Problematic internet use prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic

The health and socio-economic challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic have led to greater reliance on the internet to meet basic needs and responsibilities. Greater engagement in online activities may have negative mental and physical health consequences for some vulnerable individuals, particularly under mandatory self-isolation or ‘lockdown’ conditions. The present study investigated whether changes in levels of involvement in online activities during the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., watching TV series,online sexual activities, video games, social networks, gambling, online shopping, and instant messaging) were associated with problematic internet use, as well as whether certain psychol…

Spanish validation of the Sexual Addiction Screening Test.

Background and aims Sexual addiction is a pathological behavior characterized by a combination of excessive sexual desire and impaired ability to control it. Its incidence ranges between 1.2% and 32.2%, although this number may vary depending on the screening tool used. This wide variability is largely due to the use of non-validated instruments (e.g., structural validity relying on exploratory analyses, instruments translated without an additional validation process, or instruments validated in another format). To deal with these limitations, this study tested the psychometric properties of the Spanish paper-and-pencil and online versions of the Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST). Met…

Psychiatric comorbidity in compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD)

This is a post-print version of the paper. To cite this article: Ballester-Arnal, R., Castro-Calvo, J., Giménez-García, C., Gil-Juliá, B. & Gil-Llario, M.D (2020). Psychiatric comorbidity in Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD). Addictive Behaviors, 107, 106384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106384 Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) is characterized by a persistent failure to control intense and recurrent sexual impulses, urges, and/or thoughts, resulting in repetitive sexual behavior that causes a marked impairment in important areas of functioning. Data collected from clinical populations suggest that CSBD frequently co-occurs with other Axis I and II psychiatric dis…

Problematic and non-problematic engagement in Online Sexual Activities across the lifespan

During the last decade, the number of people using the Internet for sexual purposes has increased exponentially. However, most studies conducted so far have analysed Online Sexual Activity (OSA) of adolescents and young people, meaning that we have few information on how this phenomenon is expressed across the lifespan. The aim of this study was to analyse three aspects of OSA (prevalence of different OSAs, motives to engage in OSA, and excessive and problematic engagement in OSA) in a large sample of individuals in different developmental stages. A self-selected sample of 8040 individuals between 12 and 85 years old were recruited and completed an online survey. Participants were distribut…

Development and psychometric properties of an instrument for the Assessment of Sexual Behaviour and Knowledge of people with Intellectual Disability

Background This paper presents psychometric properties of an instrument for the Assessment of Sexual Behaviour and Knowledge of people with Intellectual Disability (ASBKID), other‐reported by professionals who are in daily contact with them. Methods and procedures Assessments of 236 individuals with intellectual disability were obtained from 100 professionals. Results Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a four‐factor structure: concern about the user's inappropriate or uninhibited sexual behaviour; perception of the user's knowledge about privacy and social norms; perception of the user's knowledge about sexuality; and concerns about the user's sexuality. A multi‐group CFA was also conduc…

Construction and Validation of a Self-Efficacy Scale for Latex Barrier Use.

AbstractSome studies have concluded there is a relationship between perceived self-efficacy and behaviors that prevent HIV transmission. This paper presents the construction and validation of the latex barrier use self-efficacy scale (LBSS), which 480 participants filled out. Exploratory factor analysis yielded two components: positive expectations of self-efficacy (ES-POS) and negative expectations of self-efficacy (ES-NEG), which together accounted for 65.59% of total variance. That structure was later verified through confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency was .80 for the total scale, and .78 for each of the two factors. Moreover, the instrument had adequate convergent validi…

Suplementario – Supplemental material for Development and Psychometric Properties of the Detection of Sexual Abuse Risk Screening Scale (DSARss)

Supplemental material, Suplementario for Development and Psychometric Properties of the Detection of Sexual Abuse Risk Screening Scale (DSARss) by María Dolores Gil-Llario, Rafael Ballester-Arnal, Vicente Morell-Mengual, Lorena Caballero-Gascón and Jesús Castro-Calvo in Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment

Sexuality in the Internet Era: Expressions of Hispanic Adolescent and Young People

ABSTRACTCybersex is an important manifestation of sexuality among adolescents and young people. However, there is not enough information about this sexual expression, in particular, in cultures such as Latino culture, which has a traditional perception of human sexuality. This study evaluates online sexual activity among Hispanic adolescent and young people. For this purpose, 2,227 participants from Mexico and Spain (between 15 and 25 years old) completed the Internet Sex Screening Test. Our findings reveal that the most common use of cybersex is recreational, although men and women show risk for cybersex abuse. This is associated with pornography consumption, anal sex, sexual orientation, …

