Compulsive Sexual Behavior and Pathological Gambling

Because evidence supports phenomenological, clinical, and epidemiological links between pathological gambling and addictive behaviors, understanding the relationship of compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) to pathological gambling may prove helpful in treating individuals with co-occurring addictions. This study investigates the sexual behaviors of 225 adults (mean age ± SD = 47.3 ± 11.0 years; n = 120 [53, 3] females) who met criteria for pathological gambling. Forty-four (19.6%) subjects met criteria for co-occurring CSB. The symptoms of CSB preceded the onset of pathological gambling symptoms in 31 (70.5%) subjects. Men were more likely to have CSB (X ² = 4.74; df = 1; p = 0.029). CSB in pathological gamblers appears common, and gamblers should be screened for a co-occurring sexual addiction.

This research is supported in part by a grant from GlaxoSmithKline.

Notes

^†t-test.

^‡Chi-square.

^†t-test.