Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
J Sex Med. 2023 Jun 28;20(7):1018-1024. doi: 10.1093/jsxmed/qdad066.
Limitation to the capacity to love is often a feature of a suffering personality.
We aimed to investigate the role of the capacity to love in hypersexual behavior, considering both distress and defense mechanisms as possible psychological mediators.
Through an online platform, we recruited a convenience sample of 521 subjects (390 [74.9%] females and 131 [25.1%] males; mean [SD] age, 26.46 [5.89] years).
Recruited subjects completed a psychometric protocol that included completion of the following measurement tools: (1) the Capacity to Love Inventory (CTL-I), (2) the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory (HBI), (3) the 30-item self-report Defense Mechanisms Rating Scale, and (4) the Brief Symptom Inventory. We then performed correlation and regression analyses and used a mediation model for data analysis.
A significant negative relationship between the capacity to love and hypersexual behavior was found. Furthermore, indirect effects were also statistically significant, supporting the hypothesis that limitation to the capacity to love is related to hypersexuality through the paths of psychological distress and immature defense mechanisms. Finally, compared to the other subjects, those with pathological scores for the HBI showed significantly lower scores on the CTL-I, which suggested limitations to the capacity to love.
The relationship between limitation to the capacity to love and hypersexuality is fundamental to the diagnostic process in persons with problematic sexuality and psychopathological distress.
This study is the first, to our knowledge, to highlight the role of the capacity to love in sexual behavior, although future studies in specific clinical sample groups would be suitable for further investigation of the relationships among the considered variables.
The etiology of limitation in the capacity to love is related to dysfunctional aspects of psychological functioning, such as psychological distress and immature defense mechanisms, and these factors together generate problematic sexuality such as hypersexual behavior. Our results highlight the central role in mental and sexual health of the capacity to love. Based on these findings, clinicians should take these aspects into consideration for diagnosis and treatment of patients presenting with problematic sexuality.
爱的能力受限通常是痛苦人格的一个特征。
我们旨在研究爱的能力在性行为中的作用，同时考虑痛苦和防御机制作为可能的心理中介。
通过在线平台，我们招募了一个方便的 521 名受试者样本（390 名[74.9%]女性和 131 名[25.1%]男性；平均[标准差]年龄，26.46[5.89]岁）。
招募的受试者完成了一个心理计量学方案，其中包括完成以下测量工具：（1）爱的能力量表（CTL-I），（2）性行为量表（HBI），（3）30 项自我报告防御机制评定量表，（4）简明症状量表。然后我们进行了相关性和回归分析，并使用了中介模型进行数据分析。
爱的能力受限与性行为之间存在显著负相关。此外，间接效应也具有统计学意义，支持了爱的能力受限与性行为通过心理痛苦和不成熟的防御机制途径相关的假设。最后，与其他受试者相比，HBI 病理性得分的受试者 CTL-I 得分明显较低，这表明爱的能力受限。
爱的能力受限与性行为之间的关系对于有问题性行为和心理病理困扰的个体的诊断过程至关重要。
本研究是我们所知的首次强调爱的能力在性行为中的作用，尽管在特定的临床样本组中进行进一步研究将适合进一步研究所考虑变量之间的关系。
爱的能力受限的病因与心理功能的功能障碍方面有关，例如心理痛苦和不成熟的防御机制，这些因素共同导致了问题性行为，如性行为过度。我们的研究结果强调了爱的能力在精神和性健康中的核心作用。基于这些发现，临床医生在诊断和治疗有问题性行为的患者时应考虑这些方面。
