Sexual compulsivity and sexual drive: Distinct constructs?

1. Sexual compulsivity and sexual drive: Distinct constructs? Winters, J., Christoff, K., Lipovsky, L., and Gorzalka, B. B. Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia Solitary sexual desire did not correlate with either indicator of RSB. Sexual compulsivity was unrelated to frequency of unprotected sex and only dyadic sexual desire did. Sexual compulsivity and two sexual drive variables (SESand SDI2-DSD) positively correlated with number of sexual partners. However, for both men and women, the correlation between sexual compulsivity and number of sexual partners did not differ significantly from the correlations of sexual excitation and dyadic sexual desire with number of sexual partners. Sexual inhibition due to threat of performance consequences correlated negatively with both markers of RSB. Background Interest in sexual compulsivity has increased substantially as it has been implicated in the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), in particular HIV/AIDS (1-6). However, the various studies linking sexual compulsivity with STIs have not controlled for the influence of sexual drive. Also, some have suggested that sexual compulsivity may merely reflect sexual drive (3), and it is possible that the two constructs are not distinct. Results Descriptive statistics, t tests and correlations for men and women, split into non TreatSC and TreatSC groups are presented below. Participants that had sought treatment for sexual compulsivity/addiction, when compared to those that had not,scored significantly higher on the sexual compulsivity, excitation and desire measures, and lower on the measure of sexual inhibition due to fear of performance consequences. Sample A total of 14398 sexually experienced male and female subjects participated. Of those, 10543 (73%) completed the entire set of survey measures. Means Correlations: RSB • Hypotheses • Participants that have sought treatment for sexual compulsivity/addiction, compared to those that have not, will score significantly greater on a measure of sexual compulsivity. However, they will also score greater on measures of sexual drive. • Sexual compulsivity will positively correlate with measures of sexual drive. The pattern of correlations will be the same for men and women, and for individuals that have sought treatment for sexual compulsivity/addiction. • Sexual compulsivity will not correlate any greater with sexual behaviours that increase risk of STI transmission than will measures of sexual drive. • Exploratory factor analysis, including sexual compulsivity and drive variables, will reveal a one factor structure. In other words, measures of sexual compulsivity and sexual drive measure a single construct. SCSTrans TNPTrans SES SCSTrans TNPTrans SDI2-DSD * p<.05, ** p<.01;women: red, men: blue Exploratory factor analysis produced a one factor solution for all groups. EFA Eigenvalues Analyses Men and women differed significantly on all sexuality measures. Therefore, subsequent correlational and factor analyses were conducted separately for each sex. Likewise, male and female participants whom had sought treatment for sexual compulsivity/addiction (TreatSC) were treated as distinct groups. Two indices of risky sexual behaviour (RSB) were calculated: Method Participants completed an anonymous online survey, which included: * p<.05, ** p<.01, ***p<.005 Component Matrices (Loadings) Across sub samples of men and women, and people who have sought treatment for sexual compulsivity/addiction, indicators of sexual drive correlated positively with sexual compulsivity. The pattern of correlations was similar for men, women and TreatSC sub samples. • an online consent form • a demographics and general information questionnaire • the Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Scales(SES/SIS; 7-9); two of three SES/SIS subscales were of interest: • SES – propensity for sexual excitation • SIS2 – propensity for sexual inhibition due to threat of performance consequences (e.g. STIs, unwanted pregnancy, etc.) • the Sexual Desire Inventory-2 (SDI2; 10); the SDI2 produces two subscales: dyadic sexual desire (SDI-DSD) and solitary sexual desire (SDI2-SSD) • the Sexual Compulsivity Scale(SCS; 11) • the Survey of Sexual Behaviours (SSB); the SSB measures partnered and solitary sexual behaviours • the Total Sexual Outlet (TSO; 12); TSO is orgasms experienced per week, on average, over the preceding 6 months TNP – total number of sexual partners, during the preceding three months, summed across three types of sexual behaviours (oral, vaginal and anal intercourse) FUS – frequency of unprotected sex, during the preceding three months, summed across two types of sexual behaviours (vaginal and anal intercourse) Correlations: NonTreatSC Only those participants who were sexually active and non exclusive were included in RSB analyses (N=1927). To help normalize highly positively skewed distributions for the SCS, TNP, and FUS, a log(10) transform was used (13). The transformed scores (SCSTrans, TNPTrans and FUSTrans) were included in ensuing correlational and factor analyses. Principal components exploratory factor analysis (EFA; 13) was used to determine the number of underlying latent variables accounting for the scores on and relationships among variables of interest (SCSTrans, SES, SDI2-DSD and SDA2-SSD). Oblique rotation allowed for input variables to correlate with each other during factor rotation, based on the theoretical assumption that sexuality variables would intercorrelate. Emergence of factors was determined by eigenvalues greater than one (13) and scree plots were examined as a means of confirmation. Male and female TreatSC participants were pooled since EFA requires large sample sizes. Only cases for which there was complete data were included in EFA analyses. Conclusion All four hypotheses were supported by our data. Taken together, our results suggest that sexual compulsivity, as it is currently conceptualized and measured, may simply be a marker of high sexual drive. Additionally, it appears that high sexual drive may be able to account for the relationship between sexual compulsivity and risky sexual behaviour. * p<.05, ** p<.01;women: red, men: blue Correlations: TreatSC • References • Benotsch, E. G., Kalichman, S. C., & Kelly, J. A. (1999). Sexual compulsivity and substance use in HIV seropositive men who have sex with men: Prevalence and predictors of high-risk behaviors. Addictive Behaviors, 24, 857-868. • Benotsch, E. G., Kalichman, S. C., & Pinkerton, S. D. (2001). Sexual compulsivity in HIV-positive men and women: Prevalence, predictors, and consequences of high-risk behaviors. Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity: Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 8, 83-99. • Dodge, B., Reece, M., Cole, S. L., & Sandford, T. G. M. (2004). 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Hypersexual desire in males: An operational definition and clinical implications for males with paraphilias and paraphilia-related disorders. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 26(5), 505-526. • Glass, G. V., & Hopkins, K. D. (1996). Statistical methods in psychology and education (3rd ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Contact information: Jason Winters Department of Psychology University of British Columbia 2136 West Mall Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 Email: jwinters@interchange.ubc.ca * p<.05, ** p<.01;women: red, men: blue