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Abstract

Authors analyzed the problematic use of pornographic websites and Internet sex addiction in representative samples of respondents from different age groups including 2948 respondents from Serbia and 1486 from Montenegro. In this study, the authors focused on researching problematic and addictive behavior related to Internet sex in Serbia and Montenegro. They concluded that of all the addictions, sex addiction is the most difficult to control because it is a complex mixture of biological, psychological, cultural, and family factors, a combination that creates and intensifies compulsive sexual behaviors and indicates that such behaviors are almost impossible to resist even though sex addiction produces many negative consequences in various spheres of life.
Internet Sex Addiction in Serbia
and Montenegro
Đukanović, Borislav; Petrušić, Irena; Bandalović, Gorana;
Maksimović, Ana; and Banović, Silva
Abstract: In this study, the authors analyzed
the problematic use of pornographic websites
and Internet sex addiction in representative
samples of respondents from different age
groups including 2948 respondents from Serbia
and 1486 from Montenegro. A standard
questionnaire of 33 questions with answers in
binary form was used. In addition to
epidemiological indicators, the study also
included nine family risk factors and six risk
factors associated with early psychosocial
developmental disorders. Finally, the social
profiles of Internet sex addicts in Serbia and
Montenegro were described.
The results of the research showed that Internet
sex addicts are mostly young adults aged 20 to
30. The overall dependency rate was estimated
within average limits. In general, Internet sex
addiction is among the lowest of all behavioral
addictions. The authors see the reason for this in
the greatest potency of this addiction for the
development of addictive patterns of behavior,
but also in the great predictiveness of this
addiction together with the gambling addiction
for the emergence and development of other
behavioral addictions. All examined risk factors
(except for shyness and reticence) "separate"
Internet sex addicts from those who do not have
the listed risk factors at zero level of significance.
However, an examination of the prediction of
Internet sex addiction using binary logistic
regression showed that aggressive and criminal
behaviors in early youth, followed by disorders in
educational and emotional relations between
parents and children, have the highest predictive
values for Internet sex addiction.
Social profiles are unclear and unstructured, and
the authors explain this by the fact that
biological, not sociological, and sociocultural
factors play a dominant role in developing
addictive patterns of behavior.
Keywords: Internet sex addiction, risk factors,
social profiles
1. INTRODUCTION
nternet sex addiction is not a special
category of behavioral addiction, but only a
special form in which all the symptoms of sex
addiction are manifested, although
phenomenologically it does show some
specifics that can in no way justify its separation
into a special addictive pattern. Therefore, first
of all, it is necessary to briefly analyze the basic
characteristics of this addiction. According to
the DSM-4 classification of numerous
behavioral addictions, only gambling addiction
has been given the status of a special clinical
category, even though sex addicts show
symptoms of addictive behavior.
Today, it is considered that sex "addiction" is
present if there are three or more out of seven
symptoms listed below:
1. Constantly repeated failure of addicts to
resist sexual impulses to engage in compulsive
sexual behavior.
2. Frequent engagement in these behaviors to
a greater extent or for a longer period than
planned.
3. Addicts’ persistent desire or failed attempts to
stop or control themselves.
Manuscript received June 2022.
Borislav Đukanović is Ph.D. Academic Professor at the
University of Donja Gorica in Podgorica - Montenegro (e-
mail: borivoje.djukanovic@gmail.com).
Jasmina Knežević - Tasić is a psychiatrist and founder
of the Specialist Psychiatric Clinic “Lorijen” in Belgrade -
Serbia (e-mail: ktjasmina@gmail.com).
Irena Petrušić is Ph.D. Associate Professor at the
University Adriatic in Bar - Montenegro (e-mail: dekan@fm-
hn.com).
Gorana Bandalović is Ph.D. Associate Professor at the
University of Split - Croatia (e-mail: gbandalo@ffst.hr).
Ana Maksimović is a Teaching Associate at the
University of Donja Gorica in Podgorica - Montenegro (e-
mail: ana.maksimovic@udg.edu.me).
I
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4. Preoccupation with sexual behavior or
preparatory activities (rituals) for the realization
of these behaviors.
5. Excessive engagement of addicts in
compulsive sexual behaviors, although
expectations of fulfilling professional, family,
and social obligations are in the foreground.
