Citation

Scanavino MD, Ventuneac A, Abdo CHN, Tavares H, Amaral ML, Messina B, Reis SC, Martins JP, Parsons JT. Psychiatry Res. 2013; 209(3): 518-524.

Affiliation

Department and Institute of Psychiatry, Clínicas' Hospital (HC), University of São Paulo Medical School (FMUSP), Brazil. Electronic address: scanavino@gmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.psychres.2013.01.021

PMID

23415890

Abstract

This study examined compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) and psychopathology in a treatment-seeking sample of men in São Paulo, Brazil. Eighty-six men (26% gay, 17% bisexual, 57% heterosexual) who met diagnostic criteria for excessive sexual drive and sexual addiction completed assessments consisting of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, a structured clinical interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders-Clinical Version (segment for Impulse Control Disorder), Sexual Compulsivity Scale (SCS), and questions about problematic CSB. The average SCS score for our sample was above the cut-off score reported in other studies, and 72% of the sample presented at least one Axis I psychiatric diagnosis. There were no differences among gay, bisexual, and heterosexual men on SCS scores and psychiatric conditions, but gay and bisexual men were more likely than heterosexual men to report casual sex and sex with multiple casual partners as problematic behaviors. SCS scores were associated with psychiatric co-morbidities, mood disorder, and suicide risk, but diagnosis of a mood disorder predicted higher SCS scores in a regression analysis. The study provides important data on the mental health needs of men with CSB in São Paulo, Brazil.

Language: en