The Development and Validation of the Bergen–Yale Sex Addiction Scale With a Large National Sample

Abstract

The view that problematic excessive sexual behavior ("sex addiction") is a form of behavioral addiction has gained more credence in recent years, but there is still considerable controversy regarding operationalization of the concept. Furthermore, most previous studies have relied on small clinical samples. The present study presents a new method for assessing sex addiction-the Bergen-Yale Sex Addiction Scale (BYSAS)-based on established addiction components (i.e., salience/craving, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict/problems, and relapse/loss of control). Using a cross-sectional survey, the BYSAS was administered to a broad national sample of 23,533 Norwegian adults [aged 16-88 years; mean (± SD) age = 35.8 ± 13.3 years], together with validated measures of the Big Five personality traits, narcissism, self-esteem, and a measure of sexual addictive behavior. Both an exploratory and a confirmatory factor analysis (RMSEA = 0.046, CFI = 0.998, TLI = 0.996) supported a one-factor solution, although a local dependence between two items (Items 1 and 2) was detected. Furthermore, the scale had good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.83). The BYSAS correlated significantly with the reference scale (r = 0.52), and demonstrated similar patterns of convergent and discriminant validity. The BYSAS was positively related to extroversion, neuroticism, intellect/imagination, and narcissism, and negatively related to conscientiousness, agreeableness, and self-esteem. High scores on the BYSAS were more prevalent among those who were men, single, of younger age, and with higher education. The BYSAS is a brief, and psychometrically reliable and valid measure for assessing sex addiction. However, further validation of the BYSAS is needed in other countries and contexts.

The psychometric properties of the Bergen–Yale Sex Addiction Scale for the Iranian population

“…Specifically, we found single factor accounted for 62.31% of the total variance. Also, the instrument yielded high content validity that was consistent with previous studies, despite different sample sizes, race or cultures, and different translations (such as the study According to the psychometric properties of this study, it shows that BYSAS was highly test-retest reliable (2-week) for screening of sexual addiction and Cronbach's alpha was for internal consistency coefficient of 0.88 and for the intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.89 that was higher than the values obtained in previous reliable studies (9,16). In addition, the positive and significant correlations found in the Christon et al, study that indicated the high reliability of BYSAS.…”

“…Moreover, the results concerning the one-factor structure analysis model with six subscales are consistent with the previous studies funding from Norway (9) and Italy (17) that investigated the psychometric properties of the instrument. Also, our study indicated that the favorable relationship of all markers of the model with their substrates and strong association between its subscales, and appears suitable for the evaluating of the partial and general indices and specifically known for sexual addiction.…”

“…In the general population, 15-61% of people was estimated as sex-addicted (8), that sexual addiction was assessed with various questionnaires (9)(10)(11). The Bergen-Yale Sex Addiction Scale (BYSAS) is a short self-report instrument that specifically measures sexual addiction and it is available in English and Norwegian languages.…”

“…The Bergen-Yale Sex Addiction Scale (BYSAS) is a short self-report instrument that specifically measures sexual addiction and it is available in English and Norwegian languages. Andreassen and colleagues developed and validated this scale in 2018 (9).…”

Role of Personality Characteristics and Sexual Orientation in the Risk for Sexual Addiction Among Israeli Men: Validation of a Hebrew Sex Addiction Scale

“…The aim was to extend Andreassen et al's (2018) study to Israeli men by assessing the relationship between personality traits and the risk of sexual addiction, as well as extending their work by determining whether the risk for sexual addiction is associated with sexual orientation. Given that the present study was conducted with Israeli men, the instrument developed by Andreassen et al (2018), the BYSAS, had to be translated and validated in Hebrew, serving another objective of the study. Additionally, two hypotheses were tested in the present study: (i) neuroticism would be positively related and conscientiousness would be negatively related to the risk of sexual addiction, and (ii) the risk for sexual addiction, as based on BYSAS scores, would differ among heterosexuals, bisexuals, and gay men.…”