6. Continuation of compulsive sexual behaviors,
despite ongoing social, financial, psychological,
and marital problems caused by these
behaviors.
7. Limiting or giving up social and professional
activities due to sexual behavior.
8. Disturbance, anxiety, restlessness, and
irritability in anticipation of engaging in
compulsive sexual behavior.
Like other behavioral addicts, sex addicts
experience a loss of control over the use of
pornographic content (they lose orientation in
time, even in the social context). There is a
constant increase in tolerance - addicts spend
an increasing amount of time on pornographic
websites or in the compulsive search for sexual
partners using electronic media, etc. The rise of
unhealthy fantasies also inspires various
aspects of deviant sexual behavior. It is
important to point out that compulsive use of
Internet sites with sexual content is usually the
initial phase in developing the addiction.
The same compulsive behavior that
characterizes other addictive diseases is typical
for sex addiction. Like alcoholics and drug
addicts, sex addicts show mental distortions
and use immature and neurotic defence
mechanisms while justifying their deviant
behavior and blaming others for it. They have
little or no insight into their problems in almost
all spheres of life and completely uncritically
justify their behavior that has led to the
problems of sex addiction. Of all the addictions,
sex addiction is the most difficult to control. Sex
addiction syndrome is a complex mixture of
biological, psychological, cultural, and family
factors, a combination that creates and
intensifies compulsive sexual behaviors and
indicates that such behaviors are almost
impossible to resist even though sex addiction
produces many negative consequences in
various spheres of life.
The explanation is hard to find in psychosocial
relationships. From a biological point of view, it
has been shown that some formations in the
right temporal lobe make individuals dependent
on sex from birth. The inability to control sexual
impulses is related to the neurochemical
imbalance in the noradrenaline, serotonin, and
dopamine systems.
Common sense and most public opinion
suggest that addiction is most often associated
with hypersexuality - the pursuit of frequent
sexual intercourse not only every day but
several times during the day and night, whether
in heterosexual or homosexual relationships or
combined. However, persons with such habits
are still a minority among sex addicts.
Compulsive sexual activities can manifest in
several other ways. These often include
watching pornographic images and movies,
constantly accessing websites with sexual
content, compulsively collecting and viewing
printed material with sexual themes, images,
and content, placing personal ads with sexual
offers, and running a "chat room" on the Internet
with sexual allusions and offers, using "hot"
telephone lines, etc. All these activities are, as
a rule, accompanied by frequent and intense
masturbation. These compulsive activities are
usually introductory to the onset and
development of sex addiction and are a regular
companion of this addiction. At the same time,
frequent changes of sexual partners (one-night
stands) occur as well as more or less regular
use of prostitution services, etc.
As with all other behavioral addictions, addiction
to pornography presents an escape from reality
into actual reality, caused by several biological,
psychological, and social factors. Excessive
viewing of pornographic content significantly
shortens the time for real-life activities, leads to
neglecting professional activities, family
obligations, serious disorders of family life,
divorce, etc., moral condemnation,
stigmatization, and conflict with the law due to
deviant sexual activities. Just like other addicts,
an Internet sex addict compulsively surfs the
Internet sites with sexual content and engages
in other pornographic content. If they are
prevented from accessing sexually explicit
websites or viewing other pornographic material
for any reason, the "abstinence syndrome"
52
occurs, which includes psychological and
vegetative symptoms, sleep and eating
disorders, as well as other behavioral
addictions.
Internet sex addicts can perform various life
activities, including professional ones, only
when their compulsive need for pornography is
satisfied. Sometimes, when searching for
pornographic content on the Internet, they ask
for the tacit support of their superiors, and not
infrequently, that support is a condition for
accepting the job. In more serious forms,
paratha public disorder occurs, which includes
strong sexual arousals towards objects and
actions that are considered less conventional
and less accessible to sex addicts. The
syndrome includes fetishism (strong sexual
arousal from objects or parts of the partner's
body or clothing), voyeurism (strong sexual
arousal by observing sexual behavior),
exhibitionism (strong sexual arousal when
others watch their sexual behavior), and
pedophilia (arousal due to sexual contact with
children).
In this study, we focused on researching
problematic and addictive behavior related to
Internet sex in Serbia and Montenegro.
2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This is the first representative study of 11
behavioral addictions in Serbia and
Montenegro. On this occasion, we singled out
Internet sex addiction. Since this is pioneering
research, it primarily has an exploratory
character.
