NCJ Number
202262
Journal
Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment Volume: 15 Issue: 4 Dated: October 2003 Pages: 307-321
Date Published
October 2003
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article assesses unconventional and conventional sexual behavior with special attention to hypersexual desire in males.
Abstract
This study assessed the current sexual behavior (fantasies, urges, and activities) and sexual preoccupation associated with both conventional or unconventional sexual behavior. The first hypothesis of this study was on the basis of the findings of an earlier study. It stated that the paraphilias (PA) and paraphilia-related disorders (PRD) groups would not differ in temporal measures of total sexual outlet (TSO) either at baseline or across the life span. The average male would report current time spent in PA/PRD activities at about 1 to 2 hours per day at baseline assessment. Also, it was hypothesized that males with the highest cumulative number of lifetime PAs and/or PRD diagnoses would disproportionately include a subgroup of paraphilic sex offenders with multiple PAs that would self-report the highest lifetime hypersexual TSO as well as the highest current TSO and greater sexual preoccupation at baseline. The participants were 120 consecutively evaluated outpatient males seeking treatment for PAs or PRDs in private practice. Hypersexual desire is defined as the highest sustained period (at least 6 months minimum duration) of persistently enacted sexual behavior. These data replicate and extend the data previously suggesting an operational definition for male hypersexual desire. In this sample, the sexual appetitive variables assessed were not statistically significantly different between PA and PRD groups. The only reported difference was a trend that the PA group self-reported an earlier age of onset of high frequency repetitive enactment of sexual behavior in comparison with the PRDs. Both groups typically self-reported multiple lifetime sexual diagnoses, most commonly accompanied by compulsive masturbation. Masturbation was the predominant sexual outlet over the life span in this sample. A hypersexual TSO had a mean duration of 12 years and typically started during middle adolescence (age 15) in this sample. The characterization of PAs and PRDs as hypersexual conditions associated with persistently increased sexual appetitive behaviors is conceptually useful. 4 tables, 41 references