Word: behavior
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1990
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...notion that people can suffer from "sex addiction" has become one of the most hotly debated theories in psychology. Frequent reports of bizarre sexual excess have spawned competing ideas about what causes the behavior and how to treat it. Last week the controversy erupted anew as nearly 300 sex educators, researchers and clinicians met in Minneapolis for a national conference held to explore why some people are compulsive about...
Carnes says sex addicts, generally, were abused as children. They suffer from low self-esteem and use compulsive sex as a substitute for the love and < acceptance they never got at home. They develop an elaborate system of denial to delude themselves into thinking that their behavior is acceptable...
...most sex-addiction programs, patients go through the twelve treatment steps designed for A.A. groups. The steps include admitting the nature of the wrongs committed and making amends to people who were hurt. Carnes also explores his clients' family background and helps them confront the origins of their behavior...
Critics charge that Carnes has vandalized the scientific concept of addiction and is using it to develop a pop psychology. They say the treatment does not necessarily get at the root cause of the behavior and may harm some people more than help them. "Addiction is used so interchangeably with everything that it loses its meaning," says Robert Csandl, who runs sex- offender and substance-abuse treatment programs in Allentown, Pa. "Even if you're using the word addiction metaphorically, it blurs good assessment, which is essential to starting appropriate treatment." Johns Hopkins researcher John Money sees the focus...
Carnes admits that scientists are a long way from fully understanding the causes of compulsive sexual behavior. He cannot yet explain why some forms of treatment are successful. "What I do know," says Carnes, "is that people do get better...