DSM-5 Case Studies Practice Test

Sexual Masochism Disorder is defined by recurrent, intense sexual arousal from experiences of pain, humiliation, or being controlled, often involving acts that cause physical or psychological distress. InDSM-5, these fantasies, urges, or behaviors must persist for at least several months and lead to clinically significant distress or impairment, or involve risk of harm. The situation described fits this pattern: a 35-year-old man whose sexual arousal centers on experiencing pain or humiliation, with a history spanning years and injuries indicating ongoing risk or harm. The focus is on the arousal derived from the act of being subjected to pain or humiliation, which is the hallmark of this diagnosis. Other choices involve arousal patterns not centered on pain/humiliation (objects or fetishes, watching others, or sexual interest in prepubescent individuals) and do not capture the specific pattern described.