Sexual Excitability and Dysfunctional Coping Determine Cybersex Addiction in Homosexual Male
AUTHOR(S)
PUBLISHED
2015 in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, Vol. 18(10), pp. 575-580
KEY FINDINGS
- This study found strong correlations between Cybersex addiction symptoms and indicators of sexual arousal and sexual excitability, coping by sexual behaviors, and psychological symptoms...these results are comparable with those reported for heterosexual males and females in previous studies and highlight the role of positive and negative reinforcement due to cybersex use.
ABSTRACT
Cybersex addiction (CA) has been mostly investigated in heterosexual males. Recent findings have demonstrated an association between CA severity and indicators of sexual excitability, and that coping by sexual behaviors mediated the relationship between sexual excitability and CA symptoms. The aim of this study was to test this mediation in a sample of homosexual males. Seventy-one homosexual males were surveyed online. Questionnaires assessed symptoms of CA, sensitivity to sexual excitation, pornography use motivation,... READ FULL ABSTRACT
EXCERPTS
- "The main result of the study was that in homosexual males, CA was related to sexual excitability, coping by sexual behaviors, and psychological symptoms. The relationship between sexual excitability and CA was partially mediated by coping by sexual behaviors. CA was not associated with the number of real-life sexual contacts, the satisfaction with real-life sexual contacts, and time spent weekly on cybersex activities. The findings are comparable with results reported in heterosexual males and females"
- "Cybersex use has been shown to be prevalent in the homosexual population, and a higher use of Internet pornography by homosexual compared with heterosexual individuals was reported in one study. Given the observed effects regarding sexual excitability, coping, and CA in this study are comparable with those observed in heterosexual males and females, the findings seem to be independent from gender and sexual orientation. Moreover, they are in line with the cognitive-behavioral model of CA, which assumes that gratification due to cybersex use reinforces specific (e.g., sexual excitability) and nonspecific factors (e.g., psychopathology, personality) of vulnerability for CA as well as specific cognitions about cybersex use"