2.1 Objectives
The first objective is to determine the
prevalence of problematic Internet sex and
Internet sex addiction in Serbia and
Montenegro.
The second objective is to examine the risk
factors for Internet sex addiction.
The third objective is to describe the social
profiles of Internet sex addicts in Serbia and
Montenegro.
2.2 Samples
The three-stage stratified and random
samples from Serbia and Montenegro consist of
three subsamples:
The sample from Serbia consists of a
subsample of 1636 (55.5%) students in the
eighth grade of primary schools and all grades
of secondary schools, aged 13 to 19 years, and
a sound sample of 579 (19.6%) young adults
aged 20 to 30 years and a subsample of 773
adults aged 31 to 69 years. The total sample
included 2948 respondents. The sample from
Montenegro also consists of three subsamples
- a subsample of 903 (61.5%) students in the
eighth grade of primary schools and all grades
of secondary schools, aged 13 to 19, a
subsample of 279 (19.0%) young adults aged
20 to 30, and a subsample of 287 (19.3%)
adults aged 31 to 78 years. The total sample
included 1486 respondents.
2.3 Research Instrument
In addition to socio-demographic
characteristics and questions about risk factors,
the questionnaire also contained 33 questions
about various aspects of Internet sex addiction
with answers in a binary form.
2.4 Data Processing and Analysis
Data were processed in the SPSS program.
In addition to descriptive statistics, t-tests,
ANOVA, correlation coefficients, and binary
logistic regression were used.
3. RESULTS
3.1 Epidemiology of the Problematic Use of
Pornographic Sites and Addiction to Them
Pornography is big business. Only in 2006,
revenue from the pornography industry was $
97 billion. Every second, about $ 3000 was
spent on pornography in the United States at
the end of the century. These findings are
indirectly supported by the fact that Internet
sites with sexual content are the most visited
and come immediately after sports sites. The
reason for such widespread use is that sexually
explicit websites are available to all ages and all
social strata at any time, especially on the
Internet. By 1997, there were about 900
53
pornographic sites on the Internet. Just a year
later, that number grew to between 20000 and
30000. These sites differed significantly in the
number of paying users - from several hundred
to several thousand people. Revenues
skyrocketed [12]. The growth in popularity of
these sites is associated with three
characteristics: availability, accessibility, and
anonymity [49].
In the Serbian sample of 2877 respondents who
completed the questionnaire for examining
addiction to Internet sites with sexual content,
2318 of them (80.6%) reported having no
problems due to viewing sexually explicit
websites and showed no symptoms of
addiction; 386 (13.4%) do have problems, and
173 (6.0%) show symptoms of addiction. In our
sample of 1489 respondents, 1134 (77%) have
no problems due to viewing sexually explicit
websites, 287 (19.5%) do have, 51 (3.5%) are
addicted to Internet sex, and 17 (1.1%) of them
did not respond.
Internet sex addiction is more expressed in the
Serbian sample, but fewer people have
problems due to surfing sexually explicit
websites than in Montenegro. Although we lack
valid representative data from other national
surveys, based on partial epidemiological
results, we can conclude with great caution that
our results are on average or slightly above
average, especially given that our population is
markedly young (mostly 14 to 30 years old) and
most prone to compulsive surfing sexually
explicit websites.
Using ANOVA, statistically, significant
differences were found between subsamples
(F=8.814; p=0.000). No statistically significant
differences were found between students and
young adults aged 20 to 30 using Post Hoc
tests. However, students are significantly more
likely to have problems due to Internet sex or
being addicted to it compared to adults aged 31
to 78 (I-J=1.40505; p=0.000), just like young
adults aged 20 to 30 compared to the adult
sample (I-J=1.42891; p=0.001).
In the Serbian sample, using ANOVA,
statistically, significant differences were found,
but they are not particularly pronounced
(F=7.203; p=0.004). The analysis of Post Hoc
tests did not find statistically significant
differences between the subsample of students
and the subsample of young adults aged 20 to
30. Students are more addicted to Internet sex
than adults aged 31 to 69 (I-J=0.76955;
p=0.004). Young adults aged 20 to 30 are
statistically significantly more likely to be
addicted to sexually explicit websites than
adults aged 31 to 69 (I-J=1.21520; p=0.000).
