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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1423690
This article is part of the Research Topic Health Promotion in the Universities and Other Educational Settings View all 16 articles

Compulsive sexual behavior, sexual functioning problems, and linkages to substance use among German medical students -Exploring the role of sex and trauma exposure

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 Institute of Medical Sociology, Interdisciplinary Center of Health Sciences, University Hospital Halle, Halle (Saale), Germany
  • 2 Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Erfurt, Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany
  • 3 Institute for Social Medicine, Rehabilitation Sciences and Health Services Research, Hochschule Nordhausen, Nordhausen, Thuringia, Germany
  • 4 Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Hospital in Halle, Halle (Saale), Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Sexual problems relevant to psychotherapy, such as compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) and sexual functioning problems (SFP) have been related to harmful substance use in several studies. Sub-stance use is high among medical students (MS) and is considered a maladaptive stress coping strategy and a risk factor for mental health problems. Sexual problems and substance use share trauma exposure and posttraumatic symptoms as risk factors for their development. This study aimed to explore the interaction effects between problematic sexual behaviors, substance use, and trauma in German MS. A cross-sectional study (n=359; 69% female, 29% male) was conducted using an online question-naire. MS at a German university were recruited via mail. CSB (CSBD-19), SFP (SBQ), harmful alcohol (AUDIT) and drug use (DAST), childhood trauma exposure (CTQ), and currently occurring posttraumatic symptoms (IES-R) were measured. Multivariate linear and ordinal regressions, as well as path analyses, were conducted to investigate associations between the study variables. CSB was found in 3% of all MS. Most reported SFP were decreased sexual desire and problems with achieving orgasm among females and premature ejaculation among males. Higher CSBD val-ues were predicted by male sex, higher AUDIT scores, and higher frequencies of hyperarousal (IES-R). Path analyses revealed associations between the severity of emotional/sexual abuse, intensity of posttraumatic symptoms, and CSBD and AUDIT scores. Among female MS, less severe emotional abuse and severe physical abuse in childhood predicted higher frequencies of problems with or-gasm. The frequency of SFP correlated with the consumption frequency of benzodiazepines among females, with cannabis and MDMA/ecstasy among male MS, and with cocaine/crack, speed, as well as with AUDIT among both sexes. No interaction effects were found for SFP, substance use, or trauma-related factors in path analyses. To some extent, there appears to be a relationship between substance use, childhood trauma expo-sure, and currently persisting posttraumatic symptoms with problematic sexual behaviors among MS. However, further research is required to explore these relationships more deeply and to identi-fy the respective pathways. Mental health support measures should include the factors of sexuality, substance use, and trauma and explore their relationship with workload, career-related anxieties, and other curriculum-related factors.

    Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences, Addiction, childhood trauma, hypersexual behavior, Hyposexual behavior, Sexual dysfunction, posttraumatic stress

    Received: 26 Apr 2024; Accepted: 12 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Jepsen, Luck, Heckel, Niemann, Winter and Watzke. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Dennis Jepsen, Institute of Medical Sociology, Interdisciplinary Center of Health Sciences, University Hospital Halle, Halle (Saale), Germany

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