Afectación emocional en pacientes críticos: Factores de riesgo y de protección

Despite the importance of patients’ psychological well-being in their own recovery from illness, few studies examine these issues while the patient is still in ICU. This study analyzes the psychological distress of 71 ICU patients and the potential risk/protective factors for such distress. Patients showed moderate anxiety and depression although in a significant percentage clinical symptomatology was observed. More than halve of the patients revealed an intermediate general stress level and the most important stressor was having pain. Regarding risk factors for psychological distress, being a woman increased the risk for anxiety, depression and stress. Being a septic patient also increased…

Cognitive processes related to problematic pornography use (PPU): A systematic review of experimental studies

Highlights • Some people experience symptoms derived from pornography viewing. • Cognitive processes may be related to the development of Problematic Pornography Use (PPU). • We performed a systematic review of 21 studies exploring cognitive processes related to PPU. • We identified 4 cognitive processes relevant for the development and maintenance of PPU.

Fundamental frequency of the female's voice: A cross-country empirical study on its influence on social and sexual selection

Recent studies demonstrate that voice (in particular, its fundamental frequency -Fo-) may influence on social and sexual selection. Here, we tested how the Fo of female's voice is related to different aspects of social and sexual selection through a novel experimental approach. First, we recorded and measured the Fo of 22 women reading a neutral text in Spanish language. Six of these voices were selected and classified into three categories: voices with a low Fo (225 Hz). Then, these voices were rated by two independent samples including both men and women: one comprised of native Spanish-speakers (n = 683) and the other comprised of native Italian non-Spanish-speakers (n = 484). Contrarily…

Estimating sexual knowledge of people with mild intellectual disability through a valid and reliable assessment scale: The ISK-ID

Background Despite the relevance of assessing sexual knowledge in people with Intellectual Disability, there is a lack of appropriate assessment tools to measure this domain. The current study tests the psychometric properties of the new ‘Inventory of Sexual Knowledge of people with Intellectual Disability’ (ISK-ID). Method 345 individuals with mild intellectual disability completed the ISK-ID before and after the implementation of a sexual education program. Psychometric properties of the ISK-ID were analysed according to Multidimensional Item Response Theory (MIRT). Results Its underlying factorial structure, along with parameters derived from the MIRT (item discrimination, difficulty, an…

Cybersex Addiction: A Study on Spanish College Students

The aim of this study was to determine type and frequency of online sexual practices among Spanish college students, prevalence of risk and pathological cybersex use profiles, and correlates/predictors of this behaviour. Participants were 1,557 males and females between 18 and 25 years old. Results showed that cybersex use is not as frequent as that documented in other Western countries. However, a significant percentage of participants with a risky (9%) or pathological (1.7% in men and 0.1% in women) profile was identified. Finally, we found a set of variables that, in interaction with gender, explains 58% of the variance for cybersex addiction scores.

LA FORMACIÓN DE FORMADORES EN EDUCACIÓN SEXUAL BÁSICA

Abstract.TRAINING OF TRAINERS IN BASIC SEX EDUCATIONIntroduction: The training of future sexual educators requires not only a high degree of specialization, but also the mastery of a series of skills and competences since it requires a constant adaptation to the characteristics of the target group. The training of these educators, beyond fulfilling the objective of providing specific knowledge, must ensure the perceived mastery of the skills to carry out different intervention formats according to the size and characteristics of the target group as well as the time and the objectives pursued. In order to achieve these objectives, a work proposal has been devised that provides varied experie…

Congruencia en conocimientos y educación afectivo-sexual en personas con DI

En la educación de las personas con diversidad funcional intelectual (DFI) es importante que los principales agentes implicados (usuarios/as, padres y profesionales que trabajan con ellos) posean criterios comunes acerca de los objetivos educativos en general, y especialmente, en el área de la sexualidad. Sin embargo, las tres perspectivas no siempre son coincidentes con las consecuencias que se derivan de ello. Teniendo en cuenta la importancia de la identificación de necesidades y metas comunes, planteamos este trabajo con el objetivo de conocer el grado de concordancia entre: 1) los conocimientos que los usuarios tienen sobre sexualidad y la que los padres y profesionales les atribuyen y…

Cybersex in the “Net generation”: Online sexual activities among Spanish adolescents

The internet offers several opportunities to explore sexuality among adolescents. However, some studies have also revealed problematic effects of cybersex in earlier stages. Despite this, few studies analyze the online sexual behavior among adolescents, even less in Spain where there is very little data. For this reason, our aim is to examine the use of internet for sexual purposes among Spanish adolescents, including gender differences. Three hundred and twenty-two adolescents completed an ad-hoc questionnaire and the Spanish version of the Internet Sex Screening Test. In general, boys report more cybersex than girls do, for example, in masturbating while the Internet (60.6% of boys and 7.…

Development and Psychometric Properties of the Detection of Sexual Abuse Risk Screening Scale (DSARss).