The difference between these two subsamples
of adults is significantly more pronounced in
young adults aged 20 to 30, which is probably
due to sexually explicit websites being less
available to students than to young adults aged
20 to 30.
It can be concluded that the differences in terms
of Internet sex addiction are relatively more
pronounced among Montenegrin students. This
is also shown by Pearson's correlation
coefficient, which is higher in the Montenegrin
sample (r= - 0.121; p=0.000) than in the Serbian
sample (r=0.061; p=0.001). One of the possible
explanations for the small differences between
the young and the old in both Serbia and
Montenegro is the lower availability of sexually
explicit websites for young people than in other,
Western countries for a number several which
will not be discussed here.
In both samples, young people under the age of
30 are significantly more addicted to Internet
sex than adults. In light of previous research
results according to which young people are up
to 15% more addicted to the Internet [11], which
includes Internet sex, this result is quite
expected.
The results become clearer if viewed,
tentatively speaking, in the context of "Internet
addiction", where compulsive surfing
pornographic websites is a special, inseparable
aspect of sex addiction. Addiction to
pornographic websites generally does not
produce so many negative consequences,
including serious conflicts with the law, such as
voyeurism, fetishism, pedophilia, and others.
Some of the previously mentioned studies
provide a phenomenological picture of this
particular aspect of addiction to pornographic
websites [1, 5, 7, 8, 19, 22, 24, 26, 27, 28, 33,
35, 36].
54
3.2 Risk Factors
Researchers find risk factors for rape in
hypersexuality and compulsive change of
sexual partners [31] as well as in previous
aggressive behavior [3, 41]. However, they are
almost unanimous in their view that sexually
deviant persons and persons belonging to
deviant subcultures tend to compulsively surf
sexually explicit websites and be addicted to all
other pornographic content [47, 50]. Moreover,
it can be noticed that people who practice paid
sex are more prone to compulsive surfing
sexually explicit websites. Risk factors do not
have to be related to psychopathological
patterns, but simply occur because members of
deviant subcultures share deviant values and
moral patterns that allow for all other forms of
deviant behavior, including Internet sex
addiction.
It is worth mentioning one group of risk factors
that seem common sense and are
preconditions for all types of Internet addiction.
These factors include good computer
knowledge, having good software skills, and the
amount of time spent on the Internet [23]. These
are highly interrelated factors.
Sexual arousal is a powerful driver of
compulsion to view pornographic content,
although there is a lack of unified views on the
number and effect of physiological and
psychological mechanisms that underpin
compulsive behavior [10, 53, 54]. Negative
psychological beliefs and feelings (feelings of
loneliness, deep life disappointment, low self-
esteem, feeling that everything in life is trivial
and that the only purpose of life is enjoyment,
tendency to give up solving problems, lack of
will to work, and unemployment) are the next
groups of risk factors cited in a study by Greek
authors [15]. Compulsive surfing of sexually
explicit websites with autoerotic pleasures is
cities ed as a risk factor for Internet sex
addiction [14, 38].
Interpersonal sensitivity, depression, paranoid
thinking, and psychoticism are risk factors for
Internet sex addiction [53, 54], while the
duration of pornographic sites usage is a risk
factor for the development of various
psychological symptoms in heterosexual men
[10, 17, 18, 46]. Numerous differences have
been observed among men when it comes to
accepting sexually explicit material [4, 6, 9, 30,
52]. However, certain regularities can be
noticed. Men who compulsively seek
sensations [55], erotophilis [14],
hypermasculine [34], and who have previous
experience with sexually explicit materials [4]
will develop particularly negative attitudes
towards women.
Other researchers also underline that the abuse
of psychoactive substances is associated with
the compulsive use of pornographic sites on the
Internet [14, 38], as well as hypersexuality [43].
Besides the abuse of psychoactive substances,
participation in various types of criminal
activities is mentioned as a risk factor in one
study [40].
Several studies recognized the lack of different
forms of social control as a risk factor for
addiction to pornographic sites, but also other
types of deviant behavior [21, 25, 37, 40]. One
of the risk factors for Internet sex addiction is a
lack of religiosity [20, 32, 45, 50]. As expected,
those with more liberal moral and political views
are more prone to Internet sex addiction than
conservatives and vice versa [32, 44].
