Emilsdottir, M.1; Leffler, C.1; Grahn, E.1; Giraldi, A.1; Kristensen, E.2
1Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Denmark; 2Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, Sexological Clinic, Denmark
Objective: Describing characteristics of clinical samples of men referred for treatment of hypersexual disorder (HD), at the Sexological Clinic, Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet.
Methods: The sample concist of 141 men age 36,6 ± 9.0 years with HD compared with data from the general population studies concerning sexual desire, overall sexual satisfaction and life satisfaction. The instrument used were Brief Sexual Function Inventory (BSFI) and the Fugl-Meyer Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LiSat-11). Mental distress were measured by the General symptom index (GSI) from Symptom Check List (SCL-90).
Results: The preliminary results show that the majority of men with HD described significant concerns regarding their hypersexual behavior (78% score 7 or more on a 1–10 point scale). Furthermore men with HD compared to men from the general population, described a significant increased general psychic distress (GSI = 0.97 ± 0.66 versus 0.40 ± 0.67, p < 0.001), and more sexual desire (BSFI = 4.61 ± 1.90 versus 2.33 ± 1.53, p < 0.001). Other results show significantly less satisfaction with life as a whole (58% versus 93%, p < 0.001), family life (58% versus 94%, p < 0.001), relationship with their partner (60% versus 94%, p < 0.001), and their sexual life (20% versus 80%, p < 0.001) in men with HD compared to the general population.
Conclusion: The present study indicates that patients with HD compared with men from the general population, besides having a higher level of sexual desire, had comparatively higher level of mental distress, and were very unsatisfied with their sex life. This may indicate that hypersexual behavior in this group of men not is gratifying but may be a coping mechanism to relieve mental distress.
Policy of full disclosure: None
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