Patient Characteristics by Type of Hypersexuality Referral: A Quantitative Chart Review of 115 Consecutive Male Cases.

Hypersexuality remains an increasingly common but poorly understood patient complaint. Despite diversity in clinical presentations of patients referred for hypersexuality, the literature has maintained treatment approaches that are assumed to apply to the entire phenomenon. This approach has proven ineffective, despite its application over several decades. The present study used quantitative methods to examine demographic, mental health, and sexological correlates of common clinical subtypes of hypersexuality referrals. Findings support the existence of subtypes, each with distinct clusters of features. Paraphilic hypersexuals reported greater numbers of sexual partners, more substance abuse, initiation to sexual activity at an earlier age, and novelty as a driving force behind their sexual behavior. Avoidant masturbators reported greater levels of anxiety, delayed ejaculation, and use of sex as an avoidance strategy. Chronic adulterers reported premature ejaculation and later onset of puberty. Designated patients were less likely to report substance abuse, employment, or finance problems. Although quantitative, this article nonetheless presents a descriptive study in which the underlying typology emerged from features most salient in routine sexological assessment. Future studies might apply purely empirical statistical techniques, such as cluster analyses, to ascertain to what extent similar typologies emerge when examined prospectively.