Effectiveness of ACT for Problematic Chemsex

NCT06406296 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 23.244
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 36
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Investigation of the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for the psychological treatment of problematic chemsex.

Conditions

Hypersexuality; Compulsive Sexual Behavior; Sexualized Drug Use (Chemsex)

Keywords

Sexuality; Risky sexual behavior

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Hypersexual Behavior Inventory (HBI)

  The Hypersexual Behavior Inventory is a 19-item, seven-point Likert-type scale. Scores range between 19 and 95. Higher scores indicate higher levels of Hypersexuality and worse outcome. The presence of a problem of hypersexuality is considered when the score is equal or higher than 53.

  Change from Baseline Hypersexuality at 5 months

Secondary Outcomes (17)

• Change in Drug Abuse Screening Test (Dast-10)

  Change from Baseline Drug Abuse at 5 months

• Change in Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)

  Change from Baseline Anxiety and Depression at 5 months

• Change in Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II)

  Change from Baseline psychological inflexibility at 5 months

• Change in Short Internalized Homonegativity Scale (SIHS)

  Change from Baseline Internalized Homonegativity at 5 months

• Change in Social and Emotional Loneliness in Adults (SESLA)

  Change from Baseline Emotional Loneliness at 5 months

Study Arms (2)

ACT group

EXPERIMENTAL

8 individual weekly sessions which included ACT methods

Behavioral: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Waiting list

NO INTERVENTION

Participants assigned to Waiting List arm waited for 5 months before receiving treatment

Interventions

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) BEHAVIORAL

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy methods were focused on promoting Values clarification, Acceptance, Cognitive defusion, Committed action and Flexible attention to the present moment, and included methods such as the Garden Metaphor, Funeral exercise or Mindfulness training.

ACT group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• older than 18 years-old
• Spanish speaking
• having used psychoactive substances to facilitate, maintain and/or improve sexual relations in the last year
• significant score on the HBI Inventory (of 53 or more)
• clinically significant discomfort related to sexual practices
• degree of interference in his/her life of sexual practices greater than or equal to 5 out of 10
• desire to improve/reduce excessive sexual behaviour

You may not qualify if:

• receiving psychological or psychopharmacological treatment
• intellectual disability
• substance dependence (use not associated with sex)
• personality disorder or other serious or chronic mental disorder diagnosed

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universidad Europea de Madrid: lead
• Apoyo Positivo: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Universidad Europea de Madrid

Villaviciosa de Odón, Madrid, 28670, Spain

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder; Chemsex; Sexuality

Interventions

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior, Addictive; Compulsive Behavior; Impulsive Behavior; Behavior; Sexual and Gender Disorders; Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological; Mental Disorders; Sexual Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Behavior Therapy; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities

Study Officials

• Francisco Montesinos, Ph.D.

  Universidad Europea de Madrid

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Randomization assigned participants to 2 arms: ACT group Waiting list

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 22, 2024
• First Posted: May 9, 2024
• Study Start: June 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: June 30, 2025
• Study Completion: September 30, 2025
• Last Updated: April 13, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

ES (1)