AFAR awards four grants

The AFAR grant committee recently provided financial support for four projects/organizations.

The impact of sex addiction and disclosure by sex addicts and their partners to their children

This research project is a follow-up on work originally done by Deborah Corley, Ph.D., and Jennifer Schneider, M.D., and Richard Irons, M.D., in 1997. The project examines the impact of sex addiction and disclosure by sex addicts and their partners to their children. "We have found that among the hundreds of couples with whom we've worked and who are dealing with sex addiction, the question about how and what to tell their children is very difficult," said Corley. The researchers hope to learn more about whether and how parents told their children about the sex addiction, the children's responses, and how this discussion influenced other discussions about sexuality.

In sample interviews, Corley found that couples are very anxious to talk about this issue but only one felt they had done a good job. "Furthermore," said Corley, "none had received any help in this task from therapists and generally felt at a loss as to how to proceed."

Corley and Schneider have joined with Linda Hudson, M.S., (past president of the National council on Sex Addiction and Compulsivity) to gather date in hopes of acquiring enough information from participants to develop a set of effective guidelines. These guidelines will help therapists and Twelve Step groups can give to couples to help them respond proactively to the needs of recovering families with children. "We want to be able to tell parents what other families have done, the result of their discussions, the problems they've encountered, what's worked well, pitfalls to avoid, what information is appropriate for children at particular ages, and effective ways to talk about healthy sexuality," said Corley.

The researchers will be assisted by graduate students from Texas Women's University marriage and family therapy program. Thus the study will also meet an educational goal by helping the participating students learn more about sex addiction and its treatment.

Exploring online sexuality and its consequences

AFAR will also fund a research project designed by leading internet researcher, Al Cooper, Ph.D., of the San Jose Marital and Sexuality Centre (www.sex-centre.com). Other members of the research team will include Coralie Scherer, Ph.D., Ron Burg, Ph.D., and Robin Mathy, M.A. The purpose of their study is to expand understanding of online sexuality and the problems that can arise from this activity. A minimum of 20% of the estimated 6148.80 million Americans using the World Wide Web visit sexually explicit websites. While it is clear that Internet users are taking advantage of the widespread availability of sexually explicit websites, chatrooms, and other electronic technologies, little data has been collected to describe specifically where they go, what they do, how this affects their lives, and the extent to which online sexuality is infiltrating and affecting the work environment.

Because online sexuality may have compulsive or addictive aspects similar to alcohol and other drug abuse (cybersex has been called the crack cocaine of sexual problems), Cooper and his colleagues will also attempt to learn more about who gets hooked on cybersex; the impact of cybersex on individual lives; what treatment interventions and modalities are effective, and whether online and off-line sexual behavior are linked in measurable ways. The study is being done in collaboration with MSNBC.

HIV transmission and sexually compulsive behaviors

That there would be a link between HIV transmission and sexually compulsive behaviors seems obvious, but surprisingly, this connection has barely been studied. Very little has been written in scientific literature specifically applying theories of sexual compulsivity to diagnostic or treatment methods for HIV and STD patients, nor are there standardized protocols for providing follow-up services for clients who may present with sexually compulsive behaviors. A grant to begin this process has been given to Cecelia Grindel, Ph.D., R.N., Gina Bailey Herring, R.N., Amy Joy, R.N., Tara Taneski, R.N., and Dianne Weyer, M.S., C.F.N.P., R.N., of Georgia State University.

This research project will evaluate caregivers' awareness of and assessments for sexually compulsive behaviors in their patients. The participants will be a sample of at least 200 nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants from sexually transmitted disease clinics throughout the state of Georgia.

"We anticipate that caregivers of patients who are at high risk for infection with HIV and STDs are not generally aware of the sexual compulsivity model nor will they routinely assess for sexually compulsive behaviors in their patients," explained Gina Bailey Herring. "We hope our findings will provide a vital conceptual link between the fields of HIV/STD prevention and sexual compulsivity treatment, thus helping to create a common frame of reference between these two seemingly disparate fields of study." In addition, their findings will serve to sensitize professionals to the benefit of addressing sexual compulsivity as part of routine patient assessment. The findings will further underscore for educators the necessity of including sexual compulsivity assessment as part of the training for health care professionals.

Herring and her colleagues also hope to acquire enough information to validate the need for a similar study on a national scale. "We want to evaluate and refine a short set of questions that physicians and therapists could use to help them quickly recognize and assess for sexually compulsive behaviors and HIV risk among their patients," she said.

National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity

The National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity (NCSAC ) was awarded a grant to hire and fund a position of Executive Director. Founded in 1987, NCSAC is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting public and professional recognition, awareness, and understanding of sexual addiction, sexual compulsivity, and sexual offending. NCSAC provides access to education, information, and referral resources encouraging wellness for all those they serve. NCSAC goals include the following:

• Promote public and professional access to information and resources about the disorders of sexual addiction, sexual compulsivity, and sexual offending
• Support research in the field of sexual addiction, sexual compulsivity, and sexual offending and promote acceptance of the diagnosis of sexual addiction and sexual compulsivity.
• Promote appropriate training and education conducive to prevention, intervention, and treatment of sexual addiction, sexual compulsivity, and sexual offending.
• Encourage communication and collaboration among treatment models and available resources.
• Provide international educational opportunities through newsletters, journals, conferences, and the media.
• Discern and respond to the stigmatization of sexual addiction, sexual compulsivity, and sexual offending.

At the time of NCSAC's inception thirteen years ago, sexual addiction and compulsivity were unrecognized and undiagnosed illnesses, hence there was no place to turn for those needing treatment. Thanks to the work of many dedicated peopleand to the work of NCSAC, this is no longer the case. Awareness and understanding of the problem of sexual addiction and compulsivity has grown markedly. Effective treatment programs are in place. And perhaps most importantly, thousands of people have received help and seen their suffering eased.

The American Foundation for Addiction Research awards educational and research grants. It considers proposals from both institutions and individuals. The range for educational grants is $5,000 to $25,000, and for research grants, it is $10,000 to $175,000. Applications may be submitted by domestic for-profit and non-profit organizations, public and private institutions (such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories), units of state and local government, and eligible agencies of the federal government.

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