CH 15: Variations in Sexual Behaviour Flashcards
what is “normal” sexual behaviour?
typically is what occurs between one man and one women who engage in sexual intercourse, likely the missionary position, for sole purpose of procreation
incest
sexual activity between persons of a close enough genetic relationship that they are not legally permitted to marry
4 perspectives of abnormal sexual behaviour
1) statistical
2) sociological
3) psychological
4) medical
what is a paraphilia?
atypical sexual behaviour, any intense and persistent sexual interest other than sexual interest in genital stimulation or preparatory fondling or with phenotypically normal, physically mature, consenting human partners
- falls outside range of “normal”
DSM V definition of paraphilia
- feel personal distress about their interest, not merely distress resulting from society’s disapproval
- have sexual desire or behaviour that involves another person’s psychological distress, injury, or death, or a desire for sexual behaviours involving unwilling persons or persons unable to give legal consent
paraphilia disorder
paraphilia that causes distress or impairment to the individual, or that may harm others when acted upon
8 types of paraphilias
1) exhibitionistic
2) fetishistic
3) voyeuristic
4) frotteuristic
5) pedophilic
6) sexual masochism
7) sexual sadism
8) transvestic
DSM description of signs/symptoms to identify paraphilia’s and diagnose with paraphilic disorder
A) Qualitative nature of paraphilia (e.g exposing ones genitals to strangers)
B) Negative consequences or the paraphilia (distress, impairment, harm to others)
- Diagnosis if individuals who meet both criterion A and B
- If individual meets A not B, that person is said to have paraphilia, not paraphilic disorder
Disorder must have been present for at least 6 months
compulsive sexual behaviour
disorder in which the person experiences intense sexually arousing fantasies, urges and associated sexual behaviour
carne’s 4-step cycle
1) reoccupation
2) rituals
3) compulsive sexual behaviour
4) despair
what is a fetish
- attraction to inanimate object
describes urges, fantasies, and behaviours in which non-living objects or specific body parts are eroticized
fetishism
a persons sexual fixation on some object other than another human being and attachment of great erotic significance to that object
fetishistic disorder
- involves persistent and repetitive use of or dependence on non-living objects or a highly specific focus on a (typically non-genital) body parts as a primary element associated with sexual arousal
- This must cause significant personal distress or psychosocial role impairment
in extreme cases of fetishistic disorder
individual is unable to orgasm or even become roused unless the fetish object is present
3 theories as to why people become fetishists
1) learnign theory
- classical conditioning to an object as sexual
2) cognitive theory
- perception of arousal is distorted
3) Addiction theory
- i.e Carnes 4-step cycle
what is transvestism?
- dressing as a member of the other gender for erotic purposes
- cross dressing
- not necessarily wanting to change sex
transvestic disorder
- Diagnosis applies to individuals whose cross-dressing or thoughts of cross-dressing are always/often accompanied by sexual excitement and who are emotionally distressed by this pattern (distress must be present to be disorder), or who feel that it impairs social or interpersonal functioning
1) If an individual also reports sexual arousal to fabrics, materials, or garments he is wearing, he is diagnosed with transvestic disorder with fetishism
2) If individual is sexually aroused by thoughts of himself as female, he is diagnosed with transvestic disorder with autogynephilia
Most individuals with transvestic fetishism/disorder
- Begin cross-dressing in childhood, and masturbating while cross-dressing during adolescence
- Median age fist cross-dress is 8.5 years
- Men are typically married, and college educated
transgenderism
involves person dressing as the other sex due to gender dysphoria
sadist
person who derives sexual satisfaction from inflicting pain on another person
masochist
person who derives sexual satisfaction from experiencing pain
- Masochism may be explained by a desire to escape from self-awareness and remove pressures and responsibilities of everyday life
bondage and discipline
use of physical or psychological restraints to enforce servitude
- May also include sensory deprivation and humiliating behaviours, or use of feces/urine
dominance and submission
use of power consensually given to control the sexual stimulation and behaviour of the other person
- Elaborate “play”” scripts that can be specific to sexual interactions, or that can permeate into all areas of an individuals life
- Negotiation is key component, “safe words” are determined beforehand for submissive partner to use if wants to stop the role play
what does BDSM stand for
- bondage and discipline
- dominance and submission
- sadist
- masochist
what is BSDM
“kink”
Involves sadism and masochism but also bondage, discipline, domination and submission
what is bondage?
use in sexual behaviour of restraining devices which have sexual significance
what is discipline?
