Risky Sexual Behavior

“As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day ‘Thy will be done.’ We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves” – Alcohol Anonymous. Alcohol and gambling are two addictions that impair an individual judgment, decision making, learning and memory, and behavior control. Moreover, the focus of this paper will explore the two different types of meetings I attended and then compare and contrast both.

Impulsivity is frequently observed in addictive behaviours, particularly in drug abuse (Perry & Carroll,2008), and research shows that drug users are more impulsive than non-drug users (Brady et al.,1998). Alcoholics value more immediate rewards in delay discounting tasks (Petry, 2001), as

It begins like all the other meeting. “Hi, my name is...and I am an addict.” I’ve lost count for how many first names I have come to associate with addiction. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)? Check. Narcotics Anonymous (NA)? Been there, done that. This being the first time I have ever encountered self identified sex addicts. How does this addiction differ from the addictions I have come to know and claim as my own? In a diagnosis of this particular addiction, there must be some form of cohesion. The answer lays in the biological and physiological factors that surround this addiction. These central ideas have lead to examining the conversation surrounding sex addiction and what this conversation has to say. Will a consensus exist for an addiction, that to me, seems harder to “prove” or identify as some other forms of addiction. The literature seems varied and with no central consensus seems to exists, which makes for a fascinating research topic.

Finding how the women were introduced to the drug played a part in how the relationships would go. It also developed issues for the women who didn’t want to be controlled by people in the own pursuit of the drug. Many of the women did not want another person to be in control of their habits that they were able to provide there own financial means for the drugs. The factor about if a male or female friend introduced them to cocaine for their first time played a major part in their continuation of the drug and also how frequently they would do their next testing of the drug. The study showed that a male introduced nine of the women to cocaine. When a male introduced the women, they didn’t want the male to believe that he had control over her by using cocaine. It became an issue for the females because they believed that the men that had introduced them to cocaine for their first time would use it as a way to control them for sex. Even though many of the relationships that formed from men introducing women did involve some sense of sexual partners, the females did not want the men to be able to control their appetite for sex nor their appetite for drugs, or have the ability to use on or the other for them to achieve their own personal gain. The general way that women became introduced to cocaine was through a female friend. Having a female friend that introduced them to cocaine allows them not to have to worry about being used for sex, as in the situation when a male introduced them to cocaine. With females introducing them to cocaine, they were able to come up with excuses to be able and go out with friends in order to use cocaine. The issues with females introducing other females to cocaine, it was harder for the women in the study to be in control of their own choices of when they wanted to use. This played similar problems as when the men introduced. For the middle-class

The point of this article is establish ties between drug-addiction and deficiencies in the brain that regulate impulse control. The article shows that through the testing of drug-addicts brains and comparing their brain functions to those of their non-addicted siblings revealed that the deficiencies present in the drug-addicts also existed in the non-addict siblings, suggesting that drug addiction is hereditary. The article goes on to say that if that is true, it serves as a basis for the prevention of drug addiction since the non-addict siblings were able to exert some level of control over their impulses and not become addicted to drugs.

It was long believed that only alcohol and certain powerful drugs could cause addiction. However with the advent of neuroimaging and more recent research it has been shown that certain pleasurable activities such as gambling, shopping and sex can have similar effects on the brain. Although the DSM IV describes multiple addictions tied to specific drugs or activities, new research shows that these may be different expressions of a common underlying brain process.

Novelty seeking and impulsivity personality traits have been linked to higher rates of drug intake and dependency. However, it is not well understood if these personality traits are determinants or consequences of chronic drug abuse (Ersche, Turton, Pradhan et al., 2010). To further examine this question, Erche et al. (2010) investigated sibling pairs and healthy controls and found higher levels of impulsivity traits, not novelty seeking, in both drug dependent individuals and their siblings. These findings indicate that impulsivity can be an underlying heritable predisposing factor in the development of drug abuse and dependency. Previous research has also found individuals high in novelty seeking are at a higher risk for stimulant abuse. Researchers believe this is partly due by the fact that novelty seeking behavior activates the same reward nueral pathways—mesolimbic dopamine system—that reinforces drug abuse behavior (Bardo, Donohew & Harrington, 1996).

In the research study, “Illicit Sexual Behavior: A Test of Self-Control Theory”, the correlation is tested between illicit sexual behaviors with crime as they relate to measures of self-control. The study also inspects Gottfredson and Hirschi’s argument that their theory could explain all types of crime and delinquency. According to the research study, Self-Control Theory is based on the assertion that inadequate child rearing practices result in low self-control, which can lead to a variety of criminal and analogous acts (Love, 2006). Participation of illicit sexual behaviors can be viewed from various perspectives. The sexual illicit acts tested in this study were chosen because of their abnormality according to societal norms. The sexual illicit acts researched in this study include masturbation, use of pornography, indecent exposure/exhibitionism, cross-dressing, sexual encounters outside of primary relationships, and number of sexual partners (Love, 2006). To test the Self-Control theory between illicit sexual behaviors with crime as they relate to measures of self-control data was collected from 705 college students 18 and over from 3 southwestern universities. The study provided confidentiality and anonymity for all volunteers who participated. Surveys were used to collect the data from participants. Only 655 cases of the study were analyzed. The sexual illicit behaviors of the study

