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Sexual addiction

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sexual addiction is when people engage in sexual activities, especially sexual intercourse, even if this has negative consequences for them.[1] Some scientists believe it is one of several sex-related disorders within an umbrella concept known as hypersexual disorder.[2] The term sexual dependence is also used to refer to people who report being unable to control their sexual urges, behaviors, or thoughts. Other related models of pathological sexual behavior include hypersexuality (nymphomania and satyriasis), erotomania, Don Juanism (or Don Juanitaism), and paraphilia-related disorders.[3][4][5]

Not all people agree that the condition sexual addicion exists.[6][7] There is considerable debate among psychiatrists, psychologists, sexologists, and other specialists whether compulsive sexual behavior constitutes an addiction. They also disagree about its classification and possible diagnosis. Research on animals has shown that compulsive sexual behavior uses the same mechanism of action that is also responsible for drug addiction in laboratory animals. As of 2018, neither the DSM or ICD medical classifications recognise sexual addiction as a valid diagnosis.

References

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  1. Malenka RC, Nestler EJ, Hyman SE (2009). "Chapter 15: Reinforcement and Addictive Disorders". In Sydor A, Brown RY (eds.). Molecular Neuropharmacology: A Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Medical. pp. 364–365, 375. ISBN 9780071481274. The defining feature of addiction is compulsive, out-of-control drug use, despite negative consequences. ...
    compulsive eating, shopping, gambling, and sex–so-called "natural addictions"– ... Indeed, addiction to both drugs and behavioral rewards may arise from similar dysregulation of the mesolimbic dopamine system.
  2. Karila L, Wéry A, Weinstein A, Cottencin O, Petit A, Reynaud M, Billieux J (2014). "Sexual addiction or hypersexual disorder: different terms for the same problem? A review of the literature". Curr. Pharm. Des. 20 (25): 4012–20. doi:10.2174/13816128113199990619. PMID 24001295. S2CID 19042860. Sexual addiction, which is also known as hypersexual disorder, has largely been ignored by psychiatrists, even though the condition causes serious psychosocial problems for many people. A lack of empirical evidence on sexual addiction is the result of the disease's complete absence from versions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. ... Existing prevalence rates of sexual addiction-related disorders range from 3% to 6%. Sexual addiction/hypersexual disorder is used as an umbrella construct to encompass various types of problematic behaviors, including excessive masturbation, cybersex, pornography use, sexual behavior with consenting adults, telephone sex, strip club visitation, and other behaviors. The adverse consequences of sexual addiction are similar to the consequences of other addictive disorders. Addictive, somatic and psychiatric disorders coexist with sexual addiction. In recent years, research on sexual addiction has proliferated, and screening instruments have increasingly been developed to diagnose or quantify sexual addiction disorders. In our systematic review of the existing measures, 22 questionnaires were identified. As with other behavioral addictions, the appropriate treatment of sexual addiction should combine pharmacological and psychological approaches.
  3. Coleman, Eli (June–July 2003). "Compulsive Sexual Behavior: What to Call It, How to Treat It?" (PDF). SIECUS Report. The Debate: Sexual Addiction and Compulsion. 31 (5): 12–16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  4. Coleman, E. (2011). "Chapter 28. Impulsive/compulsive sexual behavior: Assessment and treatment". In Grant, Jon E.; Potenza, Marc N. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Impulse Control Disorders. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 375. ISBN 9780195389715.
  5. Carnes, Patrick (1994). Contrary to Love: Helping the Sexual Addict. Hazelden Publishing. p. 28. ISBN 1568380593.
  6. Birchard T, Benfield J, eds. (2017). "1.3, Sexual addiction: Terminology, definitions and conceptualisation". Routledge International Handbook of Sexual Addiction. Routledge. ISBN 978-1317274254. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  7. Hall, Paula (2014-01-02). "Sex addiction – an extraordinarily contentious problem". Sexual and Relationship Therapy. 29 (1): 68–75. doi:10.1080/14681994.2013.861898. ISSN 1468-1994. S2CID 145015659.