Incognito Libido: Introducing the Sexual False Self Scale

Abstract

The 10-item Sexual False Self (SFS) scale is introduced to measure the sense of stigma attached to one's sexual impulses and the corresponding motivation to conceal them. As expected, the SFS proved to be unidimensional and moderately correlated but factorially distinct from sexual compulsivity. Also as expected, a Paraphilia diagnosis produced high SFS scores in a clinical role-play task. Correlational results suggest a tentative causal model wherein sensory processing sensitivity, social anxiety, and sexual compulsivity increase SFS motivation, which in turn prompts dissociation in sexual situations and expressive suppression – consistent with concealment strategies often attributed to putative sex addicts.