Sexual addiction in drug addicts: The impact of drug of choice and poly-addiction
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE:: To compare the risk of comorbid sexual addiction in a sample of individuals with a diagnosis of substance dependence, stratifying the sample by drug of choice as well as by mono versus polysubstance addiction. METHOD:: All data were collected at Santa Casa de São Paulo, Brazil. The study sample comprised all alcohol or drug dependents admitted to the Addiction Treatment Unit between November 2013 and August 2014. A generalized linear model with a binomial distribution was performed to compare the odds of having a Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST) score greater than 6 points in the subgroups analyzed. RESULTS:: A total of 133 participants were included in our analysis, all reporting cocaine/crack and/or alcohol as drug of choice. Polysubstance addicts had a significant higher risk of a positive screening for sexual addiction compared to monosubstance addicts, age-sex adjusted odds ratios of sexual addiction being respectively 2.72 (95CI 1.1-6.71) and 0.37 (95CI 0.15-0.91). The odds of a SAST score greater than 6 was not statistically different between the cocaine/crack and alcohol groups, respectively 0.38 (95CI 0.14-1.02) and 2.67 (95CI 0.98-7.25). We found a significant relation between stronger drug addiction and greater levels of sexual addiction in the cocaine/crack group (p=0.0012), but not in the alcohol group. CONCLUSION:: Our study reinforces the importance of assessing sexual behavior of drug addicts in clinical practice, especially considering users of multiple substances or with severe dependence.
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Some sexually addicted patients report withdrawal symptoms, including on occasion similar to those of drug, even cocaine, addiction.
“Some sexually addicted patients report withdrawal symptoms, including on occasion similar to those of drug, even cocaine, addiction (Antonio et al., 2017;Chaney and Dew, 2003;Delmonico and Carnes, 1999;Garcia and Thibaut, 2010;Goodman, 2008;Griffiths, 2004;Paz et al., 2021;Schneider, 1991Schneider, , 1994)).”
From A motivation model of sex addiction – Relevance to the controversy over the concept (2022) · cites this paper as Antonio et al., 2017
The Introduction says that people may shift between addictive behaviors or use one dependence to counteract withdrawal symptoms from the other. It does not report sexually addicted patients describing their withdrawal symptoms or say those symptoms resemble cocaine withdrawal; the paper's discussion of cocaine concerns drug choice and sexual behavior. (LLM, conf=0.78)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredStimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine enhance desire and their problematic use can lock into association with sexual addiction.
“Stimulants, such as cocaine and methamphetamine ('extraversion drugs'), enhance desire and their problematic use can lock into association with sexual addiction (Antonio et al., 2017;Guss, 2000;Moskowitz and Roloff, 2007a;Sunderwirth et al., 1996).”
From A motivation model of sex addiction – Relevance to the controversy over the concept (2022) · cites this paper as Antonio et al., 2017
The Results (Sample characteristics; page unavailable) report that greater drug-addiction severity was associated with higher sexual-addiction screening risk in the cocaine/crack group. The Discussion says increased desire might occur among mild cocaine/crack users, but cautions that chronic abuse is associated with decreased libido. The study does not address methamphetamine or establish that problematic stimulant use enhances desire. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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- Authors
- Antonio, N., Diehl, A., Niel, M., Pillon, S., Ratto, L., Pinheiro, M. C., Silveira, D., Otani, T. Z., Otani, V., Cordeiro, Q., & Ushida, R.
- Affiliations
- Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo (BR)
- Universidade Federal de São Paulo (BR)
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo, Brazil
- Venue
- Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira
- Publisher
- FapUNIFESP (SciELO)
- Published
- 2017-05
- Volume
- 63
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 414-421
- ISSN
- 0004-5241 (ISSN-L)
- 0104-4230
- OpenAlex
- W2735356677
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 2 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 0.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Americanae (AECID Library) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Gambling Behavior and Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Keywords
- sexual addiction, polydrug use, substance dependence, cocaine dependence, alcoholism, drug of choice, comorbidities, addiction treatment
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Age Factors, Brazil, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Surveys and Questionnaires, Risk Factors, Severity of Illness Index, Sexual Behavior, Sex Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Logistic Models, Crack Cocaine, Behavior, Addictive, Risk Assessment, Cocaine-Related Disorders, Alcohol-Related Disorders, Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological, Drug Users
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