Richard Sprott

California State University, East Bay | CSUEB · Department of Human Development and Women's Studies

A growing proportion of the global population engages in alternative sexual behaviors and relationships, which are commonly grouped and known as kink or BDSM (bondage-discipline, dominance-submission, sadism-masochism). Mainstream stigma and provider pathologizing of these behaviors and relationships may make kink-involved populations reticent to s...

Past research has examined the incidence of psychological distress and mental disorders among people who practice alternative sexualities known as “kink” or BDSM, but there are very few studies of the positive impact of kink sexuality on psychological well-being. A total of 1,402 individuals participated in the 2016 National Kink Health Survey; 1,0...

Zal, Fredrick; Sprott, Richard; Jansen, Kate; & Mittal, Shveta. (2024). Teaching Kink: Education, Lived Experience, Professional Practice, & the Future. American Psychological Association, National Conference, Seattle; [Presentation]. Psychologists are regularly called upon to serve in an educator role, whether providing psycho-education to patien...

This study explored the lived experience of polyamorous individuals in a unit (polycule) as a group and as individuals. The literature review investigated the extant research on polyamory and consensual non-monogamy while also highlighting the lack of information when compared with monogamous relationships. As non-monogamy becomes more common, rese...

People involved in kink (BDSM or fetish) subcultures often encounter stigma and bias in healthcare settings or when seeking psychotherapy. Such individuals typically encounter well-meaning clinicians who are not prepared to provide culturally competent care or who have not recognized their own biases. Over a two-year period, a team of 20 experience...

Purpose of Review This review summarizes recent empirical work concerning the intersection of BDSM or kink sexualities and LGBTQ+ sexual orientation populations. This review helps clinicians understand how kink behaviors may have positive impacts on clients and patients. Recent Findings Several studies have noted that non-heterosexual people are m...

This poster details a qualitative study with 9 members of a polycule, or network of polyamorous adults. A genogram ins included as a means to understand relationships between individuals.

This book provides an overview of risk and protective factors for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth and emerging adults to inform the clinical practice of mental health professionals who work with this population. Grounded in multicultural, intersectional, and positive youth development frameworks, this book emphasizes h...

The field of kink (or BDSM) studies has grown significantly in recent years, with several areas of study being initiated. This paper summarizes the current state of kink research, including prevalence rates; marginalization and stigma; key biological, psychological, and social research findings; clinical issues; and recommendations for further rese...

Background Kink-involved people engage in atypical erotic activities such as bondage, rough sex, and other fetish activities that might risk injury or medical complication. To date, however, no one has examined the rate of injury or healthcare utilization for people who engage in these activities. Aim To describe the type and rate of injuries from...

People who engage in both kink and consensual non-monogamy (CNM) have received little attention in research. The present article reports on the characteristics, relationship experiences, and unique motivations for engaging in CNM of kinky and consensually non-monogamous individuals using data from two U.S. samples—one large, national (N = 690) quan...

What is the structure of kink identity? Using a thematic analysis design, our study explored this question through 70 in-person interviews with adults 18 years and older living in Northern California who identified as kinky. Four key themes of kink identity emerged from our analysis: sex, power, headspace, and community. Although there were great v...

Few studies have systematically examined the relationship between kink behaviors and sexual behaviors, yet even these preliminary studies indicate that the relationship is complex and that there is a notable diversity in how people construct the boundaries of sex and kink and the relationship between them. As part of a grounded theory study of kink...

This article introduces the special issue “Reimagining ‘Kink’: Transformation, growth, and healing in BDSM.” The article provides a description of the atypical sexual/erotic or leisure practices and interests that are labeled kink or covered by the acronym BDSM. The article presents a general overview of the prevalence of kinky fantasies, interests...

Created by a team of clinicians and researchers (19 members), the practice guidelines presents the current best knowledge and practices for working with clients and patients who have strong interests in kink sexuality, who are kink-identified, or who are involved in fetish, BDSM, leather or kink communities.

How do people learn about kink? What are the motivations to acquire knowledge and skills for doing BDSM scenes? What are the preferred ways adults want to learn? This article argues that two concepts from adult education, experiential learning and community of practice, are important frameworks for understanding how people learn about kink. As an e...

Purpose of Review This review summarizes recent empirical and theoretical scholarship pertaining to two primary ways that BDSM is conceptualized, specifically as a unique sexual orientation or as a form of leisure experience. This review helps clinicians understand how BDSM is currently positioned by scholars and by some within the BDSM community....

Purpose of review This review is to characterize the theoretical and empirical literature about alternative sexual behaviors, predominantly known under the umbrella of bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism (BDSM, also known as “kink”). The overview is to aid the clinician in understanding how particular studies...

Sexual desires, behaviors and identities that focus on intense sensation, eroticized power exchange, or sensual experiences labeled fetishes, have important intersectionalities with bisexual or pansexual orientations, at least for some people. This raises some important considerations for therapy and counseling, and kink-aware therapists might brin...

A traditionally marginalized subset of couples engage in consensual nonmonogamy (CNM: open marriage, polyamory, swinging, etc.) or alternative sexualities, such as kink or bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, and sadism/masochism. Nonmonogamous and sexually diverse individuals often experience discrimination or stigma in various domains of pro...

The American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) recently adopted the Resolution on Gender and Sexual Orientation Diversity in Children and Adolescents in Schools to address the unique needs of this student population (APA & NASP, 2015). This article provides background information about the j...

This is a preliminary report of the findings from the first ever National Kink Health Survey. This reports on 987 completed surveys, collected between April and October of 2016.

Introduction: The term kink describes sexual behaviors and identities encompassing bondage, discipline, domination and submission, and sadism and masochism (collectively known as BDSM) and sexual fetishism. Individuals who engage in kink could be at risk for health complications because of their sexual behaviors, and they could be vulnerable to st...

Review of therapeutic issues and concerns when treating people who have alternative sexualities.

Reviews the film, Fifty Shades of Grey directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (2015). Fifty Shades of Gray is based on the first book in a trilogy of romance novels written by E. L. James. The movie depicts the unfolding of a relationship between a wealthy, young businessman (Christian Gray, CEO of Gray Industries) and a young college woman (Anastasia Stee...

Approximately 10-15% of the U.S. population has practiced some expression of alternative sexuality commonly known as BDSM (bondage/discipline, Dominance/submission, sadism/masochism), fetish or kink. There have been some efforts to document the healthcare experiences and barriers to culturally-competent care for people involved in kink practices. T...

Introduction: Approximately 10-15% of the U.S. population has practiced some expression of alternative sexuality commonly known as BDSM (bondage/discipline, Dominance/submission, sadism/masochism), fetish or kink (Levitt, Moser & Jamison, 1994). There have been some efforts to document the therapy experiences and barriers to culturally-competent ca...

Assessing pathological from non-pathological expressions of alternative sexuality requires close connections between research, clinical practice, and professional training. Stigmatization of various forms of sexuality can cause significant difficulties in gaining information from and making observations about people with alternative sexualities. Th...

This dissertation explores the development of discourse and its impact on the acquisition of connectives and subordinate/coordinate clauses. Two studies are presented: a comparison of planning narratives and verbal disputes from 3- and 4-year-olds, and six-month longitudinal study of 3-year-olds' production of connectives and clause combinations du...

Children's verbal disputes were analyzed for the development of discourse markers because, so, and, but, and well. One hundred twenty‐eight verbal disputes were analyzed; participants were 23 children ranging from 2 years;7 months to 9 years;6 months, and 10 adults, all interacting at home in various play activities. It was predicted that the funct...