Common Features in Compulsive Sexual Behavior, Substance Use Disorders, Personality, Temperament, and Attachment—A Narrative Review

Excerpts:

Most therapeutic interventions treat CSBD as an addiction, because it shares many addiction-like neurocognitive mechanisms and clinical characteristic.

People with a [substance addiction] and people with CSBD share high commonalities in personality traits and temperament. Yet [those] with CSBD reported more concerns with possible relationship losses.

Non-substance behavioral addictions include internet addiction, internet gaming disorder, gambling disorder,…compulsive buying, exercise dependence, food addiction, work addiction, and compulsive sexual behavior (often referred in the academic and popular culture as “sexual addiction”).

 

Efrati Y, Kraus SW, Kaplan G.

Abstract

Do addictions share common traits of an “addictive personality” or do different addictions have distinct personality profiles? This narrative review examines the differences in the associations between substance use disorder (SUD) and compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD), on the one hand, and personality traits, attachment dispositions, and temperament, on the other hand. We found that both people with a SUD and people with CSBD tended to be more spontaneous, careless, and less reliable, to place self-interest above getting along with others, to show emotional instability and experience negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, and/or depression, to be less able to control their attention and/or behavior, and to be engulfed with a constant sensation of “wanting”. Only people with CSBD, but not SUD, noted concerns with their social ties, fear of losing close others, and/or trusting others around them. Results also suggested that people with a SUD and people with CSBD share high commonalities in personality traits and temperament, yet there are noted differences in their social tendencies, especially with close others. People with CSBD reported more concerns with possible relationship losses compared to people with SUD issues, who may be more worried about losing their source of escapism.