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Is Sex an Addiction?
By: Kelly DawaldMinnesota State University Moorhead
Brief Overview
AddictionSex AddictionTwo Sides of DebateEvaluation of SidesConclusion
What is Addiction?Definition of addiction according to the
DSM-III-R (Goodman, 1990)
– Powerlessness & UnmanageabilityWebster’s Definition of addiction (2006)
– Psychological or physiological dependence on anything; a compulsion.
Permanent Disorder of the Brain (Psychology Today, 2004)
What is Sex Addiction?
Sexual activity that goes beyond normal practices to point of losing control (Ewald, 2003)
ConsequencesAddicted to neuro-chemical changes
Sexual Addiction15 million people affected in U.S.
(Carnes)Characteristics of sex addiction (
www.sexaddictionhelp.com)– Sex is shameful– Sex is a secret (e.g. Pastors)– Sexual behavior is abusive
Stems from an unhealthy childhood (Ewald, 2003)
Sexual Addiction (Cont’d)
Narcissistic Personality (Birchard, 2004)
– Carried into adulthood– Try to find ways to reduce pain, may turn
into an addictionWhy addicted to sex?
– Preoccupation with sex– Prevalence of sex in childhood
Sexual Addiction (Cont’d)
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (DSM-IV-TR)
– Need for admiration– Fantasies– Interpersonally exploitative – Arrogant behaviors
Addiction Cycle
Four Stage Cycle (Hall, 2006)
– Preoccupation Stage– Ritualization Stage– Engaging in Sexual Act– Despair– Repeat…
Media and the Internet
Sex is everywhere (Longo-Disse, 2006)
Sex sells!Accessibility to sex on internet
– 4.2 million porn sites, 12% of all websites (Hall, 2006)
“Virtual Cheating” (Daneback et al., 2006)
DSM-IV-TR Dependence
Criteria for dependence (Hagedorn & Juhnke, 2005)
– Certain drugs listed don’t have any physiological dependence
– 3 of 7 criteria has to be met– Tolerance and withdrawal not essential
‘Sex Addiction’ Evaluation
Stems from childhood Means of coping with psychological pain Definition of addiction Narcissistic Personality traits Sex can be related to substances that are
actually diagnosed as dependence
Labeling Perspective
Mental illnesses are culturally constructed because of ideas that deviate from the norm (Levine & Troiden, 1988)
Nominal Fallacy: give something a name to understand it– Circular Reasoning
Explanation for Mental Disorders
Constructed by health professionals to create order in society (Levine & Troiden, 1988)
Placing stigmatizing labels to behaviors out of the norm
Feel better about the unknown when it has a name– Sense of understanding
Addiction
Affected by certain primary factors (Peele, 2000)
– Cultural Social & Ethnic Factors
– Situational Traumatic, Developmental, & Ritualistic Factors
– Cognitive Beliefs & Social Learning
– Values Stable & Evolving Values
‘Sex is not an Addiction’ Evaluation
Mental disorders are socially constructed
Created to enforce conformity in societyAddiction is based off of your values
Conclusion
Still a heated debateSex as an addiction has more scientific
reasoningDiscussion of including sexual addiction
and compulsivity into DSM-V (Delmonico, 2005)
Additional research needed
THE END
Thank YouQuestions?