Presentation
Since its contentious consideration for inclusion as a disorder in the DSM-5, hypersexuality has remained a controversial construct (Kafka, 2010; Kingston, 2018). Hypersexuality plays an important role in etiological models of sexually aggressive behavior and various measures of the construct have been found to covary with recidivism among those who have committed sexual offenses (Hanson & Morton-Bourgon, 2004; Kingston & Bradford, 2013; Briken, 2012; Thornton, 2016). Consequently, it has become an important target for assessment and treatment among individuals convicted of sexual aggression (Marshall & Marshall, 2006). Nonetheless, the construct is riddled with problems that range from global issues about its core theoretical conceptualization to specific issues about the content and structure of the scales used to measure it (Graham, Walters, Harris, & Knight, 2015; Kingston, 2018).
In this presentation, I review the major controversies of hypersexuality as well as issues about the nature of the construct, the structure of its measures, and its place in the nomological network of factors critical to sexually aggressive behavior. Theoretical discussions are augmented by recent data obtained from two distinct samples (N = 1,451) which were used as the basis for developing Canadian community-based norms and establishing the underlying structure of hypersexuality.
About the Presenter
Drew Kingston received his doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Ottawa and completed his residency at the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group. He is a registered psychologist in the province of Ontario (non-active) and is a licensed psychologist in the state of California. He is currently aSenior Clinical Director of the HOPE program, a state-wide agency that provides assessment and treatment services to individuals who have come into contact with the law due to sexual aggression and atypical sexual interests. Dr. Kingston is also the Senior Scientist at the Royal Ottawa Hospital’s Institute of Mental Health Research and a clinical professor of Psychology, with a cross-appointed to the Department of Psychiatry, at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Kingston has been designated a fellow of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, an international, multi-disciplinary organization focused on the prevention and treatment of sexual abuse. Dr. Kingston is an ad-hoc reviewer for many journals and is on the editorial boards of the Archives of Sexual Behavior and Sexual Abuse. Dr. Kingston has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in the areas of serious mental illness, hypersexuality, paraphilic disorders, the impact of pornography on sexual aggression, and the sexual offense cycle.
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