#hypersexualbehaviorinventory

This test is meant to be a tool to rule out a diagnosis for Hypersexuality Disorder (HD). If your score is below 53, you most likely do not have to worry about HD. However if your score is equal to or above 53, then you could meet potential criteria for HD and further examination is needed.

  Hypersexual Behavior Inventory

Below are a number of statements that describe various thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. As you answer each question, select a response that best describes you. Only choose one response per statement and please be sure to answer every question. For the purpose of this questionnaire, sex is defined as any activity or behavior that stimulates or arouses a person with the intent to produce an orgasm or sexual pleasure (e.g., self-masturbation or solo-sex, using pornography, intercourse with a partner, oral sex, anal sex, etc.). Sexual behaviors may or may not involve a partner.

1 = Never, 2 = Rarely, 3 = Sometimes, 4 = Often, 5 = Very Often.

1. I use sex to forget about the worries of daily life.

2. Even though I promised myself I would not repeat a sexual behavior, I find myself returning to it over and over again.

3. Doing something sexual helps me feel less lonely.

4. I engage in sexual activities that I know I will later regret.

5. I sacrifice things I really want in life in order to be sexual.

6. I turn to sexual activities when I experience unpleasant feelings (e.g.,frustration, sadness, anger).

7. My attempts to change my sexual behavior fail.

8. When I feel restless, I turn to sex in order to soothe myself.

9. My sexual thoughts and fantasies distract me from accomplishing important tasks.

10. I do things sexually that are against my values and beliefs.

11. Even though my sexual behavior is irresponsible or reckless, I find it difficult to stop.

12. I feel like my sexual behavior is taking me in a direction I don’t want to go.

13. Doing something sexual helps me cope with stress.

14. My sexual behavior controls my life.

15. My sexual cravings and desires feel stronger than my self-discipline.

16. Sex provides a way for me to deal with emotional pain I feel.

17. Sexually, I behave in ways I think are wrong.

18. I use sex as a way to try to help myself deal with my problems.

19. My sexual activities interfere with aspects of my life, such as work or school.

© 2011 Rory C. Reid, Ph.D.

 More technical details. Read if interested.

The HBI was taken from Appendix A of Reid, Garos and Carpenter (2011). I chose to post this inventory because the HBI has been demonstrated to be both reliable and valid (Reid, Garos & Carpenter, 2011) . The inventory was later used on a sample of "participants recruited in a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition Field Trial for Hypersexual Disorder", where "scores ≥ 53 are suggested as an initial cutoff point for those experiencing difficulty with hypersexuality"(Reid, Bramen, Anderson & Cohen, 2013). Another 2018 study sought to test "the reliability and the generalizability of HBI and to determine a cutoff score on a large, diverse, online, nonclinical sample (N = 18,034 participants; females = 6132; 34.0%; Mage = 33.6 years, SDage = 11.1)" (Bőthe et al., 2018). However a reliable cutoff score could not be determined and hence why the authors warn, "when the prevalence of a behavior or addiction is low, as is likely in the case of hypersexuality, the most appropriate use of screening measures is to rule out a condition (rather than to rule it in). Therefore, the HBI can be used as the first step of a diagnostic process, but objective indicators and a clinical interview are essential to establish that a given individual’s behavior is truly pathological". And "Although estimations of up to 3% in general populations are available (Stewart & Fedoroff, 2014; Sussman, Lisha, & Grif fiths, 2011), the prevalence of hypersexuality in the population has yet to be properly established" (Bőthe et al., 2018).

 References:

Bőthe, B., Kovács, M., Tóth-Király, I., Reid, R., Griffiths, M., Orosz, G., & Demetrovics, Z. (2018). The Psychometric Properties of the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory Using a Large-Scale Nonclinical Sample. The Journal Of Sex Research, 56(2), 180-190. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2018.1494262

Reid, R., Bramen, J., Anderson, A., & Cohen, M. (2013). Mindfulness, Emotional Dysregulation, Impulsivity, and Stress Proneness Among Hypersexual Patients. Journal Of Clinical Psychology, 70(4), 313-321. doi: 10.1002/jclp.22027