Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory: Psychometric Properties

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Archives of Sexual Behavior Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) is a putative clinical syndrome characterized by the experience of sexual urges, sexually arousing fantasies, and sexual behaviors that are recurrent, intense, and a distressful interference in one's daily life. Although the putative phenomenology of CSB has been described in the literature, the lack of a reliable, valid assessment tool has made investigation of prevalence, co-factors, and etiologic factors difficult. This study examined the further development of the Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory (CSBI) using a sample of 1,026 Latino men who have sex with men recruited and assessed using web-based technology. The scale showed a two factor structure (control and violence). Further, the CSBI and its subscales showed indications of validity in that those engaging in CSB-type sexual behavior (being drunk or high, feeling lonely or depressed, and feeling driven) had scores indicative of greater CSB. Those with scores above the median had more sexual partners and engaged in more unprotected anal intercourse than those with CSBI scores below the median. Additionally, the instrument showed equivalence when administered in English and Spanish.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. A copy of the full instrument is available from B. R. Simon Rosser, Ph.D., Department of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, 1300 South Second St., Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454.

  2. The security protocol is available from B. R. Simon Rosser, Ph.D., Department of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, 1300 South Second St., Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454.

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (Fourth ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benotsch, E. G., Kalichman, S. C., & Kelly, J. A. (1999). Sexual compulsivity and substance use in HIV-seropositive men who have sex with men: Prevalence and predictors of high-risk behaviors. Addictive Behaviors, 24, 857–868.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Birnbaum, M. H. (2004). Human research and data collection via the internet. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 803–832.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Black, D. W., Kehrberg, L. L. D., Flumerfelt, D. L., & Schlasser, S. S. (1997). Characteristics of 36 subjects reporting compulsive sexual behavior. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 243–249.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, N. (1999). Sampling for internet surveys: An examination of respondent selection for internet research. Journal of the Marketing Research Society, 41, 387–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carnes, P. (1983). Out of the shadows: Understanding sexual addiction. Minneapolis, MN: CompCare Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carnes, P. (1989). Contrary to love. Center City, MN: Hazelden Information and Educational Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carnes, P. (1991). Don't call it love: Recovering from sexual addiction. New York: Bantam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, E. (1987). Sexual compulsivity: Definition, etiology, and treatment considerations. Journal of Chemical Dependency Treatment, 1, 189–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, E. (1991). Compulsive sexual behavior: New concepts and treatments. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 4, 37–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, E. (1992). Is your patient suffering from compulsive sexual behavior? Psychiatric Annals, 22, 320–325.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, E. (2003). Compulsive sexual behavior: What to call it, how to treat it? SIECUS Report, 31(5), 12–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, E., Miner, M., Ohlerking, F., & Raymond, N. (2001). Compulsive sexual behavior inventory: A preliminary study of reliability and validity. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 27, 325–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, E., Raymond, N., & McBean, A. (2003). Assessment and treatment of compulsive sexual behavior. Minnesota Medicine, 86(7), 42–47.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, A., Putnam, D., Planchon, L., & Boies, S. (1999). Sexuality and the internet. Journal of Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, 6, 79–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronbach, L. J., & Meehl, P. E. (1955). Construct validity in psychological tests. Psychological Bulletin, 52, 281–302.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • George, W. H., & Marlatt, G. A. (1989). Introduction. In D. R. Laws (Ed.), Relapse prevention with sex offenders (pp. 1–31). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, A. (2001). What's in a name? Terminology for designing a syndrome of driven sexual behavior. St. Paul: Minnesota Institute of Psychiatry.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D. (2002). LISREL 8.54 (computer software). Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kafka, M. P. (1991). Successful antidepressant treatment of nonparaphilic sexual addictions and paraphilias in men. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 52, 60–65.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kafka, M. P. (1997). Hypersexual desire in males: An operational definition and clinical implications for males with paraphilias and paraphilia-related disorders. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 26, 505–526.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kafka, M. P. (2000). The paraphilia-related disorders: Nonparaphilic hypersexuality and sexual compulsivity/addiction. In S. R. Leiblum & R. C. Rosen (Eds.)Principles and practice of sex therapy (pp. 471–503). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kafka, M. P., & Prentky, R. (1992). Fluoxetine treatment of nonparaphilic sexual addictions and paraphilias in men. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 53, 351–358.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kafka, M. P., & Prentky, R. (1994). Preliminary observations of DSM-III-R Axis I comorbidity in men with paraphilias and paraphilia-related disorders. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 55, 481–487.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kalichman, S. C., Adair, V., Rompa, D., Multhauf, K., Johnson, J., & Kelly, J. (1994). Sexual sensation seeking: Scale development and predicting AIDS-risk behavior among homosexually active men. Journal of Personality Assessment, 62, 385–397.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kalichman, S. C., & Cain, D. (2004). Relationship between indicators of sexual compulsivity and high risk sexual practices among men and women receiving services from a sexually transmitted infection clinic. Journal of Sex Research, 41, 235–241.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kalichman, S. C., & Rompa, D. (1995). Sexual sensation seeking and sexual compulsivity scales: Reliability, validity, and predicting HIV risk behavior. Journal of Personality Assessment, 65, 586–601.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kalichman, S. C., & Rompa, D. (2001). The sexual compulsivity scale: Further development and use with HIV-positive persons. Journal of Personality Assessment, 76, 379–395.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Konstan, J. A., Rosser, B. R. S., Ross, M. W., Stanton, J., & Edwards, W. M. (2005). The story of subject naught: A cautionary but optimistic tale of Internet survey research. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10(2), article 11. http://jcmc.indiana. edu/vol10/ issue2/konstan.html

