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2 results

  • BDSM: pathological or healthy expression of intimacy?

  • E. Wuyts
  • Journal:
    European Psychiatry / Volume 65 / Issue S1 / June 2022
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    01 September 2022, pp. S805-S806
    • Article
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      • Open access
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  • Introduction

    Though BDSM interest (bondage & discipline, dominance & submission and sadism & masochism) has proven to be quite prevalent (46.8% in recent research), there is still significant stigma surrounding it, both in general society and among mental health practitioners.

    Objectives

    This research explores the biological mechanisms associated with a BDSM interaction in the hope to strengthen the argument that it does not belong in the psychiatric field.

    Methods

    The present study collected data on peripheral hormone levels, pain thresholds and pain cognitions before and after a BDSM interaction and compared these results to a control group.

    Results

    show that submissives have increased cortisol and endocannabinoid levels due to the BDSM interaction and that these increases are linked. Dominants showed a significant increase in endocannabinoids associated with power play but not with pain play. BDSM practitioners have a higher pain threshold overall and a BSDM interaction will result in a temporary elevation of pain thresholds for submissives. Additionally, pain thresholds in dominants will be dependent upon their fear of pain and tendency to catastrophize pain and submissives will experience less fear of pain than the control group

    Conclusions

    Even though this is one of the first studies of its kind, several biological processes can be associated with BDSM interactions, strengthening the hypothesis of BDSM as a healthy form of intimacy and promoting its distinction from paraphilias as they are described in the DSM or ICD classifications.

    Disclosure

    No significant relationships.

  • 16 - Assessment of Mechanisms in Personality Disorders

  • from Part IV - Assessment
  • Edited by Carl W. Lejuez, University of Kansas, Kim L. Gratz, University of Toledo, Ohio
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Handbook of Personality Disorders
    Published online:
    24 February 2020
    Print publication:
    07 May 2020, pp 375-388

  • Summary

    The search for mechanisms in personality disorders (PDs) is of growing importance, because PDs are prevalent, costly, and challenging to treat. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of compelling mechanistic research on PDs and psychopathology more broadly, due to equivocal definitions of a “mechanism” and study designs that are atheoretical and/or ill-suited for causal inferences.This chapter defines mechanisms as elements of possible causal sequence, which not only increase the probability of observed outcomes but also reveal how the outcomes occur. In addition, the authors argue that it is not always necessary to break down a mechanism to its most elemental physical parts; rather, it is important to consider how mechanisms act as complex, interacting components of a causal chain, with a focus on those that could serve as viable targets for prevention and intervention. Considering this broader definition of a “mechanism,” it is crucial that PD researchers ground their work in testable theories, such as those considering dimensional, transdiagnostic precursors to PDs. In this chapter, the authors also address various design and statistical considerations in PD mechanistic research and highlight promising developments in identifying mechanisms of PDs across multiple levels of measurement (e.g., biological, contextual, environmental) and across the lifespan.