People with intellectual disability (ID) are more vulnerable to being victims of sexual abuse (SA) because, in most cases, they are not able to detect the warning signs that abuse could occur. However, there is a lack of appropriate assessment tools to determine their vulnerability. To address this limitation, the current study tests the psychometric properties of the Detection of Sexual Abuse Risk Screening Scale (DSARss), a new scale developed to assess the ability of individuals with mild or moderate ID to detect the risk of SA. In all, 246 individuals with mild or moderate ID (55.3% males) completed the DSARss, along with other scales assessing related dimensions (e.g., psychopathologi…

Analyzing the role of resilience and life satisfaction as mediators of the impact of COVID-19 worries on mental health

The aim of this study was to test whether resilience and life satisfaction (two traditional protective factors) mediate between COVID-19 related worries and the development of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress in adolescents and young adults. Participants involved 392 adolescents and young adults (70.20% female) aged between 12 and 25 years (M = 17.05 years, SD = 3.08). Participants completed the COVID-19 related worries scale, the CD-RISC to analyse resilience, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-21 to study emotional symptoms. Descriptive analyses and Pearson correlations were conducted, together with a structural equation modeling te…

Adicción al cibersexo en función de la orientación sexual: prevalencia y predictores

El cibersexo, una práctica sexual generalizada en la sociedad, puede entrañar ciertos beneficios, aunque también conlleva riesgos (como desarrollar una adicción). Dado que el colectivo LGTBI (Lesbianas, gays, transexuales, bisexuales e intersexuales) lo consume más frecuentemente, el riesgo de adicción también podría ser mayor. Este estudio pretende analizar si la orientación sexual aumentaba el riesgo de consumo adictivo de cibersexo, y si la preferencia por determinadas Actividades Sexuales Online (ASOs) y las motivaciones para su realización explicaban este incremento. A tal fin, 553 personas de entre 18-40 años (54.2% hombres; 36.2% heterosexuales, 36.2% bisexuales, 27.7% homosexuales) …

Personas mayores en riesgo: uso del preservativo ante las infidelidades

Si bien las infecciones de transmisión sexual suelen relacionarse con etapas evolutivas tempranas, estudios recientes ponen el foco de atención en la población más mayor. Sin embargo, pocos esfuerzos centran su atención en dicho colectivo, entre otros motivos, por la propia invisibilización de su sexualidad. Esto ocurre todavía más, cuando se trata de conductas penalizadas socialmente, como sería el caso de la infidelidad. Por este motivo, el presente estudio busca analizar la conducta de uso del preservativo en personas mayores, en el contexto de la infidelidad, así como el papel que podrían jugar variables psicológicas y nuevos contextos sexuales, como internet. Para ello, 244 personas (4…

Expert appraisal of criteria for assessing gaming disorder: An international Delphi study

Background and aims Following the recognition of ‘internet gaming disorder’ (IGD) as a condition requiring further study by the DSM‐5, ‘gaming disorder’ (GD) was officially included as a diagnostic entity by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD‐11). However, the proposed diagnostic criteria for gaming disorder remain the subject of debate, and there has been no systematic attempt to integrate the views of different groups of experts. To achieve a more systematic agreement on this new disorder, this study employed the Delphi expert consensus method to obtain expert agreement on the diagnostic validity, clinical util…

Preventing problematic internet use during the COVID-19 pandemic: Consensus guidance

As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments have introduced steps such as spatial distancing and “staying at home” to curb its spread and impact. The fear resulting from the disease, the ‘lockdown’ situation, high levels of uncertainty regarding the future, and financial insecurity raise the level of stress, anxiety, and depression experienced by people all around the world. Psychoactive substances and other reinforcing behaviors (e.g., gambling, video gaming, watching pornography) are often used to reduce stress and anxiety and/or to alleviate depressed mood. The tendency to use such substances and engage in such behaviors in an excessive manner as putative coping strategies i…

ARMONÍA DE PAREJA EN POBLACIÓN DE PERSONAS MAYORES: DIFERENCIAS ENTRE SEXOS

El ajuste diádico no solamente es un factor esencial en la perdurabilidad y calidad de toda relación de pareja, sino que además, puede afectar a la vida personal y a la salud de sus miembros. El presente estudio explora el ajuste percibido por las personas mayores en España en su relación de pareja presente o pasada, analizando las posibles diferencias entre hombres y mujeres. Se administró la Escala de Ajuste Diádico a 80 personas entre los 51 y los 81 años. El 55% eran mujeres. El 66,3% estaban casados, el 21,3% separados o divorciados y un 12,5% había enviudado. Se tomó el valor 107 propuesto en la literatura como punto de corte para establecer un ajuste diádico positivo. La puntuación g…

Occurrence and clinical characteristics of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD): A cluster analysis in two independent community samples.