Some researchers also highlight unhappy
marriage as a risk factor for Internet sex, as well
as for deviant behavior in general [40].
Furthermore, depressive symptomatology is
often highlighted as a risk factor for Internet sex
addiction and sex addiction in general. The
connection between negative, depressive
feelings and the tendency to compulsive sexual
behavior, primarily in men, is explained by the
relationship between the process of excitation
and inhibition. For people with depressive
symptoms, increased sexual desire and arousal
are associated with the suppression of
dopamine secretion. It is a fact that sexual
arousal raises dopamine secretion. What
determines whether it will happen?! From the
extent to which disinhibition mechanisms have
been initiated in the social environment, e.g. by
watching pornographic content on the Internet.
On the other hand, mechanisms of disinhibition
among individuals struggling with anxiety affect
compulsive masturbation. Finally, obsessive-
compulsive disorder is also a risk factor for
55
various compulsive sexual activities.
Dissociative phenomena in a compulsive sex
addict enable separation from reality, which is a
condition for him to achieve sexual pleasure
without a partner, I. e virtually, without having
feelings of anxiety, fear, and guilt. Also,
depressive symptomatology inevitably occurs
as a consequence of social embarrassment,
shame, and guilt due to social condemnation,
stigma, and discrimination because of morally
unacceptable sexual behavior and addictive
lifestyle associated with it, as well as numerous
individual and social problems which are the
results of compulsive sexual behavior.
In our research, the risk factors imply all those
processes, states of behavior, and phenomena
that are associated with the emergence and
development of problematic behavior or
addiction to Internet sex. We included two
groups of risk factors: family risk factors and risk
factors associated with early psychosocial
developmental disorders. The first group
included nicotine and alcoholism among
parental members, separation and divorce of
parents, mental illness, prostitution, suicide,
murder and crime among parental members,
excessive austerity, indulgence, overprotection
and rejection by father and mother, and serious
conflicts with one or both parents due to their
misunderstanding, neglect or abuse of the
respondent by one or both parents. The second
group included the following risk factors: the
tendency to frequent quarrels in childhood and
early youth, the tendency to frequent fights in
childhood and early youth, lack of interest in
school, serious learning disabilities, poor school
performance, excessive shyness, and
withdrawal, conflicts with the law
(misdemeanors and crimes).
The significance of the differences in 15 risk
factors for samples in Montenegro and Serbia
are presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Significance of differences in family risk factors and risk factors for early psychosocial development in Serbia and
Montenegro
Serbia 1 Montenegro
Risk factors
Nicotineism t= -3.628; p=0.000 t= 8.002; p=0.000
Alcoholism t= -10.038; p=0.000 t= 8.002; p=0.000
Separation and divorce of parents t= -3.026; p=0.000 t= 3.802; p=0.000
Mental illness, prostitution, suicide, murder, and
crime among members of parental families
t= -8.010; p=0.000 t= 7.008; p=0.000
Excessive strictness, indulgence, overprotection
and rejection by the father
t= -5.557; p=0.000 t= 4.272; p=0.000
Excessive strictness, indulgence, overprotection
and rejection by the mother
t= -4.786; p=0.000 t= 4.364; p=0.000
Serious conflicts with one or both parents due to
their misunderstanding
t= -7.938; p=0.000 t= 8.149; p=0.000
Neglect or abuse of respondents
by one or both parents
t= -7.809; p=0.000 t= 6.970; p=0.000
Propensity of frequent quarrels in childhood and
early adolescence
t= -8.458; p=0.000 t= 8.365; p=0.000
Propensity of frequent fights in childhood and early
adolescence
t= -8.309; p=0.000 t= 4.827; p=0.000
Lack of interest in school t= -10.349; p=0.000 t= 7.346; p=0.000
Serious learning disabilities t= -6.997; p=0.000 t= 5.939; p=0.000
Poor school achievement t= -8.789; p=0.000 t= 7.808; p=0.000
Differences in omens (positive for Montenegro and negative for Serbia) are due to different numerical values given to binary
answers, not actual differences.