Together we talked in class about impulsivity and compulsivity it seemed to me there were some similarities between the two, for instance, how they both define actions performed without much forethought and result in some consequences less than desirable. However, impulsivity is taking a sudden risky action, whereas doing something compulsively, is doing something habitually, repetitively, or within certain rules. It was helpful for me to envision the two concepts on opposite ends of a spectrum with impulsivity leading into compulsivity with some overlapping and shades of grey in between the two. When applying these concepts to the five stages of addiction as outlined by Washton, A.M. & Boundy I see how the Infatuation stage relates to the

This study showed a significant relationship between alcohol use and risky sexual behaviour. The findings of the qualitative study also supported the quantitative one. Majority of the key informants and FGD participants had similar opinion that alcohol and drug abuse was associated with risky sexual behaviour. Similarly the quantative data showed that respondents who had a history of having used alcohol were more likely to be sexually active, have more than one sexual partner. Further, they were more likely to engage in sex under the influence of drugs, have sex without condoms and get unintended pregnancies (P < 0.001 for each).

Exposure to sexual cues activates sexual motivation and may have long-term sexual consequences (Demos, Heatherton, & Kelly, 2012). Demos and Associates (2012) exposed 58 female participants to appetitive cues (both sexual and food) along with neutral cues while conducting functional magnetic resonance imaging. The researchers were assessing activation in the nucleus accumbens in relation to the images shown and later weight gain and sexual behavior. fMRI results revealed that increased activity in the left nucleus accumbens when viewing sexual images was associated with the participants self-reporting sexual desire (Demos, Heatherton, & Kelly, 2012). Six months later 48 of the participants returned for a follow-up assessment at which time they responded to questions about their sexual behavior. Demos and associates (2012) found that in addition to activation of the left nucleus accumbens at the time of viewing sexual images those who had greater activation to the sexual images were more likely to have had sex than those with less activation to the sexual

Impulsivity is commonly recognized as a multifactorial construct (Cyders & Coskunpinar, 2011). Its definition is extensive, including traits such as: risk-taking, insufficient forethought, boredom (Verdejo-García, Lozano, Moya, Alcázar & Pérez-García, 2010), failure to complete tasks (Cyders & Coskunpinar, 2011), excitement- and sensation- seeking, control-, planning- and self-discipline problems (Miller, Flory, Lynam & Leukefeld, 2003) as well as compromised risk assessment, immediate reward seeking and difficulty controlling strong impulses (Perales, Verdejo-Gracia, Moya, Lozano & Perez-Garcia, 2009). Impulsivity includes functional and dysfunctional (Dickman 1990) states and traits and involves cognitive, behavioral and motor impulsivity (Perales et al., 2009). Broad and conflicting definitions of this single construct make it difficult to compare different measures and classify behaviors consisting of particular forms of impulsivity (Anestis, Selby & Joiner, 2007). Due to the prevalence of impulsivity in ADHD, suicide, gambling (Cyders & Coskunpinar, 2011), bulimia and substance use disorders (Verdejo-García et al., 2010) it is essential that impulsivity tests are valid and reliable (Verdejo-García et al., 2010). This essay will firstly address the distinction between self-report and behavioral measures, next, the advantages and disadvantages of measures and finally, tests and their appropriate clinical use and implications for research.

Thus far we have been looking at healthy individuals regarding sexual motivation and sexual behavior. However, there are also studies that specifically look at individuals with compulsive sexual behaviors. Compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) or hypersexuality has been difficult to define. There are those that would measure it purely based on the number of orgasms an individual achieves in a specified time frame, but as Bradford (2001) stated there needs to also be an interference with the individual’s life rather than just the actual completion of orgasms. In a study by Voon and associates (2014), the researchers used the definition for CSB as excessive or problematic engagement in sex. This definitions encompasses both those individuals

The questionnaire was developed from examples from other studies relating to GRC and substance abuse questions. The reduction of the items in the questionnaire were done by deleting double factor loading items, items that did not correlate significantly high with each other ( lower correlation than .75), and items with communalities less than .3 (Raylu, et al., 2003). The use of exploratory factor analyses (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) approved the five scales and the 23-items of GRCS. As to the five factors, four items were each used for gambling expectancies and illusion of control, and five items were each used for predictive control, inability to stop gambling, and interpretative bias.

There is no sign to what factor actually causes it but it is believed to also be linked to depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. This may be because these disorders are linked to a change in the brain. These changes in the brain and psychological patterns can lead to other disorders such as sex addiction. Along the same lines, it has been thought that learning disorders may create a higher risk of developing sex addiction (medicinenet). People who have been sexually abused have a somewhat higher chance of becoming sexual addicts. This shows a very obvious link between various psychological factors and sexual addiction.