Sexual Desire, Mood, Attachment Style, Impulsivity, and Self-Esteem as Predictive Factors for Addictive Cybersex.

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of studies are concerned with various aspects of cybersex addiction, the difficulty some persons have in limiting cybersex use despite a negative impact on everyday life. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess potential links between the outcome variable cybersex addiction, assessed with the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) adapted for cybersex use, and several psychological and psychopathological factors, including sexual desire, mood, attachment style, impulsivity, and self-esteem, by taking into account the age, sex, and sexual orientation of cybersex users. METHODS: A Web-based survey was conducted in which participants were assessed for sociodemographic variables and with the following instruments: CIUS adapted for cybersex use, Sexual Desire Inventory, and Short Depression-Happiness Scale. Moreover, attachment style was assessed with the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised questionnaire (Anxiety and Avoidance subscales). Impulsivity was measured by using the Urgency, Premeditation (lack of), Perseverance (lack of), Sensation Seeking, Positive Urgency Impulsive Behavior Scale. Global self-esteem was assessed with the 1-item Self-Esteem Scale. RESULTS: A sample of 145 subjects completed the study. Addictive cybersex use was associated with higher levels of sexual desire, depressive mood, avoidant attachment style, and male gender but not with impulsivity. CONCLUSIONS: Addictive cybersex use is a function of sexual desire, depressive mood, and avoidant attachment.

Factor structure of the Cybersex Motives Questionnaire.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The Internet is widely used for sexual activities and pornography. Little is known, however, about why people look for meetings and sexual interactions through the Internet and about the correlates of cybersex addiction. The goal of this study was to construct a questionnaire for cybersex motives [Cybersex Motives Questionnaire (CysexMQ)] by adapting the Gambling Motives Questionnaire to cybersex use and validating its structure. METHODS: Two online samples of 191 and 204 cybersex users were collected to conduct a principal component analysis (PCA) on the first sample and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the second. Cronbach's α and composite reliability were computed to assess internal consistency. Correlations between the CysexMQ and the Sexual Desire Inventory (SDI) were also evaluated. RESULTS: Two competing models were retained from the PCA, one with two factors and the other with three factors. The CFA showed better fit for the three-factor solution. After three cross-loading items were removed, the results showed that a final 14-item three-factor solution (enhancement, coping, and social motives) was valid (adjusted goodness-of-fit index: 0.993; normed-fit index: 0.978; Tucker-Lewis index: 0.985; comparative fit index: 0.988; root mean square error of approximation: 0.076). Positive correlations were found between the different motives and the subscales of the SDI. DISCUSSION: The results suggest that the CysexMQ is adequate for the assessment of cybersex motives.