Attitudes differ across continents

The International Institute of Trauma and Addiction Professionals in the United States lists dozens of questions in its Sexual Addiction Screening Test, an initial assessment for people with potentially addictive behaviors.

The institute handles the administrative duties of those certified sex addiction therapists who revere Patrick J. Carnes, the author Out of the Shadows, a book that raised awareness about sexual compulsion and addiction in the early 1980s.

The test, first used in 1983, is designed to assist in the assessment of behavior that may indicate a sex addiction, according to the institute. It provides a profile of responses that help distinguish between addictive and non-addictive behaviors.