Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder (CSBD) in the ICD-11
- Authors
- World Health Organization
- Year
- 2022
- Type
- Clinical guideline / classification
- Last verified
- 2026-10-04
Main question
How does the WHO ICD-11 define and classify compulsive sexual behaviour?
What this record covers
The World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD-11) was adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2019 and came into effect on 1 January 2022. It includes a diagnosis titled Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder (CSBD), code 6C72, placed in the chapter on impulse control disorders.
Key diagnostic features
CSBD is defined as 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. The pattern must be present for about six months or more and must not be better accounted for by another condition.
What the classification deliberately avoids
The ICD-11 does not use the label “sexual addiction” and does not place CSBD among the disorders due to substance use or addictive behaviours. This placement reflects an ongoing scientific disagreement about how best to conceptualize the condition. For a fuller discussion see the behavioural addiction debate.
Findings
- CSBD (6C72) is included in the ICD-11 under 'Impulse control disorders', characterized by a persistent pattern of failure to control intense, repetitive sexual impulses or urges resulting in repetitive sexual behaviour.
- Diagnosis requires the pattern to cause marked distress or significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning.
- The pattern must persist for approximately six months or more and must not be better explained by another mental disorder, a medical condition, or the effects of a substance or medication.
- The ICD-11 deliberately does not use the term 'sexual addiction' and does not classify CSBD as a substance-related or addictive disorder.
Limitations
- The ICD-11 is a diagnostic classification, not an empirical study; field testing for CSBD was limited relative to other disorders.
- Whether CSBD is best understood as an impulse-control disorder rather than an addictive or compulsive condition remains debated.
Clinical relevance
Provides the formal diagnostic criteria a clinician uses to identify CSBD.
Relevance to problematic pornography use
Establishes the official diagnostic context for problematic sexual behaviour, though PPU itself is not a diagnosis.