from the 16th (2020) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBS). The dependent variable was the generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7). The GAD-7 scores were divided into normal, mild, moderate, and severe levels. The independent variables were sedentary time for learning, other sedentary times, total sedentary time, and regular physical activity. The confounding variables were sex, grade, stress, depression, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, violent victimization, drinking, smoking, sleep satisfaction, and smartphone addiction. A chi-squared test, one-way analysis of variance, and logistic regression analysis were used for analysis. After adjusting for all confounding variables, the risk of severe level in GAD-7 increased by 1.045 times each time the sedentary time for learning based on increased by one hour. In other sedentary time and total sedentary time, the risk of severe level in GAD-7 increased by 1.025 times and 1.045 times per hour, respectively. However, in regular physical activity, after adjusting for the confounding variables, there was no significant association with the GAD-7 levels. Therefore, to prevent generalized anxiety disorders in Korean adolescents, it is necessary to reduce the overall sedentary times including sedentary time for learning.

Logistic Regression With Machine Learning Sheds Light on the Problematic Sexual Behavior Phenotype.

There has been a longstanding debate about whether the mechanisms involved in problematic sexual behavior (PSB) are similar to those observed in addictive disorders, or related to impulse control or to compulsivity. The aim of this report was to contribute to this debate by investigating the association between PSB, addictive disorders (internet addiction, compulsive buying), measures associated with the construct known as reward deficiency (RDS), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). A Canadian university Office of the Registrar invited 68,846 eligible students and postdoctoral fellows. Of 4710 expressing interest in participating, 3359 completed online questionnaires, and 1801 completed the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. PSB was measured by combining those screening positive (score at least 6) on the Sexual Addiction Screening Test-Revised Core with those self-reporting PSB. Current mental health condition(s) and childhood trauma were measured by self-report. OCD was assessed by a combination of self-report and Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview data. Of 3341 participants, 407 (12.18%) screened positive on the Sexual Addiction Screening Test-Revised Core. On logistic regression, OCD, attention deficit, internet addiction, a family history of PSB, childhood trauma, compulsive buying, and male gender were associated with PSB. On multiple correspondence analysis, OCD appeared to cluster separately from the other measures, and the pattern of data differed by gender. In our sample, factors that have previously been associated with RDS and OCD are both associated with increased odds of PSB. The factors associated with RDS appear to contribute to a separate data cluster from OCD and to lie closer to PSB.

Neurobiology of Sex and Pornography Addictions: A Primer

Contrary to the earlier notion that addiction is predominantly a substance dependency, research now suggests that any source or experience capable of stimulating an individual has addictive potential. This has led to a paradigm shift in the psychiatric understanding of behavioural addictions. These can refer to a range of behaviors such as gambling, video gaming, and sexual practices. Hypersexual behavior and pornography addiction come to the fore when the behavior becomes intensive, out of the individual’s control, and persists in that pattern despite harmful consequences and risk of harm to one’s emotional and/or physical health. The ongoing Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic with its’ social distancing norms has further turned sexual practices to digital platforms with increase in pornography use, and hence addictions and unhealthy use of technology. There are several overlapping lines between these dimensions, and there are both components of compulsivity and impulsivity involved. Substantial evidence of neurobiological and psychological models has been used to conceptualize sex and pornography addictions. However, there is no academic consensus or operational criteria that can aid in diagnosing these conditions or estimating their impact. Moreover, the body of evidence on effective treatments is limited. With this background, this descriptive review looks at the various neurophysiological, genetic, and imaging markers of sex and pornography addictions including their possible evidence-based neuroplastic effects on the brain functioning and sexual behavior, and the neurobiological intersections with substance-abuse disorders, and finally outlines the future directions of related research.

Sexual Addiction as a Legal Defense.

The term sexual addiction is used to describe a range of behaviors involving compulsive and maladaptive sexual behavior. There are mixed opinions in the medical literature regarding whether sexual addiction represents a valid psychiatric diagnosis or instead pathologizes behaviors in the expected range of human behavior. The opinions on sexual addiction in case law are similarly mixed. The condition has at times been used as a successful mitigating factor and at other times been rejected for lack of scientific evidence. The authors searched the LexisNexis database for legal cases that involved the use of sexual addiction as a mitigating or aggravating factor to provide an overview of the available case law. This article is focused on the uncertainty surrounding the diagnosis of sexual addiction and how it has been interpreted by the legal system.

A Biblical and Theological View on Human Sexuality: A Case Study of Selected Churches in Nairobi

Purpose: This research intended to conduct a theological appraisal of the church’s teachings on human sexuality and the role she has in mitigating the problems ensuing from a lack of understanding or misuse of human sexuality. The researcher discussed the problem of sexuality by examining the views of authors who agreed with the fact that there was a problem in the way society had understood and harnessed human sexuality. The response and teaching of the church were a central concern of the researcher. The researcher discussed the problem of condemning the victims of sexual perversion and further expressed the need for the church to redefine her methods of reclaiming people from unhealthy and unbiblical sexual habits.&#x0D; Methodology: This study used a qualitative design. The researcher collected data from individuals from three selected churches in Nairobi County, Kenya with semi-structured interviews as the sole instrument of data collection. The analyses of the data were done using thematic and descriptive analysis methods. The three churches included Christ is The Answer Ministries (CITAM) Valley Road, African Inland Church, Milimani and Ufalme Church, Nairobi. &#x0D; Findings: The findings revealed that the church had not done enough in teaching about human sexuality and in giving a practical solution to church members who struggled with sexual perversions. This left Christians with unorthodox sources of information and education on the subject such as media and the internet.&#x0D; Unique contribution to theory and practice: The researcher recommends that the church should treat human sexuality as an important area that should not be shunned but should be addressed with passion. Correct biblical guidance on recovery and freedom from addictions should be offered by church pastors to all persons that have sexual addictions and the ones that have the potential of struggling with sexual perversions. The church should work to enhance psycho-social therapies to help members of their congregation and others who have sexual addictions.

Technology-Mediated Sexual Interactions, Social Anxiety, and Sexual Wellbeing: A Scoping Review.

Technology-mediated sexual interactions (TMSI) are interpersonal exchanges via technology of self-created sexual material, including photos, videos, and auditory or text messages. There is little research on the factors that predict both TMSI experiences and their sexual wellbeing outcomes. Social anxiety is anxiety experienced in response to social or performance situations. From a cognitive–behavioural perspective, people higher in social anxiety may avoid TMSI, preventing positive or negative consequences. They also may use TMSI to avoid the anxiety caused by in-person sexual interactions, benefiting from access to sexual interactions while perpetuating anxiety about them. The purpose of this scoping review was to explore the role of social anxiety in TMSI and its sexual wellbeing outcomes. We executed a comprehensive search strategy across eight academic databases and searched reference lists of included articles. We included 19 articles written in English or French that had a human sample and were published between 1991 and 2021 and evaluated connections between social anxiety constructs (e.g., shyness, anxiety) and TMSI-related experiences (e.g., sexting, internet sex addiction). The pattern of results suggested that social anxiety constructs may predict some but not all forms of TMSI. Future research from a cognitive–behavioural perspective will expand knowledge on social anxiety, TMSI, and its sexual wellbeing outcomes.