Institute of Psychology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, Wóycickiego 1/3, 01-938, Warsaw, Poland.
Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience, Institute for Neural Computations, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Arch Sex Behav. 2023 Jan;52(1):411-430. doi: 10.1007/s10508-022-02358-9. Epub 2022 Jul 27.
Previous studies have shown that specific attitudes related to moral convictions can have an important role in the development and maintenance of problematic sexual behavior symptoms. However, although other types of attitudes, like sexual attitudes, are potentially highly relevant, they have not yet been studied in this role. We investigated how four dimensions of sexual attitudes: Permissiveness, Birth Control, Communion and Instrumentality, contribute to problematic pornography use (PPU) and hypersexual disorder (HD) symptoms, controlling for religiosity, sex, age and relationship status. The study was administered through an online questionnaire and based on a representative sample of n = 1036 (M = 43.28, SD = 14.21; 50.3% women) Polish adult citizens. When adjusting for other variables, higher sexual Permissiveness positively predicted HD and PPU among both men (HD: β = .26, p < .001; PPU: β = .22, p < .001) and women (HD: β = .44, p < .001; PPU: β = .26; p < .001). Sexual Instrumentality positively, although weakly, contributed to HD severity among men (β = .11, p < .05). Attitudes reflecting higher support for responsible sexuality (Birth Control subscale) negatively and weakly predicted HD among women (β = - .11, p < .05). Permissiveness was also the only sexual attitude dimension that consistently predicted a higher frequency of sexual activity among men and women. Based on the cutoff criteria proposed by the authors of the used screening instruments (≥ 53 points for the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory and ≥ 4 points for the Brief Pornography Screen), the prevalence of being at risk for HD was 10.0% (men: 11.4%, women: 8.7%) and for PPU was 17.8% (men: 26.8%, women: 9.1%). Our results point to a significant contribution of sexual attitudes to problematic sexual behavior symptoms, which was not encapsulated by the previously studied influence of religious beliefs, although most of the obtained relationships were relatively weak. Particularly, a consistent link between permissive attitudes and both HD and PPU among men and women may indicate that permissive attitudes can potentially contribute to the development and maintenance of problematic sexual behavior. The prevalence of being at risk for PPU (and to some degree HD) in the current representative sample was high. Such results raise questions about the appropriateness of the proposed cutoff criteria and the risk of overpathologizing normative sexual activity, if the cutoff thresholds are not tailored adequately. The results have implications for the assessment, diagnosis and theory of problematic sexual behavior.
先前的研究表明，与道德信念相关的特定态度在问题性行为症状的发展和维持中可能起着重要作用。然而，尽管其他类型的态度，如性态度，具有潜在的高度相关性，但它们在这一角色中尚未得到研究。我们研究了四种性态度维度：放纵、节育、交流和工具性，如何有助于问题色情使用（PPU）和性欲障碍（HD）症状，同时控制宗教信仰、性别、年龄和关系状况。这项研究是通过在线问卷进行的，基于 n=1036 名（M=43.28，SD=14.21；50.3%为女性）波兰成年公民的代表性样本。当调整其他变量时，较高的性放纵度正向预测男性和女性的 HD 和 PPU（HD：β=0.26，p<0.001；PPU：β=0.22，p<0.001）。性工具性虽然较弱，但也正向预测男性的 HD 严重程度（β=0.11，p<0.05）。反映更高支持负责任性行为的态度（节育子量表）负向且较弱地预测女性的 HD（β=-0.11，p<0.05）。放纵是唯一始终预测男性和女性更高性行为频率的性态度维度。根据作者提出的筛查工具的临界标准（性欲障碍行为量表的得分≥53 分，简明色情筛查的得分≥4 分），HD 风险的流行率为 10.0%（男性：11.4%，女性：8.7%），PPU 为 17.8%（男性：26.8%，女性：9.1%）。我们的研究结果表明，性态度对问题性行为症状有显著的贡献，这并没有被之前研究的宗教信仰的影响所涵盖，尽管大多数获得的关系相对较弱。特别是，在男性和女性中，放纵态度与 HD 和 PPU 之间的一致联系可能表明，放纵态度可能有助于问题性行为的发展和维持。在当前的代表性样本中，存在 PPU（在某种程度上是 HD）风险的比例很高。这些结果引发了关于提出的截止标准的适当性以及如果截止阈值没有适当调整，就正常性行为进行过度病理化的风险的问题。研究结果对问题性行为的评估、诊断和理论具有启示意义。