56
Excessive shyness and withdrawal t= -3.505; p=0.000 t= -0.590; p=0.590
Conflicts with the law (misdemeanors and crimes) t= -11.995; p=0.000 t= 12.577; p=0.000
Table 1. shows that those who had risk factors
differed significantly in terms of more
pronounced use of pornographic sites and
greater dependence on Internet sex than those
who did not have these risk factors. All
differences in both samples with excessive
shyness and withdrawal among which there are
no significant differences, while in respondents
from Serbia there are although the value of the
t-test is relatively low. It is noticed that the
average values of the t-test are slightly higher
among the respondents from Serbia, especially
when it comes to aggressive behavior in youth
and lack of interest in school. However,
alcoholism, socio-pathological phenomena
among members of parental families, and then
neglect and abuse by parents in childhood,
aggressive behavior, and especially conflicts
with the law best "separate" Internet sex addicts
from those who did not have these risk factors
in parental families and during early
psychosocial development. Deviant behaviors,
accompanied by aggression and, in particular,
crime are relatively important for the
problematic use of pornographic sites and
Internet sex addiction as found in other studies
[15, 16, 36, 40, 54 ].
We were particularly interested in how much
certain risk factors predict the emergence and
development of problematic behavior and
addiction to Internet sex. To this end, we
subjected risk factors to binary logistic
regression.
Table 2. Statistics of binary logistic regression of Internet sex dependence for the sample from Serbia
Predictors B coefficient Wald Significance Exponentially B
Parental alcoholism -0.620 19.801 0.000 0.538
Propensity to fight -0.685 18.196 0.000 0.504
Lack of interest in school -0.584 20.945 0.000 0.558
Conflicts with the law -0.445 4.141 0.042 0.641
Respondents in the sample from Serbia whose
one or both parents were alcoholics are almost
twice as likely to become addicted to Internet
sex, and almost as many if they were prone to
fights in their early youth or showed a lack of
interest in school. If they have had a conflict with
the law in just over a third of cases, they have a
chance of becoming addicted to Internet sex.
Table 3. Binary logistic regression statistics from Internet sex for the sample from Montenegro
Predictors B coefficient Wald Significance Exponentially B
No socio-pathological phenomena
in parental families
0.735 8.329 0.004 2.085
Excessive strictness, indulgence,
overprotection, and rejection by the
father
0.399 4.039 0.044 11.490
Propensity to fight 0.794 16.596 2.213
Lack of interest in school 0.483 8.756 0.003 1.620
Conflicts with the law 0.958 19.005 0.000 2.606
Respondents in the sample from Montenegro
who did not have adequate educational and
emotional relations with their mothers were 1.5
times more likely to develop Internet sex
addiction and slightly more than 1.5 times if they
showed a lack of interest in school (Table 3).
Finally, respondents who were inclined to fight
close to two and a half times were more prone
to Internet sex addiction than those who
conflicted with the law over two and a half times
(Table 3).
57
The set of predictors that significantly increase
the chances of Internet sex addiction is similar
to that of gambling, only the strength of
individual predictors is lower. This is not
accidental because a strong association
between gambling, sex, and Internet sex has
been noticed (180, 291, 297). These also have
in common some essential personality traits,
and above all, increased aggression and
readiness for action by people addicted to
Internet sex (34, 346, 348, 342, 349).
3.3 Social Profiles of Internet Sex Addicts in
Serbia and Montenegro
Based on the qualitative synthesis of numerous
quantitative data, we created social profiles of
Internet sex addicts in Serbia and Montenegro.
On this occasion, we present the final results of
the synthesis of a large number of empirical
data, for which we would otherwise need more
time. Internet sex addicts in Serbia are most
often men aged 20 to 30, and then up to 20.
Internet sex addicts are uncharacteristic of their
education and occupation. They are more often
of agricultural and then the managerial social
origin and unmarried. Usually, they grew up in
larger families and lived in bigger apartments or
houses, while they are not characteristic in
terms of other economic - housing
characteristics.
Internet sex addicts in Montenegro are men,
primarily 20 to 30 years old, and then older.
They have an indeterminate educational status.
There are many occupations: farmers, private
individuals - entrepreneurs, and managers.
They are of managerial social origin. Their
marital status is also heterogeneous: divorced,
widowed, and married. They grew up more
often in larger than in smaller families. Their
monthly income is above average. They live in
larger apartments - houses of unknown comfort.
The results in both samples indicate that social
profiles are quite diffuse in terms of education
and occupation, as well as in terms of marital
status, and in Serbia more often unmarried.
