Research on the function of spirituality in sex addiction recovery is limited. The literature indicates a significant relationship between religiosity and spirituality and compulsive sexual behavior disorder (Jennings et al., Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 10(4), 854–878, 2021). Additional research is needed to identify the aspects of religious and spiritual involvement that influence compulsive sexual behavior recovery. This mixed-methods study analyzed 46 autobiographical narratives from the Sex Addicts Anonymous (2017) foundational text to examine how spiritual experiences influenced recovery from sex addiction. Using Auerbach and Silverstein’s (2003) grounded theory methodology, coders identified 52 repeating ideas, 17 themes, and 4 theoretical constructs. Frequency analyses were utilized to triangulate the salience of results, indicating that spirituality influenced sex addiction recovery through four central processes: (1) spirituality reshapes internal working models (63.0% of narratives, 73 quotations), (2) identity integrated with spirituality influences sex addiction (54.3% of narratives, 57 quotations), (3) the Higher Power is an attachment Fig. (67.4% of narratives, 71 quotations), and (4) spirituality shapes social identity (82.6% of narratives, 84 quotations). Central to the findings was that the quality of an individual’s relationship to their HP promotes identity integration. Characterized by identity dissonance, sex addiction is described by the storytellers as a by-product of their misdirected dependence, blocking access to their wider needs for love, acceptance, safety, reciprocity, and belonging. In recovery, the sex addict’s relationship to their Higher Power functions like a secure attachment figure, providing a safe haven and secure base. The conclusions inform the influence of spiritual practices in spiritual and relational reformation, identity reconstruction, and abstinence from compulsive sexual behavior.
