Mateusz Gola

University of California, San Diego / Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw · Institute for Neural Computations / Institute of Psychology

Pornography consumption is highly prevalent, particularly among young adult males. For some individuals, problematic pornography use (PPU) is a reason for seeking treatment. Despite the pervasiveness of pornography, PPU appears under-investigated, including with respect to the underlying neural mechanisms. Using functional magnetic resonance imagi...

There is an increasing number of neuroimaging studies using visual sexual stimuli (VSS), especially within the emerging field of research on compulsive sexual behaviors (CSB). A central question in this field is whether behaviors such as excessive pornography consumption share common brain mechanisms with widely studied substance and behavioral add...

Background and aims Compulsive sexual behaviors (CSBs) are an important clinical and social issue. Despite the increasing number of studies, some of CSB’s aspects remain under-investigated. Here, we explore the nature of CSB, such as binge pornography use and masturbation (PuM), and verify the correspondence between self-perceived factors leading t...

Background How best to conceptualize problematic pornography use (PPU) and intervene most effectively remain debated, with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and addiction frameworks. We investigated the efficacy of the serotonin-reuptake inhibitor paroxetine in combination with cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of problematic pornogra...

Introduction The Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX) is a brief questionnaire that evaluates five major aspects of sexual function: sex drive, arousal, erectile function/vaginal lubrication, ability to reach orgasm, and satisfaction with orgasm. An advantage of the ASEX is its simplicity and brevity (five items), making it suitable for the scre...

The UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Model and the various psychometric instruments developed and validated based on this model are well established in clinical and research settings. However, evidence regarding the psychometric validity, reliability, and equivalence across multiple countries of residence, languages, or gender identities, including gender...

Background and aims Despite the inclusion of the Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) in the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases, emotional and cognitive impairments related to CSBD remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the behavioral and neuronal effects of emotional interference on cognition among CSBD pa...

Motivations for pornography use may vary across gender identities, sexual orientations, and geographical regions, warranting examination to promote individual and public health. The aims of this study were to validate the Pornography Use Motivations Scale (PUMS) in a diverse, multicultural sample, and develop a short form (PUMS-8) that can assess a...

Background Substance Use Disorder (SUD) persists as a significant public health challenge worldwide, with an estimated prevalence of approximately 10-15% across the global populace. This condition is characterized by a notably high risk of lapses and relapses, even subsequent to treatment interventions. Mobile health interventions, owing to their w...

Background. Depression and anxiety are among the most prevalent mental health issues experienced worldwide. However, whereas cross-cultural studies utilize psychometrically valid and reliable scales, fewer can meaningfully compare these conditions across different groups. To address this gap, the current study aimed to psychometrically assess the B...

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the P4 suicide screener in a multinational sample. The primary goal was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the scale and investigate its convergent validity by analyzing its correlation with depression, anxiety, and substance use. Study design: The study design is a cro...

Background The three-item Sexual Distress Scale (SDS-3) has been frequently used to assess distress related to sexuality in public health surveys and research on sexual wellbeing. However, its psychometric properties and measurement invariance across cultural, gender and sexual subgroups have not yet been examined. This multinational study aimed to...

Background and aims Problematic pornography use (PPU) is a common manifestation of the newly introduced Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder diagnosis in the 11th edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Although cultural, gender‐ and sexual orientation‐related differences in sexual behaviors a...

Objective We analyzed adult ADHD symptoms in a cross-cultural context, including investigating the occurrence and potential correlates of adult ADHD and psychometric examination of the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) Screener. Method Our analysis is based on a large-scale research project involving 42 countries (International Sex Survey, N=72,...

Background and aims: Problematic pornography use (PPU) is a common manifestation of the newly introduced Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder diagnosis in the 11th edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Although cultural, gender- and sexual orientation-related differences in sexual behaviors...

Introduction: Despite being a widely used screening questionnaire, there is no consensus on the most appropriate measurement model for the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Furthermore, there have been limited studies on its measurement invariance across cross-cultural subgroups, genders, and sexual orientations. Aims: The present...

Background: The prevalence of substance and behavioral addiction is estimated between 10 to 15% ofthe global population and remains a severe public health concern. Moreover, addiction treatment hasseveral barriers, such as a lack of access to professional treatment or stigmatization. Mobile health interventions emerge as a promising solution. Meth...

The Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) is an instrument to screen substance use-related health risks. However, little is known whether the ASSIST could be further shortened while remaining psychometrically sound across different countries, languages, gender identities, and sexual orientation-based groups. The study a...

Background and aims: Despite its inclusion in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, there is a virtual paucity of high-quality scientific evidence about compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD), especially in underrepresented and underserved populations. Therefore, we comprehensively examined CSBD across 42 countries,...

Introduction Psychotherapy is considered as first-line therapy for compulsive sexual behaviour disorder (CSBD). “Off-label” use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and opioid antagonists was reported as effective but the evidence-based data on pharmacological interventions remains very scarce. Objective The purpose of the study was to compa...

Background and aims: The World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) includes Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD), a new diagnosis that is both controversial and groundbreaking, as it is the first diagnosis to codify a disorder related to excessive, compulsive, and out-of-control sexual behavior. The inclus...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1011585.].

Background Previous studies linking compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) and sexual health have shown mixed results, which could be due to the fact that different CSBD facets may have differential relationships with sexual functioning. Aim As CSBD is a multidimensional disorder, we wanted to investigate whether distinct CSBD domains are diff...

Background The prevalence of alcohol consumption in Poland is estimated to be as high as 80% of the adult population. The use of stimulants is the second most common reason for seeking addiction treatment. However, treatment outcomes remain unsatisfactory, as 40–85% of individuals who complete various treatment programs relapse and fall back into a...

We conducted two studies to investigate the links between perceived social support, problematic pornography use (PPU) and compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD). In Study 1 (n=807, convenience sample recruited via social media) we collected preliminary data and in Study 2 (n=1526) we checked whether the results replicate in a sample representat...

Background Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder is currently included in the forthcoming eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11); however, prior studies have been conducted mostly on heterosexual, White/European male samples. Aim To examine the correlates of compulsive sexual behaviors (CSB) with sociodemographic...

Previous studies have shown that specific attitudes related to moral convictions can have an important role in the development and maintenance of problematic sexual behavior symptoms. However, although other types of attitudes, like sexual attitudes, are potentially highly relevant, they have not yet been studied in this role. We investigated how f...

Background Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) was recently included in ICD-11 as a new impulse control disorder. While this certainly improved the diagnosis of CSBD, the underlying brain mechanisms of the disorder are still poorly understood. Better description of brain functional deficits is required. Aim Here we investigate patterns of r...

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has become a significant issue in mental healthcare over the past decades as the number of people engaging in excessive and unhealthy gaming increases with each year. Despite its inclusion in the 5th Edition of Diagnostic Statistical Manual and the development of a number of treatment methods that have been designed a...

Despite the considerable amount of attention presently devoted to the high accessibility of online pornography, very little formal analyses have been carried out to show how the advent and proliferation of Internet technology has changed the prevalence of pornography use in populations. We conducted a preliminary analysis based on objective website...

5.1. Charakterystyka zjawiska chemsexu i jego rozpowszechnienie 5.2. Związek chemsexu z geolokalizacyjnymi aplikacjami randkowymi 5.3. Cecha poszukiwania doznań seksualnych a zaburzenie o charakterze kompulsywnych zachowań seksualnych i chemsex 5.4. Motywacja i powody angażowania się w chemsex 5.5. Psychospołeczne następstwa chemsexu 5.6. Stosowani...

Ta książka jest próbą dyskusji na temat wybranych aspektów problematyki zdrowia psychicznego w kontekście obserwowanych zmian zachodzących we współczesnym świecie. Autorzy wskazali, w jaki sposób takie procesy jak rozluźnienie więzi społecznych, wzrost poczucia osamotnienia, stopniowe zwiększanie się wpływu technologii na nasze codzienne funkcjonow...

Background and aims Despite the inclusion of the Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) in the International Classification of Diseases, very little is known about the underlying affective and cognitive processes. To fill this gap, we compared CSBD subjects and Healthy-Controls (HC) across negative/positive valence, cognitive and sensorimotor s...

Background and aims Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) is characterized by increased reactivity to erotic reward cues. Cue-encoded reward parameters, such as type (e.g. erotic or monetary) or probability of anticipated reward, shape reward-related motivational processes, increase the attractiveness of cues and therefore might enhance malada...

