Debate

It has been argued that compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) similar to pathological gambling (PG), meets the criteria for addiction. There is evidence showing that compulsive sexual behavior has the characteristics of addiction such as salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal and adverse consequences. There are studies that have shown that exposure to visual sexual stimuli in individuals with compulsive sexual behavior is associated with activation of reward mechanisms similar to drug addiction. Cross-sectional studies report high rates of co-morbidity between compulsive sexual behavior and other psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and personality disorders. However, despite many similarities between the features of hypersexual behavior and substance-related disorders there are gaps in our knowledge on compulsive sexual behavior and its treatment which precludes a definite conclusion that this is a behavioral addiction rather than an impulse control disorder. Therefore, more research is needed before definitively characterizing HD as an addiction at this time. This talk will review the empirical evidence and it will summarize the arguments against considering sexual addiction as a behavioral addiction (the cons side).