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Article Excerpt
Increasingly, addictions professionals and researchers are giving attention to conceptualizing and understanding sexual addiction. Three characteristics of sexual addiction are compulsivity, continuation of sexual behavior despite negative consequences, and sexual obsession (Schneider, 1991). Sexually addicted individuals may also present with symptoms such as a need for greater sexual intensity, cravings for sexual activity, denial, withdrawal, secrecy, and mood fluctuations (M. Cooper & Lebo, 2001; Crawford, 1990; Pincu, 1989). For a comprehensive explanation of the components of sexual addiction, refer to Coleman (1991), Hagedorn and Juhnke (2005), and Schneider (1991).
As a result of high Internet use, more individuals are engaging in compulsive sexual behavior, which is one reason sexual addiction is receiving greater focus in the professional literature. The Internet has allowed individuals to express sexual behaviors in discreet and instantaneous ways. It is estimated that participation in some form of online sexual activity occurs among 20.0% of all Internet users (A. Cooper, Delmonico, & Burg, 2000). However, 6.0% to 10.0% of Internet users express concern about their extreme online sexual behavior (Carnes, 2001; A. Cooper et al., 2000; Schneider, 2000). Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at particular risk for online sexual addiction (Benotsch, Kalichman, & Cage, 2002).
For many MSM, the Internet provides opportunities to communicate and connect in healthy sexual exploration and expression (Dew & Chaney, 2004). However, like other pleasure-seeking behaviors, online sexual behavior also has the potential to become compulsive and psychologically unhealthy. Research exploring sexually addicted MSM Internet users has generally focused on demographic characteristics (Tikkanen & Ross, 2000), high-risk sexual behaviors (Benotsch et al., 2002; Parsons, Bimbi, & Halkitis, 2001; Tikkanen & Ross, 2000), and drug use (Benotsch et al., 2002). In particular, sexually addicted MSM who accessed Internet chat rooms were found to be geographically isolated, young, in the process of coming out, and not likely to identify as gay (Tikkanen & Ross, 2000).
The professional literature has also examined the relationship between sexual addiction and previous childhood abuse, and correlations have been found (Carnes & Delmonico, 1996). Among a sample of gay and bisexual male Internet escorts, 28.3% reported a history of childhood abuse (Parsons, Bimbi, Koken, & Halkitis, 2005). Gold and Seifer (2002) reported that sexually addicted survivors of childhood abuse often exhibit symptoms of dissociation. Schwartz and Southern (2000) explained that many sexually addicted individuals use online sexual activity to escape feelings of pain and shame associated with past childhood abuse. Kort (2004) theorized that societal homophobia and heterosexism are a form of abuse for gay male teens, putting them at risk for sexual addiction. It appears that there is a relationship between sexual addiction and childhood abuse; however, empirical research investigating childhood abuse among Internet sexually addicted MSM is scarce.
Although the results of these pertinent studies have both broadened addictions professionals' understanding of sexual addiction and proven beneficial in providing effective treatment strategies for online sexually addicted MSM, few researchers have explored psychosocial characteristics of this population. One such study, by Chaney and Dew (2003), qualitatively described such psychosocial factors as participants' perceived self-esteem, Internet use for sexual gratification to alleviate boredom, and diminished relationships with family and friends. On the basis of our clinical experience and previous research, there seems to be a theme suggesting that there is a relationship among boredom, social connectedness, and online sexual addiction for many MSM. Therefore, we chose two constructs from Chaney and Dew's study (boredom and social connectedness) for quantitative examination to investigate their relationship to Internet sexual addiction among MSM.
The first construct that we explored in the current study was boredom. Sundberg, Latkin, Farmer, and Saoud (1991) described boredom as the tendency to experience monotony, lack personal involvement and motivation, and lack interest in one's life and future. Mikulas and Vodanovich (1993) defined boredom as a state of minimal arousal and dissatisfaction, often caused by an understimulating environment. Boredom might be understood as a psychological state that is often transient. Boredom-prone individuals are described as experiencing periods of depression, loneliness, hopelessness, lack of motivation, distraction, and dissatisfaction (Farmer & Sundberg, 1986).
The relationships among boredom proneness, specific addictions, and compulsive behaviors have been explored. In particular, boredom has been shown to be related to substance abuse (Orcutt, 1984; Samuels & Samuels, 1974; Wiesner, Windle, & Freeman, 2005). Boredom-prone individuals have been found to be more likely than individuals who are not prone to boredom to use drugs or alcohol to escape the feeling of boredom (Harris, 2000). Additionally, pathological gamblers reported higher levels of boredom proneness than did nonaddicted gamblers (Blaszczynski, McConaghy, & Frankova, 1990; McCormick, 1988). In relation to other behavioral addictions, boredom proneness has only recently been examined as a potential feature of sexual addiction. Whereas Gana, Trouillet, Martin, and Toffart (2001) found men more likely than women to experience boredom and to engage in solitary sexual behaviors, such as masturbating and viewing pornographic videos, these authors did not assess for sexual addiction, sexual orientation, or Internet use among individuals in their sample. Chaney and Chang (2005) conceptualized that boredom may be an important factor in the maintenance of extreme online sexual behavior of sexually addicted MSM. Clearly, more research exploring the relationship between boredom and sexual addiction is needed.
The second construct we explored in the current study was social connectedness.
Social connectedness refers to one's awareness of interpersonal closeness with the social world,...
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