"Out of Control" Sex: Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder

Some adults feel highly distressed about their porn use. In most of these cases, the root cause of the problem can be traced back to shame or moral conflicts surrounding porn. At the same time, however, not all porn problems stem from moral issues. For some folks, the problem is that they have what’s known as compulsive sexual behavior disorder, which involves “out of control” behavior relating to porn use or other sex acts. This is the final installment of a four-part series on the science of porn and, today, we’re going to do a deep dive into compulsive sexual behavior.

I am joined once again by Dr. Joshua Grubbs, a clinical psychologist and associate professor in the Clinical Psychology program at Bowling Green State University. Josh will soon be joining the faculty in the Clinical Science PhD Program at the University of New Mexico and the Center for Alcohol, Substance use and Addiction. He conducts research on addiction, personality, and morality, he has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles.

Some of the specific topics we discuss include:

• Compulsive sexual behavior, hypersexuality, and sex addiction are all terms that get thrown around when people report problems stemming from porn use. Which one should we be using?
• What might compulsive sexual behavior disorder look like in everyday life?
• What constitutes “too much” when it comes to porn use or sex?
• How common is compulsive sexual behavior? Is there a gender difference in it?
• What might a typical treatment approach look like for compulsive sexual behavior?

Learn more about Josh on his website, and follow him on Twitter @JoshuaGrubbsPhD.

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