Sexual Responsivity and the Effects of Negative Mood on Sexual Arousal in Hypersexual Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM)

Online ejaculation training programs promote non-evidence-based treatment of male sexual dysfunction

Purposefully reducing the frequency of ejaculation, coined "semen retention", and the similar practice of "NoFap", have been popularized on social media. They are frequently accompanied by unsubstantiated claims of health benefits. Their increasing popularity has led to the emergence of online courses claiming to teach these techniques. The goal was to characterize the landscape of courses offering ejaculatory training. A systematic Google search was performed using terms related to ejaculation training to identify training programs. Information regarding instructor credentialing, type and duration of courses, costs, and claims of medical benefits were extracted. Eleven ejaculation training courses were identified with 10 instructors (two courses named the same coach). Costs varied from $5 to $147 per week or a $20 to $199 one-time payment. None of the course instructors claimed standardized credentials in the fields of medicine or mental health. Seven instructors (70%) solely cited their own personal experience as their qualifying credentials. Courses claimed to improve erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, porn addiction, sexual performance anxiety, testosterone levels, and/or depression. Ejaculation training programs are costly, readily available online, and provided by instructors with no medical background. Despite no scientific evidence, these courses claim to improve various aspects of men's health and can be potentially damaging financially, physically, and mentally to participants.

The Dual Control Model of Sexual Response: A Scoping Review, 2009-2022

The Dual Control Model proposes that sexual arousal and related processes are dependent on the balance between sexual excitation and sexual inhibition, and that individuals vary in their propensity for these processes. This scoping review provides an overview and discussion of the questionnaires used to measure the propensities for sexual excitation and inhibition, their translation and validation in other languages, and their application in empirical research on topics ranging from sexual desire and arousal, sexual (dys)function, sexual risk taking, asexuality, hypersexuality, and sexual aggression. A total of 152 papers, published between 2009 and 2022 and identified using online databases, were included in this review. The findings, consistent with those reviewed by Bancroft et al. (2009), suggest that sexual excitation is particularly relevant to sexual desire and responsivity and predictive of asexuality and hypersexuality. Sexual inhibition plays a role in sexual dysfunction. sexual risk taking, and sexual aggression, although often in interaction with sexual excitation. Suggestions for the further development of the model and for future studies are discussed.

Anxiety and Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder: A Systematic Review

The inclusion of the novel diagnosis of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder in the forthcoming 11^th edition of the International Classification of Diseases has spurred increasing interest in the clinical profile of the disorder. Such attention has included a focus on potential comorbidities, risk factors, or symptoms resulting from such behaviors, including anxiety. Anxiety disorders have long been noted as comorbid with many other diagnoses, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and substance use disorders. This review aims to understand the relationship between anxiety and compulsive sexual behavior in adults and adolescents, based on available quantitative studies. A search of PsycInfo and PubMed revealed 40 studies which quantitatively assessed a relationship between an anxiety measure and a Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder measure, including dissertations and published articles using clinical and community samples. A qualitative synthesis and risk of bias analysis of the studies was conducted, rather than a meta-analysis, due to the variety of methods. Overall, studies were primarily cross-sectional and the relationship between these two constructs was unclear, likely due to several factors, including inconsistent measurement of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder, lack of gender diversity, and very little longitudinal data. Directions for future research are discussed.

Psychometric Properties of the Sexual Compulsivity Scale in Men Who Have Sex with Men in Spanish Population

The Sexual Compulsivity Scale (SCS) has been translated, adapted and validated in general Spanish population, making its application difficult in certain groups, such as men who have sex with men (MSM). This paper evaluates the psychometric properties of the SCS in a sample of MSM in Spain. The SCS was administered to 881 participants. The factorial structure of the SCS was examined with an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Both EFA and CFA confirmed a two-factor structure: (1) Interference of sexual behavior, and (2) Failure to control sexual impulses. Internal consistency was really good for the scale and also for both factors. The SCS also presented adequate psychometric properties. Thus, it is an appropriate measure for assessing sexual compulsivity in MSM, and a tool to be taken into account in future researches to reduce sexual risk behaviors in the MSM Spanish population.

The Relationship between Boredom Proneness, Attachment Styles and Compulsive Sexual Behavior

Affect regulation is associated with compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) despite ongoing debate about its inclusion in diagnostic criteria. Previous studies on two specific affect regulation constructs - boredom proneness and attachment styles - suggest that affect regulation is associated with CSB. We tested a moderation model of the effects of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance on the relationship between boredom proneness and CSB. Results indicate that the relationship between boredom proneness and CSB is stronger at higher levels of attachment anxiety, with no interaction between boredom proneness and attachment avoidance. Overall findings support the importance of affect regulation in conceptualizing and treating CSB.

Specific factors and methodological decisions influencing brain responses to sexual stimuli in women

Most of the neuroimaging studies on sexual behavior have been conducted with male participants, leading to men-based models of sexual arousal. Here, possible factors and methodological decisions that might influence brain responses to sexual stimuli, specifically for the inclusion of women, will be reviewed. Based on this review, we suggest that future studies consider the following factors: menstrual phase, hormonal contraception use, history of sexual or psychiatric disorders or diseases, and medication use. Moreover, when researching sexual arousal, we suggest future studies assess sexual orientation and preferences, that women should select visual sexual stimuli, and a longer duration than commonly used. This review is thought to represent a useful guideline for future research in sexual arousal, which hopefully will lead to a higher inclusion of women and therefore more accurate neurobiological models of sexual arousal.

The Impact of Negative Mood on Event-Related Potentials When Viewing Pornographic Pictures

Background: Negative affective states may increase the risk for problematic pornography use. Underlying neurophysiological mechanisms are, however, not completely understood. Previous research suggests that the participants' emotional state may affect neural processing of sexual stimuli. The aim of this study was to investigate neural correlates of negative affect-induced alterations in sexual cue reactivity in healthy men. The moderating effects of habitual porn consumption, trait sexual motivation, and symptoms of cybersex addiction were also considered. Method: Sixty-four healthy men engaged in a sexual cue reactivity task (passive viewing of explicit sexual pictures and neutral pictures depicting scenes of social interaction) during negative (n = 32) vs. neutral affect (n = 32), induced via tailored feedback on a performance task. Self-reported sexual arousal and event-related brain potentials indicated cue reactivity and motivated attention. Symptoms of cybersex addiction and trait sexual motivation were assessed with the help of the short Internet Addiction Test, adapted to online sexual activities, and the Trait Sexual Motivation Questionnaire. Results: Negative feedback increased negative affect after the performance task. While sexual pictures compared to neutral pictures elicited significantly larger P300 and late positive potential (LPP) amplitudes, there was no general effect of negative feedback on sexual stimuli-related P300 and LPP amplitudes. In the negative feedback group, men with higher solitary sexual motivation levels showed higher P300/LPP difference amplitudes for sexual stimuli compared to men with lower levels of solitary sexual motivation. The opposite effect was found in the group with neutral feedback. There was no link to other aspects of trait sexual motivation and symptoms of cybersex addiction. Conclusions: Results suggest that higher levels of solitary sexual motivation may enhance motivated attention toward sexual stimuli among men receiving negative performance feedback. Other characteristics of sexual behaviors and traits provided no exploratory value. Future studies extending onto men suffering from compulsive sexual behavior disorder will have to closer look at the neurophysiological bases of why and when some men develop an addictive pornography consumption.