Gender Differences in the Relationship of Sexual Functioning with Implicit and Explicit Sex Liking and Sex Wanting: A Community Sample Study

Psychological and sociodemographic factors associated with hypoactive sexual desire in Ecuadorian women

Introduction

Human sexuality is a multifaceted process, and sexual desire plays a central role in the triphasic model of the sexual response cycle, as proposed by Helen Singer Kaplan.

Methods

In this cross-sectional correlational study, we examined the relationship between various sociodemographic factors, such as age and motherhood, and sexual variables, including erotophobia, erotophilia, homophobia, and unconventional sex, with hypoactive sexual desire in women from Quito, Ecuador. The study sample comprised 421 women between the ages of 18 and 50, who were administered the Revised Sexual Opinion Survey and the Inhibited Sexual Desire Scale to assess their sexual attitudes and levels of desire.

Results

The findings revealed that age (F = 7.13, p < 0.001) and motherhood (F = 13.72, p < 0.001) had a significant impact on inhibited sexual desire. Furthermore, significant correlations were observed between inhibited sexual desire and age (r = 0.16, p < 0.001), motherhood (r = 0.18, p < 0.001), erotophobia (r = 0.19, p < 0.001), erotophilia (r = -0.21, p < 0.001), and homophobia (r = -0.18, p < 0.001).

Discussion

These results suggest that women who are older, mothers, or have higher levels of erotophobia are more likely to experience hypoactive sexual desire. In contrast, higher levels of erotophilia and homophobia were inversely related to hypoactive sexual desire. This contributes to a deeper understanding of how different personal and sexual attitudes influence sexual desire in Ecuadorian women.

Automatic Associations between Sexual Function Problems and Pursuing Help in Pelvic Physical Therapy Practice: The Psychometric Investigation of an Implicit Association Test

Not all women experiencing pelvic floor complaints and sexual function problems seek help in pelvic physical therapy practice. Decisions to seek help can result from explicit and implicit cognitive processes. Having found some explicit predictive factors for receiving help in this setting, this study examines possible complementary implicit associations between sexual function problems and pursuing help that might also be predictive. The Pursuing Help for Sexual Problems Implicit Association Test (PHSP-IAT) was specially developed for this purpose. The instrument's reliability and validity were evaluated. High reliability was found (Spearman's Rho = .95). Convergent and divergent validity analyses resulted in low and non-significant correlations between the PHSP-IAT and the chosen self-report measures. The PHSP-IAT was predictive for receiving help in pelvic physical therapy practice. Further research is necessary to determine the PHSP-IAT's validity and its predictive value in other healthcare settings.

Sexual Pleasure Matters - and How to Define and Assess It Too. A Conceptual Framework of Sexual Pleasure and the Sexual Response

Objective

Sexual pleasure is central to current understandings of sexual function, health, and wellbeing. In this article, we suggest that we lack a sufficiently specific, yet encompassing, definition of sexual pleasure and that we therefore lack comprehensive assessments of sexual pleasure. We introduce a definition of sexual pleasure and position it centrally in an adapted framework of the sexual response. In the framework, we include a taxonomy of rewards which can be retrieved from sex and thereby aim to capture the multifaceted nature of sexual pleasure.

Methods/Results

Through narrative review, we arrive at the definition, framework, and taxonomy by integrating theories of sexual motivation and response with the literature on sexual pleasure and basic rewards. We position this literature within theories of affect and personality which allows us to differentiate between the experience of and the tendency to experience sexual pleasure (i.e., state versus trait sexual pleasure). We discuss how this conceptualization of sexual pleasure could be reflected in self-report assessments to quantitatively assess sexual pleasure.

Conclusions

The framework may aid to understand the role of the diverse facets of sexual pleasure in sexual function, health, and wellbeing and contribute to giving sexual pleasure the center position it deserves in sex research and therapy.

Measurement Invariance across Sexual Orientation for Measures of Sexual Attitudes

Despite the growing interest in the study of sexual attitudes across sexual orientation, few studies have tested whether the instruments used to measure them are invariant. This study examined measurement invariance (configural, weak, strong, and strict) across sexual orientation in three different sexual attitude scales: the Sexual Opinion Survey (SOS) to assess erotophilia, the Hurlbert Index of Sexual Fantasy (HISF) to assess attitudes toward sexual fantasies, and the Negative Attitudes Toward Masturbation Inventory (NATMI) to assess negative attitudes toward masturbation. A total of 2293 Spanish adult men and women with different sexual orientations (i.e., heterosexual, bisexual, and gay) participated in the study. The results indicated strict invariance for HISF across sexual orientation and only weak invariance for SOS and NATMI. Differential item functioning was also found in two items of the NATMI scale. Evidence of validity was provided for the three scales that were studied.

Individual, Relational, and Sociocultural Determinants of Sexual Function and Sexual Satisfaction in Ecuador

Aim

Various individual, relational, and sociocultural variables have been identified as determinants of sexual responding, but these have rarely been investigated in non-Western cultures that are characterized by sexual conservatism. We aimed to explore the role of socioeconomic status and religion, sexual double standards, erotophobia-erotophilia, sexual dysfunctional beliefs, and relationship satisfaction to explain sexual function and satisfaction in Ecuador.

Method

599 participants (431 women and 159 men) completed an online survey.