Purpose: We aimed to adapt for the Polish language two scales for studies on the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic - The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) by Ahorsu et al. and the Scale of Death Anxiety (SDA) by Cai et al. Methods: Besides the FCV-19S and SDA, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale HADS (Zigmond and Snaith),...

Background and Aims Moral incongruence involves disapproval of a behaviour in which people engage despite their moral beliefs. Although considerable research has been conducted on how moral incongruence relates to pornography use, potential roles for moral incongruence in other putative behavioural addictions have not been investigated. The aim of...

Supporting information on methodology and supplementary tables.

Background and aims: Even though the Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) was added to the ICD-11 under the impulse control category in 2019, its neural mechanisms are still debated. Researchers have noted its similarity both to addiction and to Obssesive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The aim of our study was to address this question by investi...

Introduction Most of the previous studies on problematic pornography use and related behavior have focused on such descriptors of pornography use habits as frequency or time devoted to pornography use. Aim We argue that this constitutes a narrow view and indicators that characterize other aspects of explicit content consumption, namely (i) longest...

The aim of this chapter is to describe a wider perspective of the so-called hypersexuality including compulsive sexual behavior disorder as defined in the ICD-11 with its common features and therapeutic interventions but also other etiologies and clinical manifestations of “out-of-control sexual behaviors” that physicians and psychologists may be c...

Compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) is currently defined in the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an impulse control disorder. Criteria for hypersexual disorder (HD) had been proposed in 2010 for the fifth revision of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5). In this article, we compare difference...

Background and aims Compulsive sexual behaviour disorder (CSBD) is a medical condition that can impair social and occupational functioning and lead to severe distress. To date, treatment effectiveness studies of CSBD are under-developed; typically, treatment for CSBD is based on guidelines for substance or other behavioural addictions. Mindfulness-...

In the last years, dating applications (DAs) have had a significant impact on the way in which people seek sexual and romantic relationships. Social groups, such as men having sex with men (MSM), who can experience discrimination and social isolation, find DAs especially engaging and helpful in finding sexual partners. Previous studies have provide...

Purpose of Review World Health Organization recently included compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) to the upcoming 11th edition of International Classification of Diseases (6C72). Despite the potential benefits of this decision (eg, the acceleration of research in the field will allow the development of effective treatments), previous researc...

Background and aims: To address current gaps around screening for problematic pornography use (PPU), we initially developed and tested a six-item Brief Pornography Screen (BPS) that asked about PPU in the past six months. Methods and participants: We recruited five independent samples from the U.S. and Poland to evaluate the psychometric propert...

Backgrounds The classification of addictions and impulse control disorders is changing as reflected in the 11th version of International Classification of Disorders (WHO, 2018). However, studies focusing on direct comparison of structural brain differences in behavioral and substance addictions are limited. Aim Here, we contrast gray matter volume...

The 1989 collapse of the socialist political system in Poland initiated an avalanche of modifications regarding healthcare policy resulting with new institutions and programs dedicated to monitoring and preventing addiction. In the current article, we look at the available data allowing to track changes in (1) the prevalence of exposure to addictiv...

Supplementary figures for the article.

Repeated engagement in addictive behaviors may lead to relatively automatic action tendencies whereby individuals approach rather than avoid addictive stimuli. This study assessed whether an approach bias for erotic stimuli exists among heterosexual college-aged females who report using pornography. We tested 121 female undergraduates using an appr...

Objectives. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has demonstrated to be successful in the reduction of relapse rates in patients with recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD). Little is known if MBCT is effective for treating individuals with current MDD episode and about underlying psychophysiological mechanisms of symptoms reduction. The a...

Background and aims: Compulsive sexual behaviour disorder (CSBD) is a medical condition that can impair social and occupational functioning and lead to severe distress. To date, treatment effectiveness studies of CSBD are under-developed; typically, treatment for CSBD is based on guidelines for substance or other behavioural addictions. Mindfulness...

BACKGROUNDS: The concepts of addictions and impulse control disorders are changing as reflected in the 11thversion of International Classification of Disorders (ICD-11, WHO, 2018). However, studies focusing on direct comparison of structural brain differences in behavioral and substance addictions are limited.AIM: Here we contrast gray matter volum...

