BACKGROUND AND AIMS Descriptions of compulsive buying often emphasize the roles of negative moods and trait impulsivity in the development of problematic buying habits. Trait impulsivity is sometimes treated as a unidimensional trait in compulsive buying research, but recent factor analyses suggest that impulsivity consists of multiple components that are probably best treated as independent pr...

Compulsive sexual behavior, otherwise known as sexual addiction, is an emerging psychiatric disorder that has significant medical and psychiatric consequences. Until recently, very little empirical data existed to explain the biological, psychological, and social risk factors that contribute to this condition. In addition, clinical issues, such as the natural course and best practices on treati...

The sexual addiction model enables physicians to understand the self-destructive behavior of patients whose actions may otherwise appear inexplicable. When a person is preoccupied with sex and continues to engage in compulsive sexual activity despite adverse consequences (eg, loss of marriage, job, health, freedom), he or she is a sex addict. Treatment allows sex addicts to stop their compulsiv...

There is currently a lack of understanding of how surgical menopause can influence obsessions, compulsions and associated affective and cognitive functions in female obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients. Early menopause in women due to surgical removal of ovaries not only causes dramatic hormonal changes, but also may induce affective and cognitive disorders. Here, we tested if surgical...

Objectives: Compulsive exercise in eating disorders has been traditionally considered as a behavior that serves the purpose of weight/shape control. More recently, it has been postulated that there may be other factors that drive the compulsive need to exercise. This has led to the development of the Compulsive Exercise Test (CET); a self-reported questionnaire that aims to explore the cognitiv...

CONTEXT We have reported elsewhere on the development of an 8-item Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (OCS) contained in the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to identify children who meet criteria for DSM-IV obsessive-compulsive disorder. Twin studies of obsessive-compulsive disorder have indicated a significant genetic component to its expression. OBJECTIVE To determine the relative contributions of ...