title: Sex addiction and gambling disorder: similarities and differences.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recently, the DSM-5 has developed a new diagnostic category named "Substance-related and Addictive Disorders". This category includes gambling disorder (GD) as the sole behavioral addiction, but does not include sex addiction (SA). The aim of this study is to investigate whether SA should be classified more closely to other behavioral addictions, via a comparison of the personality characteristics and comorbid psychopathology of individuals with SA with those of individuals with GD, which comes under the category of addiction and related disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample included 59 patients diagnosed with SA, who were compared to 2190 individuals diagnosed with GD and to 93 healthy controls. Assessment measures included the Diagnostic Questionnaire for Pathological Gambling, the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Symptom CheckList-90 Items-Revised and the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No statistically significant differences were found between the two clinical groups, except for socio-economic status. Although statistically significant differences were found between both clinical groups and controls for all scales on the SCL-90, no differences were found between the two clinical groups. The results were different for personality characteristics: logistic regression models showed that sex addictive behavior was predicted by a higher education level and by lower scores for TCI-R novelty-seeking, harm avoidance, persistence and self-transcendence. Being employed and lower scores in cooperativeness also tended to predict the presence of sex addiction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While SA and GD share some psychopathological and personality traits that are not present in healthy controls, there are also some diagnostic-specific characteristics that differentiate between the two clinical groups. These findings may help to increase our knowledge of phenotypes existing in behavioral addictions.
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Psicologia i Medicina Psicosomática Hospital Universitari Quirón-Dexeus, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Farré
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Instituto Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fernández-Aranda
authors.affiliation: CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Instituto Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain; Departament de Psicobiologia i Metodologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Granero
authors.affiliation: Unitat d'Atenció al Joc Patològic i altres Addiccions no tòxiques, Àmbit d'Atenció a la Salut Mental, Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aragay
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Psicologia i Medicina Psicosomática Hospital Universitari Quirón-Dexeus, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mallorquí-Bague
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Psicologia i Medicina Psicosomática Hospital Universitari Quirón-Dexeus, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ferrer
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Psicologia i Medicina Psicosomática Hospital Universitari Quirón-Dexeus, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: More
authors.affiliation: The Nottingham Gender Clinic, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Bouman
authors.affiliation: The Nottingham Gender Clinic, Nottingham, United Kingdom; Leicester Eating Disorders Service, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arcelus
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: L G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Savvidou
authors.affiliation: Departament de Psicobiologia i Metodologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Penelo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Aymamí
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gómez-Peña
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Psicologia i Medicina Psicosomática Hospital Universitari Quirón-Dexeus, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gunnard
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romaguera
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Menchón
authors.affiliation: Unitat d'Atenció al Joc Patològic i altres Addiccions no tòxiques, Àmbit d'Atenció a la Salut Mental, Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vallès
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Instituto Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: sjimenez@bellvitgehospital.cat.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiménez-Murcia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004522:Educational Status; D004651:Employment; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology*; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010551:Personality; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires