As clinicians we know that the sex addict doesn’t fall too far from the family tree.  Or as a friend of mine put it: “Sex addiction comes barreling down the generations like a locomotive!” 

So addictions run in families, but what part of this is due to genetics, to life experiences, and to other personality variables?  And can the genetic research on other addictions be applied to sex addicts?

Researchers have been investigating the genetic factors in drug and alcohol addiction for many years using identical twins vs. non-identical twins. It is reported that approximately 50% of the predisposition to addiction was accounted for by genetic factors.  More recent studies use brain science and genetic factors to help understand why addiction is heritable.

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