What is the “Sex” in Sex Addiction? Problem Behaviors Reported Among Those Endorsing Compulsive Sexual Behavior

Recent years have seen a surge in research related to compulsive, excessive, or out-of-control sexual behaviors. Yet, little is known about which behaviors people might experience as compulsive. Using YouGov America, a non-probability sample was collected, matched to U.S. representative norms, stratified, and weighted based on sample characteristics to ensure representativeness (N = 2,806; Mean Age = 48.9, SD = 17.3). Participants reported if they had experienced any concerns about their sexual behaviors being either "out of control" or "an addiction." Participants who endorsed such concerns were then asked to indicate which behaviors had led to such concerns, using a checklist of 11 potentially overlapping sexual behaviors (e.g. frequent casual sexual encounters, using apps to find sexual partners). Men—both heterosexual and gay/bi/other–were more likely to report concerns that their sexual behaviors were an addiction, relative to heterosexual women. Relative to heterosexual women, men of any sexual orientation were more likely to report pornography use as a specific behavior of concern, and less likely to report partnered sexual behaviors. More religious participants were more likely to endorse masturbation as a behavior of concern and less likely to endorse frequent casual sexual encounters.