  • Kraut, R., Olson, J., Banaji, M., Bruckman, A., Cohen, J., & Couper, M. (2004). Psychological research online: Report of Board of Scientific Affairs’ advisory group on the conduct of research on the internet. American Psychologist, 59, 105–117.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maher, B. A., & Gottesman, I. I. (2005). Deconstructing, reconstructing, preserving Paul Meehl's legacy of construct validity. Psychological Assessment, 17, 415–422.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Money, J. (1986). Lovemaps: Clinical concepts of sexual/erotic health and pathology, paraphilia, and gender transposition in childhood, adolescence, and maturity. New York: Irvington Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Money, J. (1988). Gay, straight, and in-between: The sexology of erotic orientation. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, C., Miner, M., Marques, J., Russell, K., & Achterkirchen, J. (1989). Relapse prevention: A cognitive behavioral model for the treatment of the rapist and child molester. Journal of Social Work and Human Sexuality, 7, 125–143.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raymond, N. C., Coleman, E., & Miner, M. H. (2003). Psychiatric comorbidity and compulsive/impulsive traits in compulsive sexual behavior. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 44, 370–380.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, M. W., Rosser, B. R. S, Stanton, J., & Konstan, J. (2004). Characteristics of Latino men who have sex with men on the internet who complete and drop out of an internet-based sexual behavior survey. AIDS Education and Prevention, 16, 526–537.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, G. T. (2005). On construct validity: Issues of method and measurement. Psychological Assessment, 17, 396–408.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Westen, D., & Rosenthal, R. (2005). Improving construct validity: Cronbach, Meehl and Neurath's ship. Psychological Assessment, 17, 409–412.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant to B.R. Simon Rosser from the National Institute of Mental Health (1 R01 MH064412-01A2). The authors thank the staff MINTS, especially Jeffrey Stanton, and Paul Brady. We also thank Anne Marie Weber-Main and David Nordstrom for their critical review and editing of manuscript drafts and Libby Frost for her help with formatting the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program in Human Sexuality, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Michael H. Miner & Eli Coleman

  2. Program in Human Sexuality, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, 1300 So. Second Street, Suite 180, 55454, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Michael H. Miner

  3. Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Bruce A. Center

  4. Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, School of Public Health, University of Texas, Houston, Texas, USA

    Michael Ross

  5. HIV/STI Intervention and Prevention Studies Program, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    B. R. Simon Rosser

Authors
  1. Michael H. Miner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eli Coleman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bruce A. Center
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Michael Ross
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. B. R. Simon Rosser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael H. Miner.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Miner, M.H., Coleman, E., Center, B.A. et al. The Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory: Psychometric Properties. Arch Sex Behav 36, 579–587 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-006-9127-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-006-9127-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation