Narratives of Suffering among Italian Female Partners of Cybersex and Cyber-Porn Dependents

This study analyzes narratives of Italian female spouses, partners and live-in friends of male cybersex and cyber-porn dependents. This qualitative study focused on 1,130 messages from female members and active participants in 2 Italian self-help groups on the Web that deal with the issue of male dependence (noallapornodipendenza and pornodipendenzaeamore). Major patterns of distress, primarily related to ambivalent emotions and the formation of an ambiguous loss are discussed as well as their implications on interpersonal, conjugal, and sexual life.