Compulsive sexual behavior disorder and impulsivity

There is evidence from cross-sectional and community studies that impulsivity plays an important role in compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD). Several studies have found higher measures in self-reports of impulsiveness on the Barratt impulsiveness scale (BIS) in CSBD but others have failed to find such differences. Experimental studies using different cognitive components of impulsivity have produced contradictory results using tasks such as the go/no go paradigm or the stop signal task. Participants with CSBD tend to show approach-avoidance tendencies toward erotic stimuli and increased cognitive effort to obtain erotic rewards on the incentive delay task. There is some evidence for higher sensation seeking which is associated with impulsivity in CSBD. Individuals with CSBD are often driven by negative urgency and negative emotionality and these can be core symptoms predisposing factor to the development of CSBD. The mixed evidence for impulsivity suggests that further studies should be done using subjective questionnaires and cognitive tasks that require response to sexual stimuli in order to clarify the associations between impulsivity, CSBD, and online pornography use.