Both samples are dominated by young people
aged 20 to 30. Regarding the structure of the
family and the comfort of housing, no significant
regularities have been identified. However, sex
addicts in Montenegro are somewhat more
likely to come from the manager’s social strata,
significantly more often than in Serbia they are
businessmen and have a slightly better financial
situation.
Although Internet sex addicts in Montenegro are
somewhat better socially profiled, in several
sociological characteristics, sex addicts in both
countries are insufficiently clearly profiled. Let
us remember that the use, abuse, and addiction
to certain psychoactive substances were
related to certain social strata and carried
attributes of social and cultural prestige. Initially,
it was marijuana, the use of which in the 1960s
symbolized the revolt of middle-class youth
against the established values of their parents
(hippie movement). The drug of the upper
classes was and remains cocaine. The question
arises: why do Internet sex addicts do not have
a clear social profile?! Sex addiction, whose
addiction to Internet sex is only one of its
specific manifestations, belongs to addictions
that have a great tendency in developing
addictive behavior, which is almost impossible
to influence with cognitive strategies because
the centers for sex addiction are located in the
deepest parts of the brain, in charge with our
basic instincts. Precisely because of the huge
potential for the development of addictive
patterns, it is one of the least widespread
behavioral addictions, which, when it appears,
"does not choose" addicts by any sociological or
cultural characteristics.
We believe that simply for these reasons,
Internet sex addicts in both countries are not
socially profiled, although in Montenegro they
are to a lesser extent. It is difficult to say
whether this is due to the need of members of
the leading social background and layers of
private individuals to express their personal and
social power over women in Montenegro, as
one of the important areas where men
demonstrate social power if they have it. Only
by conducting new targeted research can one
provide an answer. Anyway, men are not aware
of this perverted manifestation of social power
at all. But mistakenly attribute and rationalize it
with their emotional and social attraction to the
opposite sex, as one of the important areas in
which men demonstrate social power if they
have it, so it is difficult to make conclusions.
58
4. DISCUSSION
Internet sex addiction is just one of the
manifestations of sex addiction, which has great
potential for developing addictive patterns of
behavior and attracting other behavioral
addictions and addictions to psychoactive
substances, of which gambling and alcohol
addictions are the most common and most
important.
Although not accepted as a clinical category of
addiction in the DSM - 4 classifications sex
addiction is characterized by three basic
symptoms of addiction: loss of control, inability
to abstain, and increased tolerance, along with
numerous health, psychological, and social
problems. In the previous pages, we described
in detail the symptoms of Internet sex addiction.
Food and sex are an indispensable part of
human existence, while this is not the case with
addiction to other substances and activities.
There are biological limitations for both. The
situation becomes so complicated that sex
addiction has huge potential for establishing
addictive patterns of behavior. In this study, we
sought to examine the prevalence of
problematic behavior and addiction to Internet
sex, the risk factors for the emergence and
development of these addictions, and describe
the social profiles of Internet sex addicts in
Serbia and Montenegro.
In our study, we included two groups of risk
factors, family risk factors and risk factors
associated with early psychosocial
developmental disorders. The first group
includes nicotine and alcoholism among
parents, separation, and divorce of parents,
mental illness, prostitution, suicide, murder and
crime among parents, excessive austerity,
indulgence, overprotection and rejection by
father and mother, and serious conflicts with
one or both parents due to their
misunderstanding, neglect or abuse of
respondents by one or both parents. The
second group included the following risk factors:
the tendency to frequent quarrels in childhood
and early adolescence, the tendency to
frequent fights in childhood and early
adolescence, lack of interest in school, severe
learning disabilities, poor school performance,
excessive shyness, and withdrawal, conflicts
with by law (misdemeanors and criminal
offenses). All risk factors, with excerpts and
withdrawal in early childhood and adolescence,
"separate" those who had risk factors for
Internet sex from those who did not. The
significance of the differences is at zero level.
However, alcoholism, socio-pathological
phenomena among members of parental
families, and then neglect and abuse by parents
in childhood, aggressive behavior, and
especially conflicts with the law best "separate"
Internet sex addicts from those who did not
have these risk factors in parental families and
during early psychosocial development, which
has been confirmed in other studies [16, 21, 37,
40, 54].
