Gender-related differences in the associations between sexual impulsivity and psychiatric disorders
Section snippets
Background
Impulsivity has been defined as ‘a predisposition toward rapid, unplanned reactions to internal or external stimuli with diminished regard to the negative consequences of these reactions to the impulsive individual or to others’ (Moeller et al., 2001, Potenza and de Wit, 2010). Given that general impulsivity has been associated with multiple adverse consequences, it has been proposed and investigated as an important intermediate phenotype (Fineberg et al., 2014). Impulsivity has been associated
NESARC sample
The NESARC, sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (Grant et al., 2001), is a nationally representative survey of US adults that was conducted in two waves. The study surveyed individuals aged ≥18 years (at Wave 1, conducted in 2001–2002) in the civilian non-institutionalized population living in households and group quarters. Black and Hispanic households were over-sampled as well as surveyees aged 18–24 years. Face-to-face personal interviews were conducted with
Bivariate associations between SI and socio-demographic characteristics, by gender
Among both women and men, SI was associated with marital status, employment, and age (Table 1). Specifically, SI was positively associated with being unmarried, full-time work, and younger age.
Gender-related differences in the prevalence of SI
The prevalence estimate of SI in the total sample was 14.7%. Men were more likely than women to acknowledge SI (18.9% vs. 10.9%; = 104.8, p < 0.0001).
SI and the prevalence of Axis I and Axis II disorders, overall and by gender
Sixty-one percent (N = 3157) of individuals with SI had one or more Axis-I disorder, and 46.2% had one or more Axis-II disorder (Table 2). Among women
Discussion
The present study represents the first to our knowledge to investigate systematically the prevalence of SI in a nationally representative sample of adults, the relationships between SI and psychopathology in women and men, and gender-related differences in the associations between psychiatric disorders and SI. The findings largely support our a priori hypotheses that men would be more likely than women to report SI, psychiatric disorders would be found in association with SI in women and men,
Disclosures
Dr. Potenza has consulted for Lundbeck and Ironwood pharmaceuticals; has had financial interests in Somaxon pharmaceuticals; received research support from Mohegan Sun Casino, Psyadon pharmaceuticals, the National Center for Responsible Gambling, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Veterans Administration; has participated in surveys, mailings, or telephone consultations related to drug addiction, impulse-control disorders, or other health topics; has consulted for gambling, legal and
Role of the funding source
The findings do not necessarily reflect those of the funding agencies and the funding agencies did not review or provide input into the content of this manuscript.
Contributors
Dr. Erez and Prof. Potenza designed the study. Dr. Erez wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Dr. Pilver conducted the statistical analyses. All authors contributed to the manuscript and approved the final version.
Conflicts of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interests.
Acknowledgments
Dr. Erez would like to thank Dr. Shmuel Kron, Prof. Alan Apter and Dr. Gidi Ratzoni for enabling collaborative work between Shalvata Mental Health Center and Yale University in this study.
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2020, Journal of Sexual MedicineCitation Excerpt :Estimates of hypersexuality have been reported to range from approximately 3% to 6% of U.S. adults,27 with some authors reporting hypersexuality in 3% of men and 1% of women.28 Recently, in nationally representative samples of U.S. adults, “clinically relevant levels of distress and/or impairment associated with difficulty controlling sexual feelings, urges, and behaviors” have been reported in 8.6% of individuals, and “sexual impulsivity” in 14.7%.29,30 In addition, there are vast differences in the definitions for sexual abuse, particularly concerning CSA,31 largely dependent on the specific behaviors considered (contact vs non-contact, touching vs penetration, etc) and the ages at which such events were experienced.1,32,33
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