Running head: SEX ADDICTION 1

Sex Addiction: Article Review

Name

Institution
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Sex Addiction: Article Review

REFERENCE

Blinka, L., Ševčíková, A., Dreier, M., Škařupová, K., & Wölfling, K. (2022). Online Sex

Addiction: A Qualitative Analysis of Symptoms in Treatment-Seeking Men. Frontiers in

Psychiatry, 13.

PURPOSE

This article explores online addiction. The purpose of the research is to examine the

symptoms that manifest in problematic sexual internet use (PSIU), how the symptoms develop,

and the associated health and psychological issues. While problematic sexual internet use has

attracted significant attention among researchers, there is a scarcity of qualitative studies on the

problem.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

What are the symptoms of problematic sexual internet use?

How does the problem develop?

What is the treatment experience for problematic sexual internet use?

SUBJECTS
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There were 23 men involved in the research. All the men suffered from problematic sexual

internet use. The participants were aged between 22 and 53 years.

SAMPLING PROCEDURES

The participants who took part in the study in this article were recruited from individuals

who had a history of treatment for PSIU. Only male participants were recruited. Due to lack of

sex addiction treatment centres in Czech Republic, active health professionals who had handled

sex addiction patients were contacted and asked if they could invite their patients to take part in

the study.

DATA COLLECTION METHODOLODY

Data was collected using interviews. Semi-structured interviews were used.

DATA ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY

. The data was analysed using the thematic analysis technique. This was aimed to determine the

main themes and patterns from the interviews carried out.

FINDINGS

One of the key results obtained in the research is the out of control sexual behaviour

among all participants was related to the internet, with there being limited evidence of offline out

of control sexual behaviour. Another finding is the main source of the problem among the

participants was online sex content consumption, mainly pornography, and masturbation. It was
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also established in the research that the most prominent problem in the online sex addiction

among participants examined was the constant attempt to delay ejaculation for several hours

when masturbating. The key indication of addiction was participants were unable to resist the

urge to stay in the pleasurable state for long as opposed to performing masturbation.

With regard to development of the problem, it was found that consumption of porn was a

response to sexual urges before it became a dominant activity. Lastly, the symptoms were

manifested mainly through loss of control, preoccupation, craving, tolerance, and withdrawal

symptoms. In other words, one is unable to control the urge to consume online sex content,

craves for this content, and is preoccupied with online sex content.

CRITIQUE

This article provides insight into online sex addiction problem among men. It shows that

men across the age groups suffer the problem of consuming online sex content such as

pornography and engaging in accompanying behaviour, the main one being masturbation. What

makes the research carried out in the article reliable and results believable is there was

involvement of healthcare professionals in the recruitment of participants. These professionals

had better knowledge of what patients had sex addiction problem and using them ensured that

the right participants are recruited. The article achieves its purpose of identifying symptoms of

online sex addiction. However, the main problem is reliance on interviews for data. While it is

possible that the participants were actually those who had problem of sex addiction, the

researcher relying on them exclusively for information raises questions on the reliability of the

responses given. The participants may have given answers they felt the researcher wanted to
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hear. With the data collected using interviews, it is also possible that researcher also

inadvertently guided participants on what to answer by giving them prompts. This is particularly

the case if one was hesitating or was not sure of the answer to give. Nonetheless, the article

contributes a significant amount of knowledge about sex addiction.