Capacity to love and problematic sexuality: the role of defense mechanisms and psychopathological suffering.

The etiology of limitation in the capacity to love is related to dysfunctional aspects of psychological functioning, such as psychological distress and immature defense mechanisms, and these factors together generate problematic sexuality such as hypersexual behavior. Our results highlight the central role in mental and sexual health of the capacity to love. Based on these findings, clinicians should take these aspects into consideration for diagnosis and treatment of patients presenting with problematic sexuality.