Social interactions require quick perception, interpretation, and categorization of faces, with facial features offering cues to emotions, intentions, and traits. Importantly, reactions to faces depend not only on their features but also on their processing fluency, with disfluent faces suffering social devaluation. The current research used electr...

Despite controversies about the diagnosis, the World Health Organization recently elected to include compulsive sexual behavior disorder in the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases. Both recent and remote works have suggested that various cultural factors such as personal religiousness and morality can influence both the exp...

Introduction Dysregulation of emotion (DE) is commonly seen in individuals suffering from compulsive sexual behavior (CSB), as well as represents a crucial element of its common comorbidities like mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Aim To investigate the links between CSB and DE. Methods A review of pertinent literature on CSB and DE was...

Introduction To date, multiple models of problematic pornography use have been proposed, but attempts to validate them have been scarce. Aim In our study, we aimed to evaluate the Pornography Problems due to Moral Incongruence model proposing that self-appraisals of pornography addiction stem from (i) general dysregulation, (ii) habits of use, and...

Dane dotyczące konsumpcji pornografii przez dzieci w Polsce są szokujące. Szerokie badania na ten temat przeprowadził Instytut Profilaktyki Zintegrowanej. Były nimi objęte szkoły w jedenastu województwach w latach 2014–2017. Badania zostały przeprowadzone na ogromnej, ponad -jedenastotysięcznej próbie młodzieży z II i III klasy gimnazjum. Spośród d...

Recent applications of simultaneous scalp electroencephalography (EEG) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) suggest that adapting stimulation to underlying brain states may enhance neuroplastic effects of TMS. It is often assumed that longer-lasting effects of TMS on brain function may be mediated by phasic interactions between TMS pulses an...

Background and aims: Compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) has implications for clinical and non-clinical adult populations. Disposition to CSB has been shown to influence adolescence sexual behaviors, but the development of adolescents' disposition toward CSB has yet to be examined in the family context. In this study, we investigated whether parent-a...

Objectives. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has demonstrated to be successful in the reduction of relapse rates in patients with recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD). Little is known if MBCT is effective for treating individuals with current MDD episode and about underlying psychophysiological mechanisms of symptoms reduction. The a...

The 1989 collapse of the socialist political system in Poland initiated an avalanche of modifications regarding healthcare policy resulting with new institutions and programs dedicated to monitoring and preventing addiction. In the current article, we look at the available data allowing to track changes in (1) the prevalence of exposure to addictiv...

Background and aims: Addicted individuals often demonstrate relatively automatic action tendencies in response to addiction-related stimuli, whereby they approach rather than avoid addictive stimuli. This study assessed whether an approach bias for erotic stimuli exists among heterosexual college-aged males who report using pornography. Methods:...

Despite the considerable amount of attention presently devoted to the high accessibility of online pornography, very little formal analyses have been carried out to show how the advent and proliferation of Internet technology has changed the prevalence of pornography use in populations. We conducted an analysis based on objective website traffic da...

Introduction Human sexuality is a multidimensional phenomenon related to several factors, such as self-esteem, awareness of sexual needs, and ability to communicate them to others. Aim To examine the sexual characteristics of patients seeking treatment for compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD)—a clinical diagnosis recently included in the 11t...

Objective: Electroencephalography (EEG) is widely used by clinicians, scientists, engineers and other professionals worldwide, with an increasing number of low-cost, commercially-oriented EEG systems that have become available in recent years. One such system is the Cognionics Quick-20 (Cognionics Inc., San Diego, USA), which uses dry electrodes a...

Introduction: Early life trauma is at the core of many psychopathologies, including compulsive sexual behavior (CSB). The intermediate processes linking early life trauma and CSB have been less well studied. Aims: To investigate whether impulsiveness, internalizing symptoms, sensation-seeking, and self-criticism mediate the links between early lif...

Introduction: Despite evidence to the contrary, a number of advocacy and self-help groups persist in claiming that internet pornography use is driving an epidemic of erectile dysfunction (ED). Aim: The present work sought to explore whether mere pornography use itself and self-reported problematic use of pornography are related to ED, both cross...

Purpose of Review The current review summarizes the latest findings concerning neurobiological mechanisms of compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) and provides recommendations for future research specific to the diagnostic classification of the condition. Recent Findings To date, most neuroimaging research on compulsive sexual behavior has pr...