Compulsive sexual behavior disorder in an inpatient sample with substance use disorder.

Background

Several studies indicate that compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) shares core elements with substance use disorder (SUD). These findings support the assumption of common mechanisms in addiction, which may lead to a higher tendency in patients with SUD to have comorbid CSBD. Nevertheless, this relationship between CSBD and SUD is poorly understood to date.

Aim

This study aimed to compare the prevalence of CSBD and its subtype pornography use disorder (PUD) between a SUD group and a matched control group. Herein, we aimed to test whether patients with SUD are more likely to have a comorbid CSBD/PUD. We further hypothesized that a higher CSBD/PUD prevalence in patients with SUD is accompanied by more pronounced CSBD- and PUD-related personal characteristics.

Methods

We assessed CSBD, PUD, and related personal characteristics in an inpatient SUD sample (

Outcomes

Primary outcomes were the diagnoses of CSBD/PUD as assessed by questionnaires. CSBD/PUD-related personal characteristics were the early onset of problematic pornography consumption, relationship status as a single person, a high sexual motivation, a high level of time spent watching pornography, and a high degree of problematic pornography consumption (Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale, short version).

Results

There was no significant difference between groups regarding CSBD prevalence (SUD sample, 3.3%; control sample, 7.6%) and PUD prevalence (SUD sample, 2.2%; control sample, 6.5%). We found relationship status as a single person and the sexual motivation dimension of importance of sex to be the only CSBD-related personal characteristics that were more pronounced in the SUD sample than the matched control group.

Clinical Implications

Results indicate no higher tendency for patients with SUD to develop comorbid CSBD/PUD, yet important vulnerabilities (eg, emotional dysregulation) should be considered when treating addictive disorder to prevent possible symptom displacement.

Strengths and Limitations

A strength of the study is that we compared a sample of patients with SUD with a matched control sample and used an instrument based on

Conclusion

We found no evidence of an overcomorbidity of SUD and CSBD/PUD. However, a higher rate of vulnerability factors for CSBD/PUD in the SUD sample might suggest some similarities between SUD and CSBD/PUD.

Informations de copyright

© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society of Sexual Medicine.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors report no conflicts of interest.