AbstractBackground and aimsCompulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) is characterized by a persistent failure to control intense and recurrent sexual impulses, urges, and/or thoughts, resulting in repetitive sexual behavior that causes a marked impairment in important areas of functioning. Despite its recent inclusion in the forthcoming ICD-11, concerns regarding its assessment, diagnosis, prevalence or clinical characteristics remain. The purpose of this study was to identify participants displaying CSBD through a novel data-driven approach in two independent samples and outline their sociodemographic, sexual, and clinical profile.MethodsSample 1 included 1,581 university students (female…

“Diagnostic inflation” will not resolve taxonomical problems in the study of addictive online behaviours. •

AbstractThis article suggests that the type of Internet-enabled device should not be prioritised when conceptualizing diagnostic categories of addictive online behaviours. The diagnostic distinction between “predominantly mobile” and “predominantly non-mobile” forms of Internet use disorders (IUD) is not empirically based, may not be clinically useful and may lead to “diagnostic inflation.” Problems with the concepts of smartphone use disorder and IUD on which the proposed distinction is largely based call for their re-examination. Future proposals for the taxonomy of addictive behaviours may not need to be based on online/offline and mobile/non-mobile dichotomies.

Análisis de la bondad de múltiples indicadores para el diagnóstico de la adicción al cibersexo

El uso de Internet con propósitos sexuales (p.e., visionado de pornografía o contacto sexual mediante chat o cámara web) resulta una práctica cada vez más generalizada. Si bien en la mayoría de los casos se realiza de forma recreativa, en algunas ocasiones puede sobrevenir compulsivo, incontrolado y asociado a deterioro funcional en varios ámbitos (adicción al cibersexo). Las escalas de las que disponemos para su diagnóstico se han visto limitadas a la hora de identificar estos pacientes debido a que algunos indicadores diagnósticos han perdido especificidad: por ejemplo, el tiempo online con fines sexuales parece no discriminar usuarios problemáticos debido al uso cada vez más intensivo de…

Rationale for and usefulness of the inclusion of gaming disorder in the ICD-11.

Perceived stress in relation to quality of life and resilience in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease undergo various stages of therapeutic adaptation which involve lifestyle modifications, physical changes, and adjustment to renal replacement therapy. This process produces adaptive stress. Objective: To identify how resilience, health- related quality of life, and sociodemographic, clinical, and hemodialysis routine-related variables are related to perceived stress in patients with chronic kidney disease receiving hemodialysis for more than six months. Methods: This was a multicenter and cross-sectional study involving 144 patients from the Valencian Community (Spain). The assessment scales used for the study were the Perceived Stress Scale …

Una perspectiva de género en el estudio de conductas de riesgo de los adolescentes.

La adolescencia es una etapa clave para la adquisición de los estilos de vida saludables. Sin embargo, a nivel europeo, se observa cómo los y las adolescentes realizan a diario conductas de riesgo para su salud. Dadas las repercusiones que conllevan, este trabajo explora la realización de conductas de riesgo para la salud (consumo de alcohol, tabaco y otras drogas, mala alimentación, sedentarismo y sexualidad de riesgo) así como el análisis de aquellas variables que podrían facilitarlas (actitudes, creencias y motivaciones) entre adolescentes de la Comunidad Valenciana. Para ello, 300 adolescentes entre 15 y 18 años, cumplimentaron el Cuestionario de Información, Actitudes y Comportamientos…

Towards a cross-cultural assessment of binge-watching : Psychometric evaluation of the “watching TV series motives” and “binge-watching engagement and symptoms” questionnaires across nine languages

International audience; In view of the growing interest regarding binge-watching (i.e., watching multiple episodes of television (TV) series in a single sitting) research, two measures were developed and validated to assess binge-watching involvement (``Binge-Watching Engagement and Symptoms Questionnaire'', BWESQ) and related motivations (``Watching TV Series Motives Questionnaire'', WTSMQ). To promote international and cross-cultural binge-watching research, the present article reports on the validation of these questionnaires in nine languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Hungarian, Persian, Arabic, Chinese). Both questionnaires were disseminated, together with additional …

