Coping strategies used by hypersexual patients to defend against the painful effects of shame

Self Cite

This article reports the findings of a study investigating which facets of psychopathology are most strongly associated with hypersexual behavior among a patient sample (N = 151). Psychopathology was measured using the Restructured Clinical scales and the PSY-5 scales of the MMPI-2, and hypersexual behavior was measured using the Sexual Compulsivity Scale. Regression analysis revealed that Demoralization was the strongest predictor of scores on a measure of hypersexuality, with Hypomanic Activation on the RC scales and Disconstraint on the PSY-5 scales making additional modest, but statistically significant, contributions. Although some MMPI-2 scales were significantly elevated, an important finding of the current investigation is the lack of elevations across many MMPI-2 scales. The results of these findings are addressed and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Demoralization, Hypomanic Activation, and Disconstraint Scores on MMPI-2 Scales as Significant Predictors of Hypersexual Behavior

Reid

Carpenter

2009

Self Cite

“…Researchers have identified problematic sexual behaviors among both males (Lee, Ritchey, Forbey, & Gaither, 2009;Reid, Harper, & Anderson, 2009) and females (Seegers, 2003). Therefore, we sought to investigate the results of the PATHOS questionnaire among male and female college students.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using the PATHOS Questionnaire for Screening Sexual Addiction Among College Students: A Preliminary Exploration

Cashwell

Giordano

Lewis

et al. 2015

Researchers posit that sexual addiction often develops in young adulthood (Goodman, 2005), the time when many individuals are in college. The PATHOS screening questionnaire (Carnes et al., 2012) may be a helpful resource for counselors working with collegiate populations to identify those in need of further assessment for sexual addiction. We collected data from 379 undergraduate students and found that 21.2% of males and 6.7% of females endorsed 3 or more items on the PATHOS, suggesting a need for additional assessment. We discuss implications and limitations of these findings and highlight the need for additional research on college populations.

“…Indeed, some theory and research has posited hypersexual behavior may be used to compensate for unpleasant affect states, including maladaptive shame (Adams & Robinson, 2001;Reid, Harper, & Anderson, 2009). Patrick Carnes outlined the link between sexual addiction and negative affect in a model he termed the addictive cycle (Carnes, 2001).…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Self-Forgiveness and Hypersexual Behavior

Hook

Farrell

Davis

et al. 2015

Although initial research on treatment for hypersexual behavior has had promising results, there has been little work that explicates the theoretical rationale for various treatment strategies. Self-forgiveness may be one strategy to help individuals with hypersexual behavior work through maladaptive shame and guilt. The present study explored the role of self-forgiveness in hypersexual behavior. Participants (N = 187) reported a time in which they had violated their sexual values and completed measures of self-forgiveness, shame/guilt, and hypersexual behavior. Selfforgiveness was negatively related to hypersexual behavior. Selfforgiveness was also negatively related to shame/guilt. The association between self-forgiveness and hypersexual behavior was mediated by shame/guilt.