Main Outcomes Measures

The Female sexual function was predicted by sexual satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, sexual dysfunctional beliefs, and sexual double standards, while the male sexual function was predicted solely by sexual satisfaction. Additionally, female sexual satisfaction was predicted by sexual function, relationship satisfaction, and sexual dysfunctional beliefs, while male sexual satisfaction was predicted by sexual function and relationship satisfaction.

Results

Female Sexual Function Index, International Index of Erectile Function, Brief Sexual Opinion Survey, Sexual Double Standards Scale, Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs Questionnaire, New Sexual Satisfaction Scale, and Couple Satisfaction Index.

Conclusion

This study provided novel information on the determinants of sexual function and satisfaction within a culture in which conservative religious beliefs still prevail. Results should be interpreted with caution given the unequal distribution of men and women, social desirability and volunteer biases, and the specific COVID-19 pandemic context during which the survey took place. Markers of sexual conservatism were inversely related to sexual function and satisfaction, mainly in women, and may, therefore, be important targets of treatment. Female sexuality seemed more context-dependent than male sexuality, although enhancing the general climate of the relationship may benefit feeling sexually satisfied in both men and women. DA Hidalgo, M Dewitte. Individual, Relational, and Sociocultural Determinants of Sexual Function and Sexual Satisfaction in Ecuador. Sex Med 2021;9:100307.

The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Sexual Attitudes, Sexual Assertiveness, and Sexual Functioning in Men and Women

BACKGROUND

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) causes physical, sexual, or psychological harm. The association between psychosexual (sexual assertiveness, erotophilia, and attitude towards sexual fantasies) and sexual function (sexual desire, sexual excitation, erection, orgasm capacity, and sexual satisfaction), and the experience of physical and non-physical IPV was assessed.

METHODS

Data from 3394 (1766 women, 1628 men) heterosexual adults completed the Spanish version of the Index of Spouse Abuse, scales measuring psychosexual and sexual function, and demographic characteristics were collected.

RESULTS

For men, poorer sexual health was associated with an experience of physical abuse (F = 4.41, p < 0.001) and non-physical abuse (F = 4.35, p < 0.001). For women, poorer sexual health was associated with physical abuse (F = 13.38, p < 0.001) and non-physical abuse (F = 7.83, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The experience of physical or non-physical abuse has a negative association with psychosexual and sexual functioning in both men and women.

The Influence of Sexual Arousal on Self-Reported Sexual Willingness and Automatic Approach to Models of Low, Medium, and High Prior Attractiveness

Anecdotal evidence suggests that sexual attraction is flexible, and that high levels of sexual arousal can promote sexual willingness and approach tendencies toward a priori low attractive mates. This experimental study tested whether heightened sexual arousal can lower the threshold for sexual willingness and automatic approach tendencies toward potential sex partners of low and medium attractiveness. Heterosexual male (n =54) and female (n =61) participants were randomly assigned to a sexual arousal or control condition. Approach tendencies were indexed using a reaction time task. Sexual willingness was indexed using participant ratings of willingness to kiss and to consider having sex with same- and other-sex models of low, medium, and high attractiveness. Overall, participants showed stronger approach to models of high and medium than of low attractiveness. Sexual arousal weakened this differential responding but did not result in a robust increase of approach toward less attractive other-sex or same-sex models. Sexual willingness toward less attractive models was not affected by sexual arousal. Independent of condition, women reported greater sexual willingness toward same-sex models. The current pattern of findings does not support the notion that sexual arousal promotes automatic approach and sexual willingness to a broader array of sex partners.

The Spanish Version of the Sexual Opinion Survey (SOS-6): Evidence of Validity of a Short Version

The aim of this work was to provide validity evidences of the short Spanish version of the Sexual Opinion Survey (SOS-6). First, a psychometric study was performed to examine the factorial invariance of the scale across different groups. A sample of 1,500 heterosexual adults (50% men, 50% women) from the general Spanish population, aged 18 to 80, was examined. Results showed that the unidimensional model of the SOS-6 is invariant across sex, age range, relationship status, and educational level. Secondly, a laboratory study was performed to determine the relationship between erotophilia and objective and subjective sexual arousal in response to sexual stimuli. The sample consisted of 130 young Spanish university students (46.92% men, 53.08% women) with heterosexual orientation. In men, erotophilia was related to subjective sexual arousal; in women, erotophilia was related to subjective sexual arousal and estimation of genital sensations. In conclusion, this work provides validity evidences of the short version of the SOS-6 and describes the factorial equivalence of the scale across groups and its concurrent validity.

Anxiety and Performance in Sex, Sport, and Stage: Identifying Common Ground

Anxiety has long been associated with diminished performance within a number of domains involving evaluative interpersonal interactions, including Sex, Sport, and Stage. Here, we pose three questions: (1) how do these disparate fields approach and understand anxiety and performance; (2) how does the understanding of the issue within one field offer insight to another field; and (3) how could each field benefit from the ideas and strategies used by the others. We begin with a short review of models of anxiety/arousal and performance and then explore definitions, models, presumed underlying physiological processes, and characterizing and influencing factors within each domain separately in a narrative review. This discussion is followed by a synthesis that identifies elements specific to and common across the various domains, with the latter captured in a model of essential characteristics. Concluding remarks note the potential value of promoting increased cross-disciplinary conversation and research, with each domain likely benefiting from the conceptualizations and expert knowledge of the others.