The results of our further analysis on the
prediction of risk factors for the emergence and
development of problematic behavior related to
pornographic sites and Internet sex addiction
only more convincingly indicated the connection
between aggressive behavior and this
addiction. Namely, the application of binary
logistic regression showed that the greatest
prediction for the development of Internet sex
addiction is carried by risk factors that indicate
aggressive and antisocial behavior. Alcohol
dependence, which also includes the
manifestation of verbal and physical
aggression, is also highly predictive of the onset
and development of Internet sex addiction.
Immediately after these, risk factors are
important in Montenegro, which include
psychodynamic disorders of respondents with
mothers, which are conditioned by the
overprotective and controlling behavior of
mothers towards their sons.
Finally, we described the social profiles of
Internet sex addicts in Serbia and Montenegro.
In general, social profiles are quite vague, and
undefined, somewhat more so in Serbia than in
Montenegro. The reasons should be sought
primarily in the great potential of creating
addictive patterns in Internet sex, which is
influenced more by biological than sociological
and cultural factors, which was discussed in
more detail earlier. Increased tendencies of
59
members of managerial social origin and
owners of private businesses individuals in
Montenegro are a consequence of the specific
way of expressing social power towards
women, which members of these strata are
usually not aware of. They wrongly explain it as
mutual liking and attraction to people of the
opposite sex. As with other addictions, the
symbolic fulfillment of desires replaces real
emotional and sexual activities in Internet sex
addicts.
As we said earlier, Internet sex addiction is
relatively the least prevalent of all behavioral
addictions, but with the highest potency for the
onset and development of addictive behavior,
which cannot be greatly influenced by cognitive
strategies since the center of addiction is in the
brain parts in charge for the functioning of our
instinctive activities. According to our research
findings, addiction to sex, Internet sex,
gambling, and alcohol is a key structure of
addictive behavior that, when it occurs, dictates
the emergence and development of most other
addictions in general [11]. This finding is not
only theoretically but also practically important
because this triad predicts the occurrence of
most other addictions and reduces the chances
of successful prevention, therapy, and,
rehabilitation. That is why the early diagnosis of
this triad is highly significant.
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Borislav Đukanović is a full professor of Sociology and a
scientific advisor. From 1988 to 1996, he was the editor-in-
chief of the Yugoslav magazine "Alcoholism" and the editor
of the professional magazine "Bulletin of Clubs of Treated
Alcoholics of Serbia" from 1986 to 1996. He was a longtime
professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Nikšić (University
of Montenegro). He is currently a full professor at the
University of Donja Gorica in Podgorica (Montenegro), as
well as a full member of the European-Mediterranean
Academy of Sciences and Arts (Athens, Greece). He has
published 165 scientific and professional papers and 20
monographs.
Irena Petrušić has a PhD in the field of management. In
2017 she defended her doctoral thesis entitled "Improving
motivation in the acquisition of English in the function of the
profession“. She is currently the Dean of the Faculty of
Management in Herceg Novi - Adriatic University. She's the
author of 12 published works, and the manager and active
participant in several projects: COST actions, TEMPUS,
intensive education, etc.
Gorana Bandalović has a PhD in Sociology. She is an
associate professor of Sociology at the Faculty of
Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Split
(Croatia). She graduated in Sociology and Italian language
and literature at the University of Zadar. Her research
interests include the sociology of social changes, marriage
and family, gender, and youth. She has published three
scientific monographs and more than 20 scientific papers in
internationally recognized journals and publications and has
actively participated in more than 30 international scientific
conferences. She is a member of the Croatian Sociological
Society.
Ana Maksimović has an MSc in Business Psychology and
Management. She is a teaching associate at study program
Applied Psychology at the Faculty of Applied Science and
Humanistic studies at the University of Donja Gorica in
Podgorica (Montenegro). Her research is mainly focused on
social and economic psychology. She was engaged as a
project associate (UNICEF and Psychological Association
of Montenegro), and volunteer (Pedagogical Center of
Montenegro), as well as a participant in numerous
educations in the field of psychology.
Silva Banović has a MSc in Speech Language Pathology
and she's senior assistant at the Faculty for Education and
Rehabilitation/Department of Speech and Language
Pathology and Audiology, University of Tuzla (Bosnia and
Herzegovina). She has an interest in speech and language
development and speech and language decline and she’s
skilled in the treatment of speech and language pathology,
as well as in speech writing and public speaking.
62
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