Is Sex an Addiction?

By: Kelly DawaldMinnesota State University Moorhead

Brief Overview

AddictionSex AddictionTwo Sides of DebateEvaluation of SidesConclusion

What is Addiction?Definition of addiction according to the

DSM-III-R (Goodman, 1990)

– Powerlessness & UnmanageabilityWebster’s Definition of addiction (2006)

– Psychological or physiological dependence on anything; a compulsion.

Permanent Disorder of the Brain (Psychology Today, 2004)

What is Sex Addiction?

Sexual activity that goes beyond normal practices to point of losing control (Ewald, 2003)

ConsequencesAddicted to neuro-chemical changes

Sexual Addiction15 million people affected in U.S.

(Carnes)Characteristics of sex addiction (

www.sexaddictionhelp.com)– Sex is shameful– Sex is a secret (e.g. Pastors)– Sexual behavior is abusive

Stems from an unhealthy childhood (Ewald, 2003)

Sexual Addiction (Cont’d)

Narcissistic Personality (Birchard, 2004)

– Carried into adulthood– Try to find ways to reduce pain, may turn

into an addictionWhy addicted to sex?

– Preoccupation with sex– Prevalence of sex in childhood

Sexual Addiction (Cont’d)

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (DSM-IV-TR)

– Need for admiration– Fantasies– Interpersonally exploitative – Arrogant behaviors

Addiction Cycle

Four Stage Cycle (Hall, 2006)

– Preoccupation Stage– Ritualization Stage– Engaging in Sexual Act– Despair– Repeat…

Media and the Internet

Sex is everywhere (Longo-Disse, 2006)

Sex sells!Accessibility to sex on internet

– 4.2 million porn sites, 12% of all websites (Hall, 2006)

“Virtual Cheating” (Daneback et al., 2006)

DSM-IV-TR Dependence

Criteria for dependence (Hagedorn & Juhnke, 2005)

– Certain drugs listed don’t have any physiological dependence

– 3 of 7 criteria has to be met– Tolerance and withdrawal not essential

‘Sex Addiction’ Evaluation

Stems from childhood Means of coping with psychological pain Definition of addiction Narcissistic Personality traits Sex can be related to substances that are

actually diagnosed as dependence

Labeling Perspective

Mental illnesses are culturally constructed because of ideas that deviate from the norm (Levine & Troiden, 1988)

Nominal Fallacy: give something a name to understand it– Circular Reasoning

Explanation for Mental Disorders

Constructed by health professionals to create order in society (Levine & Troiden, 1988)

Placing stigmatizing labels to behaviors out of the norm

Feel better about the unknown when it has a name– Sense of understanding

Addiction

Affected by certain primary factors (Peele, 2000)

– Cultural Social & Ethnic Factors

– Situational Traumatic, Developmental, & Ritualistic Factors

– Cognitive Beliefs & Social Learning

– Values Stable & Evolving Values

‘Sex is not an Addiction’ Evaluation

Mental disorders are socially constructed

Created to enforce conformity in societyAddiction is based off of your values

Conclusion

Still a heated debateSex as an addiction has more scientific

reasoningDiscussion of including sexual addiction

and compulsivity into DSM-V (Delmonico, 2005)

Additional research needed

THE END

Thank YouQuestions?