Sadistic

Sadistic refers to deriving pleasure from inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on others. The term is often used in a clinical context, specifically in relation to Sadistic personality disorder and Sexual sadism disorder. It is also used more broadly in social and cultural contexts to describe cruel behavior or actions.

Clinical Context

In the clinical context, sadism is most often associated with two specific disorders: Sadistic personality disorder and Sexual sadism disorder.

Sadistic Personality Disorder

Sadistic personality disorder is a personality disorder involving sadism which appeared in an appendix of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R). The later versions of the DSM (DSM-IV, DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5) do not include it.

Sexual Sadism Disorder

Sexual sadism disorder is the condition of experiencing sexual arousal in response to the extreme pain, suffering or humiliation of others. This disorder is included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

Social and Cultural Context

In a broader social and cultural context, sadism can refer to acts of cruelty and harshness. It is often associated with power dynamics, where the person inflicting the pain or humiliation derives pleasure from the sense of control and dominance.

See Also

• Masochism
• Sadomasochism
• BDSM
• Cruelty

References

Sadistic Resources
Need Help Finding a Doctor? WikiMD's DocFinder can help find general and specialist physicians.	Latest articles Most recent articles Ongoing trials.