Abstract
Two groups of women (one group married to sexually addicted men and the other group married to nonsexually addicted men) were compared to examine differences in family-of-origin characteristics. It was found that women married to sexually addicted men were significantly more likely to come from families-of-origin where they experienced abuse, abandonment, chaos, physical punishment, crisis, and depression. Further, these women were more likely to have families-of-origin that were rigidly disengaged. Women married to men who were not sexually addicted were more likely to come from cohesively connected families-of-origin. Implications for counseling practice are discussed.