18. Sexual Disorders and Sex Therapy Flashcards
Each disorder can be seen to vary along two dimension. What are they?
Lifelong Sexual Disorders: Occurs when the individual has always had the disorder.
Acquired Sexual Disorder: Occurs when the individual currently has the problem but not in the past.
Can sexual disorders be situational or generalized?
They can be either.
Generalized is occurring in all situations.
Situational occurs in some situations but not in others.
Types of Sexual disorders in men
- Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD)
- Erectile Disorder
- Premature (early) ejaculation
- Delayed Ejaculation
What is Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder?
Characteristics of it
- DEF: When the person does not have spontaneous thoughts or fantasies about sexual activity, and not interested in sexual activity.
- Persistent or recurrent low or lack of sexual thoughts or fantasies, AND low or absent interest in sex.
- This causes DISTRESS to the person.
- Not uncommon for men to report sexual desire.
What are the complex problems of the definition of HSDD?
- Normal for a person to not experience sexual desire (E.g.., cannot expect to be turned on by every person)
- men experiencing ANXIETY about erection or ejaculation may lose interest in sex.
Why is HSDD only diagnosed in men and not women?
Because for women, sexual desire and arousal are often linked.
BUT!
They were combined into a single disorder for women (Female sexual interest/arousal disorder). This decision is controversial
Even if person doesn’t have HSDD, but wants sex less frequently than the partner, what can it lead to?
Discrepancy of sexual desire.
- It is a couples problem, NOT a sexual disorder.
What is Erectile Disorder?
What are the other terms?
- DEF: Not able to have an erection or maintain one in almost or all occasions.
- Erectile dysfunction & Inhibited sexual excitement.
- Impotence still used by laypeople, but have negative connotation.
Can erectile disorder be an acquired erectile disorder or a lifelong erectile disorder?
Can disorder be generalized or situational?
- Can be EITHER, lifelong( quite rare) OR acquired (depending if he has ever been able to maintain an erection.
- Disorder can be EITHER generalized OR situational (i.e., happen in certain kinds of stimulation or type of partner).
Who is affected by Inhibited sexual excitement?
Surveys in North America and Europe, occur fewer than 10% of men under 40,
BUT,
increases about 30% of men in their 60’s
What is Premature (Early) Ejaculation?
DEF: A man persistently orgasms and ejaculates sooner than desired sexual activity with a partner, and is significantly distressed about the problem
Other terms of Premature Ejaculation?
- Early ejaculation
OR - Rapid ejaculation
When is premature ejaculation too soon?
- One source says, it’s the occurrence of orgasming less than 1 minute.
- Psychiatrist and sex therapist believe it’s the absence of voluntary control of orgasm
International Society for Sexual Medicine’s 3 part definition of Early Ejaculation
- Ejaculation that always occur prior or within 1 minute of vaginal penetration
- Not able to delay ejaculation
- Distress about the problem
What thoughts did University men in New Brunswick report to delay early ejaculation?
- Sex negative (think of an unattractive TV personality)
- Sex positive (thinking “we’re in no hurry)
- Nonsexual and negative (think of a sad event, unpaid debt)
- Sex neutral (counting back from 100)
- Sexually incongruous
What is Delayed Ejaculation?
Man is not able to orgasm, or it is greatly delayed when engaging in sexual activity with a partner, even with an erection, and he is distressed about it.
Other term for Delayed ejaculation?
Male orgasmic disorder
How common is Male orgasmic disorder?
- less common than premature ejaculation.
- more common in men over age 50
Disorders in Women
- Female sexual interest/Arousal disorder
- Female orgasmic disorder
- Genito-Pelvic pain/penetration disorder
What is Female sexual interest/Arousal disorder?
a lack or significantly reduced sexual arousal or arousal that causes significant distress.
- disorder CAN’T be because of psychological or relationship distress
What does Female sexual interest/Arousal disorder effect in women?
Affects their sexual interest and thought, being her sexual desire.
How common is Female sexual interest/Arousal disorder in women?
- Approx. 39% of Canadian women report diminished sexual desire.
- 8% find it distressing
- More common when women get older (10% experience it up to age 45; 50% of women over age 65)
What is female orgasmic disorder?
