Sexual Addiction and Associated Factors: The Role of Emotion Dysregulation, Impulsivity, Anxiety and Depression

Abstract

The present research aimed to study the relationship between emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, anxiety, depression and sexual addiction. A survey was conducted among 398 voluntary subjects recruited online through specialized forums. The participants completed validated questionnaires. Our results showed that individuals with sexual addiction reported more difficulty regulating emotions and higher levels of impulsivity than those individuals who were not defined as having a sexual addiction. In addition, anxiety and depression were significantly associated with sexual addiction. Furthermore, anxiety and depression seemed to partially mediate the links between impulsivity, emotion dysregulation and this addiction. Finally, emotion dysregulation and impulsivity had mediating effects on the relationship between anxious-depressive affects and sexual addiction. Despite the limitations of this study, our results seem to be consistent with the literature on sexual addiction and have clinical and research implications.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.