An Ongoing Study of Group Treatment for Men Involved in Problematic Internet-Enabled Sexual Behavior

Exponential advances have been made regarding computer/Internet technology in the past decade. This growth, in large part, can be attributed to greater access to, affordability of, and anonymity while on the computer. However, this progress has also produced negative psychological issues. Problematic Internet-enabled sexual behavior (IESB) has increasingly affected individuals' family relationships, work productivity, and academic success. This article is the first-known, empirically based outcome study regarding the effectiveness of group therapy treatment for men with problematic IESB. These closed-groups, which ran for 16 weeks, used a combination of Readiness to Change (RtC), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Motivational Interviewing (MI) interventions. Five groups were analyzed for this paper (yielding a total N of 35), with the average member's age being 44.5 years old. Three different scales (the Orzack Time Intensity Survey, the BASIS-32, and the BDI) were used to track participants' progress across time. The results demonstrated that this group treatment intervention significantly increased members' quality of life and decreased the severity of their depressive symptoms. However, the protocol failed to reduce participants' inappropriate computer use. Regarding comorbidity, the results showed the following: members in the "anxiety" category responded best to the current treatment, those in the "mood" cluster responded relatively positively, and those in the "A-D/HD" category failed to respond significantly. It is clear from this report that more attention must be focused on the treatment of problematic IESB, as opposed to exploratory studies.

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