Relationship Between Sexual Compulsivity and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Chinese Sexually Active Males

Compulsivity is defined as "an insistent, repetitive, intrusive, and unwanted urge to perform specific acts often in ritualized or routinized fashions." Sexual compulsivity has been shown to be associated with some high risk sexual behaviors related to HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI). In some Western countries, the 10-item Sexual Compulsivity Scale (SCS) has been developed to assess people's sexual compulsivity but no Chinese version has been validated. This study validated the Chinese version of the SCS and investigated its associations with specific sexual behaviors. In 2008, a random telephone survey was conducted in the sexually active male general population in Hong Kong, interviewing 1,048 participants. The Chinese version of the SCS was found to be internally consistent (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88 for the overall scale), with a mean total score of 20.7 (SD = 4.7). An exploratory factor analysis procedure extracted two factors that were named Controllability and Functional Consequences. Higher SCS scores were associated with multiple female sexual partnerships in the last 6 months, having had sex with either non-regular partner(s) or female sex worker(s) in the last 6 months, having contracted STI in the last 6 months, and inconsistent condom use with either non-regular partner(s) or female sex worker(s) in the last 6 months. The scale can be used to assess sexual compulsivity among sexually active Chinese men in Hong Kong. It can potentially be used in other Chinese communities. Further confirmatory studies are warranted.