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The Physiological Basis of Problematic Sexual Interests and Behaviors

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Sexually Violent Predators: A Clinical Science Handbook

Abstract

Sexual behavior, besides its rewarding qualities and relationship capacities, can cause deep and long-lasting trauma posing important public health problems. The presented chapter aims to give a comprehensive view of the immediate and long-term causes of sexual behaviors leading to such traumata. Following a conceptualization of sexual behavior, three major functional components of human sexuality (reproduction, desire, and attachment) are distinguished and their dependence on sex hormones and neurotransmitters discussed. The construct of “dissexuality” and the differentiation of paraphilia and paraphilic disorder as given in the DSM-5 enhance our understanding of potentially problematic sexual interests and behaviors. Peripheral psychophysiological and neurophysiological correlates of problematic sexual interests are outlined concerning their usefulness for clinical diagnostics. For problematic sexual behaviors, their physiological correlates are focused as primary treatment targets in clinical work and medical intervention in sexual offenders.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany

    Klaus M. Beier, Alfred Pauls & Till Amelung

  2. Division of Clinical Psychology and Sexual Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany

    Tillmann Krüger

  3. Division of Forensic Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine, LWL-University Hospital Bochum, Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB), Bochum, Germany

    Boris Schiffer

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Correspondence to Klaus M. Beier .

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    William T. O’Donohue

  2. Special Psychological Services, LLC, Bloomfield, NJ, USA

    Daniel S. Bromberg

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Beier, K.M., Krüger, T., Schiffer, B., Pauls, A., Amelung, T. (2019). The Physiological Basis of Problematic Sexual Interests and Behaviors. In: O’Donohue, W.T., Bromberg, D.S. (eds) Sexually Violent Predators: A Clinical Science Handbook. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04696-5_6

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