Sexual Sensation Seeking in Spanish Young Men and Women With Different Sexual Orientations

This study analyzes the relation of sexual orientation and gender to sexual sensation seeking. Participants were 382 individuals (200 men, 182 women) between 17 and 29 years old who completed the Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale. Of the 382 participants, 52.46% self-reported heterosexual orientation, and 47.64% self-reported homosexual orientation. The results showed differences with Sexual Sensation Seeking being more frequent among heterosexuals and men. There were no differences between heterosexual and homosexual men. Heterosexual women had higher sexual sensation seeking scores than did homosexual women. These results and their possible implications for the effective development of preve…

Relationship Status as an Influence on Cybersex Activity: Cybersex, Youth, and Steady Partner

The authors focus on the influence of participants' having or not having a steady partner when reference to cybersex use. Participants were 1,239 young, Spanish individuals who completed the Internet Sex Screening Test. Results showed the influence of being in a relationship on certain consumption dimensions of cybersex; the influence was found to be greater in men than in women. In general, cybersex activity was higher for single participants, although it was also significant for participants with a steady partner. The authors' findings facilitate the comprehension of the effect of new technologies in intimate human relationships.

Common etiological pathways between toxic substance use, Internet and cybersex addiction: The role of expectancies and antisocial deviance proneness

This study examined Internet and cybersex addiction in adolescents and how such behaviour was associated with substance use (in particular, cigarettes, alcohol, and drug use). Participants were 312 adolescents, aged 14-16, who completed survey instruments. Study measures included demographic, toxic substance use, expectancies toward substances consumption, antisocial deviance proneness, Internet, and cybersex addiction variables. Descriptive, bivariate analyses, exploratory/confirmatory factor analyses, and structural Equation Modeling were performed. Nearly 60%, 26%, and 25% of adolescents reported having drunk alcohol, used drugs and smoked cigarettes respectively. Prevalence of Internet …

Psychological distress in critically ill patients: Risk and protective factors

Abstract : Despite the importance of patients’ psychological well-being in their own recovery from illness, few studies examine these issues while the patient is still in ICU. This study analyzes the psychological distress of 71 ICU patients and the potential risk/protective factors for such distress. Patients showed moderate anxiety and depression although in a significant percentage clinical symptomatology was observed. More than halve of the patients revealed an intermediate general stress level and the most important stressor was having pain. Regarding risk factors for psychological distress, being a woman increased the risk for anxiety, depression and stress. Being a septic patient als…

A Validation Study of the Spanish Version of the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory (HBI): Paper-and-Pencil Versus Online Administration.

Hypersexuality is a problematic behavior characterized by the combination of an excessive sexual desire and the pathological inability to control it. This study presents the psychometric properties of the Spanish paper-and-pencil and online versions of the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory (HBI), one of the most popular scales to assess this issue. 2250 participants (1070 men) completed a translated version of the HBI (1450 in paper-and-pencil; 800 online). The EFA yielded three factors that explained 67.53% of total variance for the HBI paper-and-pencil version. This factor structure was confirmed in the HBI online version through CFA. Factorial, structural, scalar and error variance invarian…

Subtyping treatment-seeking gaming disorder patients

Abstract Background and aims Gaming Disorder (GD) is characterized by a pattern of persistent and uncontrolled gaming behavior that causes a marked impairment in important areas of functioning. The evolution of the worldwide incidence of this disorder warrants further studies focused on examining the existence of different subtypes within clinical samples, in order to tailor treatment. This study explored the existence of different profiles of patients seeking treatment for GD through a data-driven approach. Methods The sample included n = 107 patients receiving treatment for GD (92% men and 8% women) ranging between 14 and 60 years old (mean age = 24.1, SD = 10). A two-step clustering anal…

Validación de un instrumento de evaluación del comportamiento sexual de personas con discapacidad intelectual para padres (ECS-PA)

La reciente normalización de la sexualidad y de los derechos sexuales entre las personas con Discapacidad Intelectual (DI) ha hecho que se incremente el número de iniciativas dirigidas a mejorar sus conocimientos y habilidades mediante programas de educación afectivo-sexual pero dichos programas requieren instrumentos de evaluación fiables que permitan identificar sus necesidades y puedan ser sensibles al cambio tras la intervención. En dicha valoración deben confluir sus percepciones, las de los profesionales que se ocupan de ellos y las de sus padres para asegurar la veracidad de la información obtenida, pero lamentablemente carecemos de instrumentos psicométricos válidos y fiables tanto …