A Surprising Finding Related to Executive Control in a Patient Sample of Hypersexual Men
Rory C. Reid PhD,
Sheila Garos PhD,
Bruce N. Carpenter PhD,
Eli Coleman PhD,
Corresponding Author
Rory C. Reid PhD
Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Rory C. Reid, PhD, LCSW, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Boulevard, Suite 38-260, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA. Tel: 310-825-8050; Fax: 310-825-0301; E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorSheila Garos PhD
Department of Psychology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
Search for more papers by this authorBruce N. Carpenter PhD
Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
Search for more papers by this authorEli Coleman PhD
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Search for more papers by this authorRory C. Reid PhD,
Sheila Garos PhD,
Bruce N. Carpenter PhD,
Eli Coleman PhD,
Corresponding Author
Rory C. Reid PhD
Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Rory C. Reid, PhD, LCSW, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Boulevard, Suite 38-260, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA. Tel: 310-825-8050; Fax: 310-825-0301; E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorSheila Garos PhD
Department of Psychology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
Search for more papers by this authorBruce N. Carpenter PhD
Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
Search for more papers by this authorEli Coleman PhD
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Search for more papers by this authorABSTRACT
Introduction. Patients seeking help for hypersexual behavior often exhibit features of impulsivity, cognitive rigidity, and poor judgment as well as deficits in emotion regulation and excessive preoccupation with sex. Some of these characteristics are also common among patients presenting with neurological pathology associated with executive dysfunction. Exploring relationships between dysregulated sexual behavior and executive deficits will enhance our understanding of hypersexuality.
Aim. This study sought to assess whether patients seeking help for hypersexual behavior exhibit executive deficits as measured by standardized neuropsychological tests of executive functioning when compared with healthy controls.
Methods. Executive deficits were assessed in a sample of male patients (N = 30) seeking help for hypersexual behavior compared with a nonhypersexual community sample of men (N = 30) using neuropsychological tests of executive functioning. Using multivariate statistics, differences between the groups were examined.
Main Outcome Measures. Sexual activity measured by the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory and the Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory. Executive functions measured through neuropsychological testing using several subtests of Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System: Color–Word Interference Test, the Tower Test, the Trail Making Test, the Verbal Fluency Test, as well as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Psychopathology was assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, and cognitive ability was assessed using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.
Results. Significant differences on measures of hypersexuality were observed. However, the groups failed to exhibit significant differences across neuropsychological tests of executive functioning even after controlling for cognitive ability.
Conclusions. These results contradict a previous finding of executive deficits among hypersexual men measured by self-report. The lack of executive deficits suggests that this population may exhibit domain-specific aspects of impulsivity, poor judgment, and risky behavior that are not generalizable to other domains of life. Furthermore, our findings fail to support a conceptualization of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, proposed hypersexual disorder based on models of executive dysfunction. Reid RC, Garos S, Carpenter BN, and Coleman E. A surprising finding related to executive control in a patient sample of hypersexual men. J Sex Med 2011;8:2227–2236.
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