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The use of the smartphone dating application Tinder is increasingly popular and has received much media attention. However, no empirical study to date has investigated the psychological characteristics driving its adaptive or problematic use. The aim of this study is to determine whether reliable subtypes of users can be identified via a cluster analysis approach. A total of 1,159 Tinder users were recruited. Survey questions investigated user characteristics, including: motives for app use, sexual desire, attachment styles, impulsivity traits, self-esteem, problematic use, depressive mood, and patterns of use. Four reliable clusters were identified: two with low levels of problematic use ("regulated" and "regulated with low sexual desire"), one with an intermediate level of problematic use ("unregulated-avoidants"), and one with a high level of problematic use ("unregulated-highly motivated"). The clusters differed on gender, marital status, depressive mood, and use patterns. The findings provide insight into the dynamic relationships among key use-related factors and shed light on the mechanisms underlying the self-regulation difficulties that appear to characterize problematic Tinder use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cybersex is increasingly associated with concerns about compulsive use. The aim of this study was to assess the roles of motives and sexual desire in the compulsive use of cybersex. The sample consisted of 306 cybersex users (150 men and 156 women). The participants were assessed using the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) adapted for cybersex, the Cybersex Motives Questionnaire (enhancement, coping, and social motives), and the Sexual Desire Inventory-2 (dyadic and solitary sexual desire). For both genders, coping motive was associated with CIUS score. For women, an additional association with social motives was found whereas an association with sexual desire was found for men. The study showed gender differences in the contributors to sex-related CIUS scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: The Internet is widely used for sexual activities and pornography. Little is known, however, about why people look for meetings and sexual interactions through the Internet and about the correlates of cybersex addiction. The goal of this study was to construct a questionnaire for cybersex motives [Cybersex Motives Questionnaire (CysexMQ)] by adapting the Gambling Motives Questionnaire to cybersex use and validating its structure. Methods: Two online samples of 191 and 204 cybersex users were collected to conduct a principal component analysis (PCA) on the first sample and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the second. Cronbach's α and composite reliability were computed to assess internal consistency. Correlations between the CysexMQ and the Sexual Desire Inventory (SDI) were also evaluated. Results: Two competing models were retained from the PCA, one with two factors and the other with three factors. The CFA showed better fit for the three-factor solution. After three cross-loading items were removed, the results showed that a final 14-item three-factor solution (enhancement, coping, and social motives) was valid (adjusted goodness-of-fit index: 0.993; normed-fit index: 0.978; Tucker-Lewis index: 0.985; comparative fit index: 0.988; root mean square error of approximation: 0.076). Positive correlations were found between the different motives and the subscales of the SDI. Discussion: The results suggest that the CysexMQ is adequate for the assessment of cybersex motives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]