Cybersex Addiction Among College Students: A Prevalence Study
Abstract
With the ubiquity of Internet access in American society comes increased access to sexually explicit materials. Although online sexual behavior is not problematic in and of itself, for some it can become compulsive and addictive. One population that may be at heightened risk for cybersex addiction is the collegiate population. We surveyed 339 students and found that 10.3% scored in the clinical range for cybersex addiction. Further, we found significant gender differences among the clinical and non-clinical range groups as males were more likely to score in the clinical range for cybersex addiction.
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Chronic exposure to online sexual content can increase the risk of sexual addiction in people who already have risk factors, such as attachment disorders, history of substance abuse, and impulse control disorders.
“Chronic exposure to online sexual content can increase the risk of sexual addiction in people who already have risk factors, such as attachment disorders, history of substance abuse, and impulse control disorders.³¹”
From Cybersex addiction: An overview of the development and treatment of a newly emerging disorder (2020) · cites this paper as [31]
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- Authors
- Giordano, A. L., & Cashwell, C. S.
- Affiliations
- University of North Texas (US)
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro (US)
- Corresponding author
- Giordano, Amanda L.
- Venue
- Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2017-03-28
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 1-2
- Pages
- 47-57
- ISSN
- 1072-0162 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-5318
- OpenAlex
- W2600100816
- Cited by
- 48
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 6.11
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity The Journal of Treatment and Prevention (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Gambling Behavior and Treatments
- Keywords
- cybersex addiction, university students, prevalence, online sexual behavior, compulsive sexual behavior, gender differences, sexually explicit material
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