painful whipping, biting, application of hot wax or other painful stimuli
dominant vs submissive partner
dominant= master, top (“doer”)
submissive = bottom, slave (“recipient”)
sadomasochism
Involves rituals and scripts surrounding the infliction of pain (sadism) or the receiving of pain (masochism) in sexual context
- combo sadism, masochism
- rare form of sexual behaviour
sadomasochistic behaviour
- often accompanied by elaborate rituals and gadgetry
sexual sadist
someone who derives sexual pleasure from influencing physical pain or psychological suffering on another person, often to gain power or to humiliate the other person
sexual sadism disorder
- Disorder involves recurrent or intense sexual arousal from the physical or psychological suffering of another person, as manifested by fantasies, urges or behaviours
- One must have acted on these urges with non-consenting person, or the sexual urges or fantasies must cause significant distress/impairment
sexual masochism disorder
- Recurrent and intense sexual arousal from the act of being humiliated, beaten, bound or otherwise made to suffer, as manifested by fantasies, urge or behaviours
- These must cause distress or impairment
3 courtship disorder
1) voyeurism
2) exhibitionism
3) frotteurism
what is a courtship disorder
Disturbance in one or more phases of the common western notion of partnered sexual activity, which include
1) Looking for and finding a partner
2) Approaching partner with conversation
3) Non-genital physical touching
4) Sexual intercourse
- Experience one or more phases in a distorted manner
- Men with one of these disorders show elevated penile responses to stimuli depicting images associated with the other disorders
- Often involve non-consenting victims
- May develop because the individuals lack the proper social skills to approach partnered activity in a consenting manner
what is voyeurism
- Recurrent and intense sexual arousal from observing and unsuspecting person who is naked, in the process of disrobing, and/or engage in sexual activity, as manifested by fantasies and urgers, or behaviours
- The person has acted upon these urges with non-consenting person
- Or urges an fantasies have cause distress or impairment
- often engage in masturbation while engaging in voyeurism, element of risk is important
who is likely to participate in voyeurism
- likely to be youngest child in family and have good relationship with parents, but few friends
- few married and seldom have female friends
- “peepers” or “peeping tom”
what is scoptophilia
sexual pleasure is derived from observing sexual acts and the genitals
what is exhibitionism?
Recurrent and intense sexual arousal form the exposure of one’s genitals to an unsuspecting person
- The victims reaction creates the sexual excitement for the exhibitionist
- Majority masturbate to ejaculation while the expose themselves
- Not looking to scare victims, but hope that their victims might want to have sexual intercourse with them, or they hope for positive/neutral reaction from victims
exhibitionism more common in?
More common in men than women
- Behaviours usually begin in adolescence, and frequency decreases with age
- These acts are among the most common law-breaking sexual behaviours
social learning theory proposed– exhibitionism
- parents may have modelled such behaviour
- may be reinforced by “getting attention”
exhibitionism diagnosis
To be diagnosed with this disorder, the individual must have acted upon these urges with a non-consenting person or experienced distress or impairment from the urges/fantasies
telephone scatologia
- Diagnosed under category of “other specified paraphilic disorder”
- Form of verbal exhibitionism in which person becomes aroused by making sexually explicit telephone called, based on reaction of victim
what is frotteurism
- Disorder characterized by the act of fantasizing about, or actually engaging in, rubbing against or touching a non-consenting person for sexual gratification
- aka toucherism
diagnosed with frotteurism
To be diagnosed with this disorder, individual must have acted on these urges with non-consenting person, or experienced distress or impairment from urges/fantasies
frotteurism usually occurs ??
where, by who?
- Usually occur in public, crowded areas, where if caught the perpetrator can claim that the rubbing/touching was by accident
- Usually male, victims typically female
- up to 35% university males engage in toucherism
what is toucherism
act of fantasizing about touching, or actually touching, a non-consenting person for sexual gratification
blastophilia
Erotic interest in committing rape
nymphomania
high level of sex drive in women
satyriasis
Don Juanism
- an excessive, insatiable sex drive in a man
what is hypersexuality
- excessive, insatiable sex drive in either man or a women
- leads to compulsive sexual behaviour
- Continually pursue sexual encounters, despite negative consequences
- Characterized by dysregulation in impulse control, resulting in excessive frequency and intensity of maladaptive sexual behaviours
- Diagnoses includes: excessive masturbation
persistant genital arousal disorder (PGAD)
spontaneous, persistent, uncontollable genital arousal that is not associated with sexual desire
– In women
priapsim
men, persistent often painful erection.
