Feature: Sex Addiction Hits the Internet
United Press International
NORRA MACREADY, UPI Science News
May 12, 2001

May 12, 2001 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- The easy availability of sexual activities on the Internet has given rise to a disorder that psychologists are calling online sexual addiction. Several recent surveys suggest that, while OSA may be more "virtual" than other severe addictions, it too can devastate a person's family life and career.
For example, one study found more than 20 percent of respondents had separated or divorced because of the partner's addiction to cybersex. A number of others in the 80-patient survey were seriously considering taking such a step, said study author Dr. Jennifer Schneider, an expert in addiction medicine in Tucson, Arizona.
To learn more about people who engage in cybersex, California physicians Al Cooper, David Delmonico, and Ron Burg posted a questionnaire on a popular news and self-help site and invited visitors to respond. In all, their sample included more than 9,200 people. Men outnumbered women 5 to 1.
The vast majority, 92 percent, of the participants fell into the category of recreational users, said Cooper, who is clinical director and training coordinator at Stanford University's San Jose Marital Counseling and Psychological Services and Sexuality Center. They spent less than 11 hours per week on online sexual activities, with no negative consequences.
But the remaining 8 percent exhibited some form of cybersex compulsion, and 1 percent of the sample could be termed "pure cybersex compulsives" -- high scorers both on standard tests of sexual compulsivity and on use of the Internet.
When considering the millions who access the Internet each day, that 1 percent, if representative, can easily translate into hundreds of thousands of individuals, said Cooper.
Many of the respondents were sex addicts before they ever discovered the Internet, but Cooper and colleagues found that for some, OSA was their first expression of any sort of sexual disorder.
"Our data suggests that this maybe as high as 17 percent of the online population," he said.
Those vulnerable people may be drawn by what he calls "the three As" of the Internet: access, affordability, and anonymity. For them, that combination makes online sex simply too attractive to resist.
Men and women with OSA differ in some important ways, however, said Schneider. She recently surveyed 80 patients, 70 men and 10 women, and found that 30 percent of the men arranged to meet a cybersex partner in real life. In contrast, 80 percent of women had arranged for three dimensions.
Schneider hesitates to draw conclusions based on such small numbers, especially of women. But she suggests that for most men, viewing pornographic images may be satisfying enough, while women seek relational sex and harbor fantasies of finding Mr. Right.
But OSA can ruin a person's life in several ways, Dr. Schneider warned.
Spouses or partners who discover their loved one's addiction are often shocked. In a study of people involved with someone addicted to cybersex, Schneider found most of the 94 respondents "described some combination of devastation, hurt, betrayal, loss of self-esteem, mistrust, suspicion, fear and a lack of intimacy in their relationships." Two people attempted suicide.
Sexual problems developed in more than two-thirds of the relationships as a direct result of OSA, she found.
The effect on children was especially destructive. Study participants in reported that their children had suffered from the loss of the affected parent's time and attention, and from seeing both parents argue. In some cases they had walked in on their parent as he or she was engaged in their activities, and had seen them masturbating or viewing pornography.
OSA also takes a toll in the workplace, asserted Cooper. He estimated that 70 percent of online pornography traffic occurs on weekdays, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
"Our research indicated that 20 percent of men and 12 percent of women use their work computer to access online sexual material," he said. "Six out of every 100 employees admitted using their work computer as their primary source to access sexual material online."
"These findings suggest that cybersex behaviors and abuse will be a growing concern for employers as people spend an increasing amount of their lives online. Our Center is getting increasing number of calls from employee assistance programs, human resource departments and employers both about specific employees as well as how to develop effective preventive programs and policies," said Cooper.
Continuing use of the computer for sex, irregardless of any destructive effects on job or family, should set off loud warning signals, said Dr. Schneider. Also "if it's leading to lack of sleep or depression, that's when you know it's time to seek help."

Copyright 2001 by United Press International.

This news story is not produced by the American Psychological Association and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the association.