Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder (CSBD) in the ICD-11
Concept
Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder (CSBD) is a diagnostic category in the WHO's ICD-11 (code 6C72). It describes a persistent pattern of failure to control intense, repetitive sexual impulses or urges, resulting in repetitive sexual behaviour that causes marked distress or significant impairment.
What this term means
Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder (CSBD) is the ICD-11’s formal diagnosis for a persistent pattern of failing to control intense, repetitive sexual impulses or urges, where the resulting behaviour causes marked distress or significant impairment. It is classified under impulse control disorders, not under substance-related or addictive disorders.
Why the placement matters
The ICD-11 deliberately does not call CSBD a “sexual addiction.” This is a meaningful choice: it signals that the World Health Organization did not conclude that the available evidence supports an addiction classification. See the behavioural addiction debate for the full picture.
Community vs. clinical language
Recovery communities frequently use the words “porn addiction” or “sex addiction.” These are community terms, not ICD-11 or DSM-5 diagnoses. They may describe a person’s felt experience, but they do not carry a formal clinical definition.
What the research shows
CSBD was included in the ICD-11, which came into effect in 2022, under the 'Impulse control disorders' chapter. The classification deliberately avoids the term 'sexual addiction' and does not treat CSBD as a substance-related or addictive disorder.
Community observation
Community members often use 'sex addiction' or 'porn addiction' language to describe their experience. These labels are common in recovery communities but are not ICD-11 or DSM-5 diagnostic terms.
Practical implications
- Understanding the formal definition helps people evaluate whether professional help is appropriate without self-diagnosing.
- The distinction between impulse-control and addiction framing matters for how problems are discussed and treated.
What we know
- CSBD is an official ICD-11 diagnosis under impulse control disorders.
- Diagnosis requires marked distress or significant impairment persisting about six months or more.
What we don't know
- How common CSBD is in the general population.
- The long-term course and outcomes of CSBD.
What is debated
- Whether CSBD is best understood as an impulse-control disorder, a compulsion, or an addiction.
- Whether the diagnostic criteria over- or under-include people who use pornography heavily but without distress.
Related research
Limitations
- This is a diagnostic classification, not an empirical claim about the underlying nature of the behaviour.
- Field testing for CSBD was limited relative to other ICD-11 disorders.