Impacts of Sexual Addiction on Intimate Female Partners—The State of the Art

ABSTRACT

There has been a surge of research articles in the last two decades about sexual addiction (SA) and compulsive sexual behavior (CSB). In the literature, SA/CSB is mostly presented as being comparable to other behavioral addictions and similarly involves a problematic consumption model: loss of control, psycho-social impairments, and risky sexual activities. Despite a recent rise in research interest in this area, only a small number of studies have focused on the partners’ lived experiences and wellbeing following the discovery or disclosure of compulsive sexual activities. This literature review addresses this knowledge gap by examining existing research on the female partners of those who have engaged in CSBs. The focus of this study is intentionally heteronormative, meaning that it expressly analyses the literature in relation to females who find themselves in a relationship with a male partner who experiences SA/CSBs. This research paper converges around the synthesis that female partners may endure a range of emotional, relational, physical, sexual, and/or spiritual effects following the discovery or disclosure of SA/CSB. In consequence, this review points to opportunities for future research whereby prospective studies may examine partner wellbeing through in-depth qualitative empirical research. This article charts pertinent perspectives and prospects.

Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/26929953.2022.2050862 . HighlightsThe last two decades have seen a surge in research interest in sexual addiction (SA) and compulsive sexual behavior (CSB).Despite growing interest in this area, only a small number of studies have focused on the partners’ lived experiences and wellbeing following the discovery or disclosure of compulsive sexual activities.Applying a heteronormative analytical lens, this literary study addresses this knowledge gap by examining existing research on female partners of males experiencing SA/CSBs.The findings converge around the synthesis that female partners may endure a range of negative emotional, relational, physical, sexual, and/or spiritual effects following the discovery or disclosure of SA/CSB.The analysis points to opportunities for future studies to examine partner wellbeing through in-depth qualitative empirical research.

Notes

1 NB: Inclusion of Pornhub as a literary source in this review does not constitute endorsement of the pornography content sharing site, which has been associated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with human trafficking (Watson, 2021).

2 Alexithymia refers to individuals who present marked challenges in recognising their emotions, finding correct words to describe them, and differentiating feelings from bodily sensations (Goerlich, 2018).