Examining the psychometric properties of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale in a sample of compulsive pornography users.
OBJECTIVE
The current study evaluated several psychometric properties of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) (Goodman et al., 1989) adapted for compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) in a sample of 103 men seeking treatment at a private and a public university clinic in the United States.


METHODS
Measures of mental health functioning were collected from patients on two separate appointments: the initial screening and the follow-up appointment.


RESULTS
All patients reported using pornography compulsively, and approximately half of the sample also reported a history of having frequent anonymous sex with strangers. Results found that the adapted Y-BOCS had good internal consistency reliability, moderate mean inter-item correlations, and good test-retest reliability. Results from a multiple regression analysis also found that affect dysregulation (depression and anxiety), particularly among single, impaired men, was significantly associated with more severe sexual obsessive and compulsive features. Approximately 94% of the sample met criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder, and 57% of men met criteria for two or more psychiatric disorders.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings from the current study suggest the CSB-Y-BOCS is a reliable measure of obsessive and compulsive symptoms associated with CSB, and clinicians and researchers could use this scale to aid in the assessment and treatment of problematic sexual behaviors.
VISN 1 Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Centers, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA; Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. Electronic address: shane.kraus@va.gov.
Shane W
SW
Kraus
Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Marc N
MN
Potenza
VISN 1 Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Centers, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA; Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Steve
S
Martino
University of Chicago, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience.
Jon E
JE
Grant
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D004882:Erotica / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult