Validation and Psychometric Evaluation of the Italian Version of the Bergen–Yale Sex Addiction Scale

Abstract

Excessive problematic sexual behavior in the form of compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD), hypersexuality (HS), and sex addiction has gained increasing credibility in recent years and has led to the development of various psychometric instruments to assess such behavior. However, there is still considerable controversy over the operational definition of such concepts and whether they can be used interchangeably to describe the behavior. One recently developed tool is the Bergen–Yale Sex Addiction Scale (BYSAS) based on the “components model of addiction.” The present study validated the Italian version of the BYSAS. The BYSAS was administered to a large Italian-speaking sample of Italian adults [N = 1230, aged 18 to 67 years] along with psychometric instruments assessing the “Big Five” personality traits, self-esteem, depression, and two other measures of addictive sexual behavior (i.e., PATHOS and Shorter PROMIS Questionnaire–Sex Subscale). Confirmatory factorial analysis supported a one-factor solution. Furthermore, the scale had good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.787). The BYSAS was positively associated with extroversion, openness to experience, depression, and problematic sexual behavior, and negatively associated with self-esteem, conscientiousness, emotional stability, agreeableness, and age. Based on the findings, the BYSAS is a brief, psychometrically reliable and valid measure for assessing sex addiction among Italian adults.

Common Features in Compulsive Sexual Behavior, Substance Use Disorders, Personality, Temperament, and Attachment—A Narrative Review

“…To date, a few dozen studies have been published on the correlation between SUD and the big five personality traits [ 6 , 51 , 52 ]. In contrast, only 9 studies correlated compulsive sexual behavior and the big five personality traits [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ], and only one study compared SUD and people with compulsive sexual behavior directly [ 4 ]. Table 1 summarizes the main findings.…”

“…However, studies that were published since then did not reveal significant associations between SUD and extraversion. Similarly, the findings on people with compulsive sexual behavior are also equivocal such that some do not find any association [ 4 , 5 , 53 , 55 , 56 , 63 ], one found lower extraversion [ 61 ], and two, higher [ 54 , 57 ]. Thus, a meta-analysis regarding the correlation with extraversion is warranted to examine the role of extraversion in addictions.…”

Comparison of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, decision–making, and attention control in individuals with sex addiction and normal people

“…The questionnaire components include physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. The questionnaire is scored on a 5-point Likert scale, with the following scores: strongly disagree,[ 1 ] disagree,[ 2 ] neutral,[ 3 ] agree,[ 4 ] and strongly agree. [ 5 ] The reliability of the questionnaire in the Iranian sample is 0.86, and its validity is 0.61.…”

“…Addiction is a type of chronic psychological disorder that results in numerous motivational disorders and defects in behavior control. [ 1 ] A disorder that impacts every facet of one disorder and results in numerous motivational disorders significantly accounts for individuals in their immediate surroundings. Affected people frequently exhibit tardiness in their workplace to acquire the addictive substance and exhibit inadequate or malfunction performance.…”

The Relationship Between Sex Addiction and Shame Moderated by Overt and Covert Narcissism in a Gender-Balanced Adult Sample

“…Self-esteem is a well-known psychological trait that essentially refers to a person's perception of themselves (Burger, 2006), and global self-worth (Marsh & Craven, 2006). Sex addiction has been negatively associated with self-esteem (Badii et al, 2020;Doornwaard et al, 2016;Soraci et al, 2021), with researchers suggesting that interacting in multiple sexual activities can either increase or decrease the levels of self-esteem (Andreassen et al, 2018). In narcissism, these individuals tend to display high levels of self-esteem (Twenge & Campbell, 2009), but different variations of self-esteem can lead to grandiosity changes in those displaying high narcissistic tendencies (Ronningstam, 2010).…”