Getting lucky: Clinical characterization of compulsive sexual behavior compared with gambling disorder and intermittent explosive disorder

This study provides a comparative description of treatment-seeking adults with CSBD, Gambling Disorder (GD), and Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) across demographic, psychiatric, and personality correlates. Participants (N = 969; CSBD n = 233, GD n = 634, IED n = 102) were evaluated at a single specialty center. CSBD was ascertained using Goodman's criteria; GD and IED were diagnosed with DSM-IV SCID procedures. Psychiatric comorbidities were assessed with the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview v5.0.0, and personality with the Temperament and Character Inventory. Group differences were tested with chi-square/Fisher's exact tests and Kruskal-Wallis with Dunn's post hoc tests using familywise Bonferroni thresholds, followed by backward stepwise binary logistic regressions contrasting CSBD vs. GD and CSBD vs. IED. Relative to GD, the CSBD group was younger, more often male, more frequently non-heterosexual, and reported higher educational attainment. CSBD also showed lower odds of hypomania and anorexia nervosa (binge/purge subtype) and lower novelty-seeking, with trait means in the normative range. Relative to IED, CSBD was more often non-heterosexual, less likely to have bulimia nervosa, and showed higher cooperativeness and self-transcendence, with trait means in the normative range. Findings delineate phenotypic patterns in a treatment-seeking cohort that can sharpen screening, triage, and case formulation. Results should be interpreted as clinical characterization rather than evidence for nosological proximity, given the cross-sectional design and historical diagnostic frameworks used.