Hypersexuality and Trauma: a mediation and moderation model from psychopathology to problematic sexual behavior

Is Compulsive Sexual Behavior Different in Women Compared to Men?

“…In an attempt to further conceptualize CSB, many studies regarding psychiatric comorbidities and psychological traits have been conducted. In the studies reviewed CSB has been reported to have correlations with perfectionism [ 45 ], paraphilias and sexual dysfunction [ 30 , 46 ], mood disorders (e.g., anxiety and depression) [ 26 , 35 , 38 , 41 , 47 , 48 ], experience of childhood sexual abuse [ 47 , 49 , 50 ], OCD [ 35 , 41 ], Autism Spectrum Disorder [ 42 ], general emotional dysregulation [ 31 ], substance abuse [ 43 , 44 ], maladaptive schemata [ 51 ], excitement seeking in general [ 45 , 52 ], compulsivity and impulsivity [ 47 , 49 , 53 ], high sexual arousal/excitation [ 25 ], higher neuroticism [ 47 ], avoidant coping mechanisms [ 54 ], high rates of psychiatric comorbidity in general [ 38 ], high distress rates and negative emotions [ 14 ], boredom [ 48 ], general childhood adversities and trauma [ 30 , 33 , 43 , 49 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ], pathological buying [ 37 ], insecure attachment style [ 60 , 61 , 62 ] and risky sexual behavior [ 32 ] in both genders.…”

“…Often discussed antecedents to CSB include childhood adversities and trauma, which were investigated in ten of the reviewed studies [ 30 , 33 , 43 , 49 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ] of which six investigated gender differences. One study [ 30 ] found a correlation between the HDSI and a history of sexual abuse (β = 0.144 and p = 0.001) in women but not in men.…”

“…In this sample, CSA/AASA impacted CSB in men more strongly than in women. Likewise, Fontanesi et al [ 55 ] reported an effect of post-traumatic stress symptoms on CSB with the male gender being a risk factor in the development of CSB. In contrast to these findings, some studies reported no gender effects.…”

“…One often-discussed pathway in the development of CSB is via experiences of childhood adversities or a history of sexual abuse [ 30 , 33 , 43 , 49 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ]. The picture on if and how childhood adversities affect genders differently is still inconclusive.…”

Male Sexual Health and Sexual Behaviors during the First National COVID-19 Lockdown in a Western Country: A Real-Life, Web-Based Study

“…Once again, it is likely that people look for a coping mechanism to reduce anxiety and likely depression symptoms [22] either by pornography and masturbation during lockdown or by casual or paid sex during the post-lockdown phase. However, to some extent, it can also be hypothesized that this lust for sex may reach, in some subjects, the traits of hypersexual behavior characterized by compulsivity and obsession towards sex [79,80] in spite of the potential risks to one's own health; since hypersexuality is a known reaction to trauma [81], this finding would be in agreement with the assumption of COVID-19 as a traumatic event [9][10][11]. Overall, these findings would also explain the return to pre-lockdown levels for queries pertaining to casual or paid sex or for search volume for proerectile treatments following the end of restriction measures.…”