Understanding the Roles of Shame and Neuroticism in a Patient Sample of Hypersexual Men

Abstract

Although shame and facets of neuroticism have independently been linked to hypersexuality, the present study extends these findings by exploring pathways among these variables, using structural equation modeling in a patient sample of hypersexual adult men (N = 95). Results suggested that the domain of neuroticism, as represented by the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised, was a significant direct predictor of hypersexuality, with specific variance from the facet of impulsivity adding additional predictive power. Shame's bivariate association with hypersexuality was also significant, but in a predictive path model the effect of shame on hypersexuality was indirectly mediated through neuroticism and was not an independently significant predictor. Implications for treatment suggest that clinicians working with this population should evaluate precipitating risk factors to consider whether shame is activating neurotic coping or if other stressors might be influencing emotional instability that can trigger hypersexuality. Independent of the general distress associated with neuroticism, the literature on impulsivity might provide other valuable insights and direction for working with hypersexual men.

Religiosity, Developmental Context, and Sexual Shame in Pornography Users: A Serial Mediation Model

“…Generally, these users have no concomitant clinical diagnosis and regard their use as somewhere between very positive and very negative. The subset of users who view their use as definitively negative may experience a degree of emotional distress that is associated with hypersexual behavior and addiction (Reid, 2010;Reid, Cooper, Prause, Li, & Fong, 2012;Reid, Stein, & Carpenter, 2011). The beliefs pornography users have about their use is an important factor in how that use either negatively or positively impacts them.…”

Psychometric development of the hypersexual behavior consequences scale

“…This increased interest highlights the need to more clearly elucidate the etiology and associated features of HD including possible health risks associated with sexually transmitted infections (Coleman et al, 2010;Dodge, Reece, Cole & Sandfort, 2004;Grov, Parsons & Bimbi, 2010;Parsons, Grov & Colub, 2012). In previous studies, patients have reported emotional distress, employment difficulties, relationship problems, legal issues, and demoralization as a result of their engagement in hypersexual behavior (Black, Kehrberg, Flumerfelt & Schlosser, 1997;Muench et al, 2007;Reid, Stein & Carpenter, 2011;Reid & Woolley, 2006). Wives have also reported that their marriages have been adversely affected by their husbands' hypersexual behavior (Reid, Carpenter, Draper & Manning, 2010).…”

Sexual Impulsivity in Hypersexual Men

“…Despite these shortcomings, impulsivity has been consistently associated with hypersexual behavior. For example, hypersexual behavior has been positively linked with a self-report measure of impulsiveness [9] and has been shown to predict levels of hypersexuality beyond the variance associated with facets of emotional dysregulation such as anxiety, depression, and stress proneness [10].…”