Examining the psychometric properties of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale in a sample of compulsive pornography users

Objective: The current study evaluated several psychometric properties of the Yale Brown Obsessive-Compulsive-Scale (Y-BOCS) (Goodman et al., 1989 [1]) adapted for compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) in a sample of 103 men seeking treatment at a private and a public university clinic in the United States. Method: Measures of mental health functioning were collected from patients on two separate appointments: the initial screening and the follow-up appointment. Results: All patients reported using pornography compulsively, and approximately half of the sample also reported a history of having frequent anonymous sex with strangers. Results found that the adapted Y-BOCS had good internal consistency reliability, moderate mean inter-item correlations, and good test-retest reliability. Results from a multiple regression analysis also found that affect dysregulation (depression and anxiety), particularly among single, impaired men, was significantly associated with more severe sexual obsessive and compulsive features. Approximately 94% of the sample met criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder, and 57% of men met criteria for two or more psychiatric disorders. Conclusions: Findings from the current study suggest the CSB-Y-BOCS is a reliable measure of obsessive and compulsive symptoms associated with CSB, and clinicians and researchers could use this scale to aid in the assessment and treatment of problematic sexual behaviors. Published by Elsevier Inc.