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

Abstract

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.

Collegiate Sexual Addiction: Exploring Religious Coping and Attachment

“…Specifically, DSM-5 reviewers had concerns about the misuse of an HD diagnosis in evaluations of sexually violent predators for civil commitments (Kafka, ). Thus, we sought to examine sexual addiction in a population reported to experience elevated levels—the college population (Cashwell, Giordano, Lewis, Wachtel, & Bartley, ; Giordano & Cecil, ; Seegers, )—with the aim of continuing the research in the field of compulsive sexual behavior.…”

BODIES: A Short Sex Addiction Screening Tool for College Students

“…Although the PATHOS questionnaire was developed as a short screen for sex addiction (Carnes et al, 2012), it may be more suited for older populations. Cashwell et al (2015) used the PATHOS with 379 undergraduate students and found low internal consistency (Kuder–Richardson formula 20 = .51) among item scores. Specifically, the college sample minimally endorsed the treatment item (i.e., “Have you ever sought help for sexual behavior you did not like?”), which is understandable given that individuals with sex addiction may not experience negative consequences severe enough to prompt help‐seeking behavior until their 40s and 50s (Kafka, 2014).…”

“…Specifically, the college sample minimally endorsed the treatment item (i.e., “Have you ever sought help for sexual behavior you did not like?”), which is understandable given that individuals with sex addiction may not experience negative consequences severe enough to prompt help‐seeking behavior until their 40s and 50s (Kafka, 2014). Also, the ashamed item (i.e., “Do you hide some of your sexual behavior from others?”) may have developmentally appropriate, rather than addictive, implications for traditional‐age college students who are engaging in sexual behaviors for the first time (i.e., privacy from parents rather than secrecy from a partner; Cashwell et al, 2015). Therefore, a screening measure developed specifically to assess sex addiction among college students may assist college counselors in the identification and treatment of sexually compulsive behavior.…”

“…Furthermore, using the Sexual Addiction Screening Test-Revised (SAST-R; Carnes, Green, & Carnes, 2010) with a sample of 326 college students, Giordano, Cashwell, Lankford, King, and Henson (2017) found that 18.2% of the men and 15.6% of the women scored in the clinical range. Finally, Cashwell, Giordano, Lewis, Wachtel, and Bartley (2015) found that 21.2% of the male college students and 6.7% of the female students in their sample endorsed three or more items on the PATHOS (Preoccupied, Ashamed, Treatment, Hurt others, Out of control, Sad) questionnaire (Carnes et al, 2012). Thus, using multiple measures, researchers have found considerable rates of sex addiction among college samples.…”

“…Also, the ashamed item (i.e., "Do you hide some of your sexual behavior from others?") may have developmentally appropriate, rather than addictive, implications for traditional-age college students who are engaging in sexual behaviors for the first time (i.e., privacy from parents rather than secrecy from a partner; Cashwell et al, 2015). Therefore, a screening measure developed specifically to assess sex addiction among college students may assist college counselors in the identification and treatment of sexually compulsive behavior.…”