Impaired sexual delay discounting as a potential mechanism in women's compulsive sexual behavior: Evidence from a mixed-gender experiment.

Background and aims: Scientific evidence for underpinning mechanisms of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) is still scarce. This study explores impaired sexual delay discounting in compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) and its relationship with sexual sensation seeking (SSS) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) features in a general population sample.

Methods: Data were collected via an online survey in a German convenience sample. Participants (n = 311; 71.3% women, 27.3% men, 1.6% gender-diverse individuals) completed the Sexual Delay Discounting Task (SDT), Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder Scale-19 (CSBD-19), Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS scale), and Borderline Symptom List-23 (BSL-23).

Results: Higher CSB and SSS were linked to greater sexual delay discounting and a lower preference for condom or dental dam use, particularly in women. BPD features were associated with higher levels of CSB and SSS but did not moderate the relationship between these behaviors and sexual delay discounting. Men exhibited significantly more symptoms of CSB and SSS than women.

Discussion and conclusions: The findings contribute to our understanding of CSB, especially in women, and suggest a relationship between sexual delay discounting, SSS and CSB. This finding suggests a need for gender-sensitive approaches and awareness of excitement seeking behavior in research and clinical interventions for CSB.