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Sexual sadism

MedGen UID:
19957
•Concept ID:
C0036913
•
Mental or Behavioral Dysfunction
Synonyms: Sadism, Sexual; Sadisms, Sexual; Sexual Sadism; Sexual Sadisms
SNOMED CT: Sexual sadism (59394009)

Definition

A disorder characterized by recurrent sexual urges, fantasies, or behaviors involving acts (real, not simulated) in which the psychological or physical suffering of a victim is sexually exciting to the individual. [from NCI]

Term Hierarchy

CClinical test,  RResearch test,  OOMIM,  GGeneReviews,  VClinVar  
  • CROGVSexual sadism

Professional guidelines

PubMed

Axis I psychiatric disorders, paraphilic sexual offending and implications for pharmacological treatment.
Kafka M
Isr J Psychiatry Relat Sci 2012;49(4):255-61. PMID: 23585462
The DSM diagnostic criteria for sexual sadism.
Krueger RB
Arch Sex Behav 2010 Apr;39(2):325-45. doi: 10.1007/s10508-009-9586-3. PMID: 19997774

Recent clinical studies

Etiology

Sexual Sadism Disorder and Coercive Paraphilic Disorder: A Scoping Review.
Liu A, Zhang E, Leroux EJ, Benassi P
J Sex Med 2022 Mar;19(3):496-506. Epub 2022 Feb 10 doi: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2022.01.002. PMID: 35153163
Sexual Sadism: Its Role in the Crime-Commission Process of Sexual Homicide of Children.
Chopin J, Beauregard E
J Interpers Violence 2022 Jan;37(1-2):NP350-NP374. Epub 2020 May 5 doi: 10.1177/0886260520916844. PMID: 32370642
Sexual sadism in sexual offenders and sexually motivated homicide.
Briken P, Bourget D, Dufour M
Psychiatr Clin North Am 2014 Jun;37(2):215-30. Epub 2014 Apr 18 doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2014.03.003. PMID: 24877708
On sexual violence.
Bradford JM
Curr Opin Psychiatry 2006 Sep;19(5):527-32. doi: 10.1097/01.yco.0000238483.34894.68. PMID: 16874129
Sexual sadism.
Berner W, Berger P, Hill A
Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol 2003 Aug;47(4):383-95. doi: 10.1177/0306624X03256131. PMID: 12971180

Diagnosis

Sexual Sadism Disorder and Coercive Paraphilic Disorder: A Scoping Review.
Liu A, Zhang E, Leroux EJ, Benassi P
J Sex Med 2022 Mar;19(3):496-506. Epub 2022 Feb 10 doi: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2022.01.002. PMID: 35153163
Sadism among sexual homicide offenders: Validation of the Sexual Sadism Scale.
Stefanska EB, Nitschke J, Carter AJ, Mokros A
Psychol Assess 2019 Jan;31(1):132-137. Epub 2018 Oct 15 doi: 10.1037/pas0000653. PMID: 30321018
Sexual sadism in sexual offenders and sexually motivated homicide.
Briken P, Bourget D, Dufour M
Psychiatr Clin North Am 2014 Jun;37(2):215-30. Epub 2014 Apr 18 doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2014.03.003. PMID: 24877708
The importance of behavioral factors in the diagnosis of severe sexual sadism.
Palermo GB
Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol 2013 Dec;57(12):1439-40. doi: 10.1177/0306624X13511421. PMID: 24196138
Sexual sadism.
Berner W, Berger P, Hill A
Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol 2003 Aug;47(4):383-95. doi: 10.1177/0306624X03256131. PMID: 12971180

Therapy

A cumulative scale of severe sexual sadism.
Nitschke J, Osterheider M, Mokros A
Sex Abuse 2009 Sep;21(3):262-78. Epub 2009 Jul 15 doi: 10.1177/1079063209342074. PMID: 19605691
Treatment of paraphilia in young adults with leuprolide acetate: a preliminary case report series.
Saleh FM, Niel T, Fishman MJ
J Forensic Sci 2004 Nov;49(6):1343-8. PMID: 15568711

Prognosis

Sexual Sadism and Psychopathy in Sexual Homicide Offenders: An Exploration of Their Associates in a Clinical Sample.
Darjee R
Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol 2019 Jul;63(9):1738-1765. Epub 2019 Mar 22 doi: 10.1177/0306624X19836872. PMID: 30897982
Diagnostic Issues in the Paraphilias.
Marshall WL, Kingston DA
Curr Psychiatry Rep 2018 Jul 21;20(8):54. doi: 10.1007/s11920-018-0919-6. PMID: 30032364
Sadism and Violent Reoffending in Sexual Offenders.
Eher R, Schilling F, Hansmann B, Pumberger T, Nitschke J, Habermeyer E, Mokros A
Sex Abuse 2016 Feb;28(1):46-72. Epub 2015 Jan 6 doi: 10.1177/1079063214566715. PMID: 25567533
Relating sexual sadism and psychopathy to one another, non-sexual violence, and sexual crime behaviors.
Robertson CA, Knight RA
Aggress Behav 2014 Jan;40(1):12-23. Epub 2013 Sep 6 doi: 10.1002/ab.21505. PMID: 24019144Free PMC Article
Sexual sadism in the context of rape and sexual homicide: an examination of crime scene indicators.
Healey J, Lussier P, Beauregard E
Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol 2013 Apr;57(4):402-24. Epub 2012 Mar 21 doi: 10.1177/0306624X12437536. PMID: 22436735

Clinical prediction guides

Sadism among sexual homicide offenders: Validation of the Sexual Sadism Scale.
Stefanska EB, Nitschke J, Carter AJ, Mokros A
Psychol Assess 2019 Jan;31(1):132-137. Epub 2018 Oct 15 doi: 10.1037/pas0000653. PMID: 30321018
Diagnostic Issues in the Paraphilias.
Marshall WL, Kingston DA
Curr Psychiatry Rep 2018 Jul 21;20(8):54. doi: 10.1007/s11920-018-0919-6. PMID: 30032364
Sadistic Offender or Sexual Sadism? Taxometric Evidence for a Dimensional Structure of Sexual Sadism.
Longpré N, Guay JP, Knight RA, Benbouriche M
Arch Sex Behav 2018 Feb;47(2):403-416. Epub 2017 Dec 4 doi: 10.1007/s10508-017-1068-4. PMID: 29204815
Sadism and Violent Reoffending in Sexual Offenders.
Eher R, Schilling F, Hansmann B, Pumberger T, Nitschke J, Habermeyer E, Mokros A
Sex Abuse 2016 Feb;28(1):46-72. Epub 2015 Jan 6 doi: 10.1177/1079063214566715. PMID: 25567533
Assessment of the paraphilias.
Seto MC, Kingston DA, Bourget D
Psychiatr Clin North Am 2014 Jun;37(2):149-61. Epub 2014 Apr 18 doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2014.03.001. PMID: 24877702

Recent systematic reviews

Coercive Sexual Sadism: a Systematic Qualitative Review.
Mokros A, Wessels J, Hofmann M, Nitschke J
Curr Psychiatry Rep 2019 Dec 6;21(12):135. doi: 10.1007/s11920-019-1118-9. PMID: 31811477

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