Not associated with sexual desire/arousal
asphyxiophilia
- desire to induce in oneself a state of oxygen deficiency in order to create sexual arousal or to enhance excitement and orgasm
- people engage believe that arousal and orgasm are intensified by reduced oxygen
The wish to die from lack of oxygen is not part of the sexual practice
Cybersex use and abuse
- 6 characteristics (Griffith)
- compulsive behaviour
1) salience
2) mood modification
3) tolerance
4) withdrawal symptoms
5) conflict
6) relapse
saliromania
disorder found mainly in men
- desire to damage or soil a women or her clothes
coprophilia
- sexual pleasure from contact with feces
urophilia
sexual satisfaction from contact with urine
necrophilia
sexual contact with dead person
zoophilia
bestiality
- sexual contact with animal
- most activity occurs during adolescent experimentation
self-acknowledged zoophiles
- say love and are concerned for animals welfare
- state reasons having sex with animals is their desire for affection and pleasure
- type of sexual activity varies by animals
hyphephilia
arousal to feeling of particular texture
klismaphilia
arousal to enemas, the injection of liquid into rectum through anus, usually for cleansing or for stimulating evacuation of bowels
stigmatophila
arousal to partners who are pierced or tattooed
assessment of sexual variations
treatment
- Assessment consists of interview, including general background of client, mental and physical health history, extensive sexual and relationship history
- Assessment may also include psychometrics: measurement, development or administration of psychological tests
4 treatments of sexual variations
1) medical treatments
2) psychopharmacological treatment
3) cognitive-behavioural therapies
4) skills training
2 medical treatments for sexual variations
1) surgical castration
2) hormonal treatment (use of MPA)
4 cognitive-behavioural therapies
1) behavioural therapy
2) social skills training
3) modification of distorted thinking
4) relapse prevention
Penile plethysmography (PPG
- direct measure of changes in penile blood volume, which is an indicator of level of sexual arousal
- Increased penile blood flow in response to external stimuli is indicative of sexual preference for that stimuli
satiation therapy
- requires client to masturbate to appropriate fantasy and then masturbate again immediately following orgasm to an undesired fantasy
- The decreased sex drive on the second masturbation attempt will make the experience less exciting, eventually pairing between the undesired fantasy and the sexual arousal will diminish
orgasmic conditioning
- Requires client to masturbate to paraphilic fantasy until point of orgasm, at which time fantasy is switched to more socially acceptable one
- Goal is for client to associate orgasm with appropriate stimulus
aversion therapy
Fantasies of paraphilic behaviour are linked with unpleasant stimulus
medical treatment with androgens
- Small dose of anti-androgen may be added to reduce sex drive
- Anti-androgens can be delivered orally, or intramuscular injections
pedophilic disorder
- Sexual interest in children who are not of reproductive maturity by biological standards
- Diagnosis is specifically for individuals who have recurrent, intense, sexually arousing fantasies or urges involving sexual activitiy with prepubescent child/children, generally age 13 or younger, and who have acted upon urges, or who the urges/fantasies cause marked distress or interpersonal difficulty
pedophiles
- individual with an exclusive or non-exclusive sexual preference for children
- Most not violent, they work hard to coerce a specific child hey are close to
psychonalytic theory (paraphilia)
- Paraphilias are thought to result from castration anxiety and the Oedipus complex (more common in males)
- The fetish object is an unconscious replacement by the mothers missing penis and therefore reduces the male castration anxiety by the missing penis of his female partner
behavioural theory (freud- paraphilias)
- Freud thought of children as “polymorphous perverse”
- They can become aroused to anything
Propose that the development of paraphilia’s occurs through classical conditioning, in which the paraphilia object or action comes to be paired with sexual arousal over one or more trials in which sexual arousal is accidentally associated with it
neurological findings (pedophilia)
- Neuro-cognitive testing: demonstrated pedophiles have lower IQs than non-pedophile offenders,
- Brain-imaging studies show that pedophiles show deficits in brain activation associated with sexuality when they are viewing sexual pictures of adults and significantly more activation in an emotional processing area of the brain (amygdala) when looking at pictures of children wearing swimsuits
Other theories suggested individuals with certain behavioural characteristics may be more likely to develop pedophilic disorder or commit sexual offences against children. 3 main risk factors
1) sexual deviance
2) antisocial traits
3) intimacy deficits
Another theory: pedophiles who sexually abuse children likely suffer from thinking errors, or cognitive distortions