Women having recurrent difficulty to orgasm, or reduced orgasm intensity during almost all sexual activity.
10% never experience orgasm ever
What are other terms for female orgasmic disorder?
- Orgasmic dysfunction
- Anorgasmia
- Inhibited female orgasm
Can orgasmic dysfunction be lifelong or acquired disorder?
- it can be both.
- Common one is situational orgasmic disorder.
What is situational orgasmic disorder?
When a women has orgasms in some situations but not others.
What is Genito-pelvic/penetration disorder?
To anyone who as the 4 symptoms that typically occur together.
1. difficulty having intercourse/penetration
- Genital and/or pelvic pain during intercourse
- fear of pain associated with vaginal penetration
- pelvic floor tension or tightening at attempting vaginal penetration (sometimes called dyspareunia)
How common is Genito-pelvic/penetration disorder in women and men?
20% of girls report the experience of it for at least 6 months.
about 2% of men experience the pain
What CAUSES sexual disorder?
- Physical causes
- Drugs
- Psychological causes
- Combined Cognitive and Physiological Factors
Physical causes in Erectile Disorder
- commonly for people with CVD, diabetes, or any vascular problems (problems of blood supply to penis)
- Hypogonadism (underfunctioning of testes, so testosterone is low)
- Any damage to lower part of spinal cord
Physical cause of Premature (early) ejaculation
- Caused more from psychological than physical factors.
- For some men, could be malfunctioning of ejaculatory reflex
Physical cause of delayed ejaculation
- related to variety of medical or surgical conditions (like MS, spinal cord injury and prostate surgery)
Physical causes of Female orgasmic disorder
- Most cases are psychological.
- severe illness, general ill health, or extreme fatigue.
- injury to spinal cord, can cause orgasm problems
Physical causes of genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder, in women
- In women, its organic factors, such as psychosocial and interpersonal factors
- organic factors that may cause the disorder, include:
1. Disorders of vaginal entrance
2. Disorders of the vagina
3. Pelvic disorders
4. Dysfunction of the pelvic floor muscles
What influences the pain of genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder?
psychological factors
Physical causes of genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder, in men
organic factor can include:
- uncircumcised man
- poor hygiene
- material collect under foreskin
- allergic reaction to sperm cream or latex
Alcohol use with sexual disorders
People later stage of alcoholism, have frequent sexual disorders. Including:
- erectile disorder
- orgasmic disorder
- loss of desire
Person not alcoholic, but had too many drinks, engage in sexual interaction
Recreational drugs (alcohol and cocaine) myths
- high level of alcohol suppress sexual arousal
- repeated use to cocaine is associated with loss of sexual desire, orgasmic disorder and erectile problems
Cannabis use with sexual disorder
- research is limited, BUT
- many respondents report increased sexual desire, making sex interaction more pleasurable
- negative effects, being more sleepy, or less focused.
- reports steer more to positive experience
illicit or recreational drugs and sexual disorder
- said cocaine increase sexual desire, enhance sensuality and delay orgasm (not chronic though)
- stimulants: increase sexual desire, better orgasm control (some studies)
- crystal meth: When high, engage in risky sexual behaviour
- opiates: strong suppression on sexual desire and response
Psychological causes in sexual disorder
- predisposing factors: people’s prior life experiences, like things that happened in childhood that now inhibit sexual response
- Maintaining factors: ongoing life circumstances, personal characteristics and characteristic of lovemaking that explain the problem
The psychosocial factors that maintain problems and sexual disorders in psychological causes
- myths or misinformation
- negative attitudes
- anxiety or inhibition
- cognitive interference
- individual psychosocial distress (like depression)
- behavioural or lifestyle factors
What is Spectatoring?
Term by Masters and Johnson
- one kind of cognitive interference.
- It’s when person behaves like a spectator or judges their own sexual performance
What did David Barlow find when testing which anxiety and cognitive interference affect sexual functioning in functional and dysfunctional men (particularly with erectile dysfunction)?
Functional and dysfunctional men respond differently to stimuli in sexual situations.
Example: anxiety INCREASE arousal in functional men, but DECREASE in dysfunctional men, while watching erotic film
Why did dysfunctional men decrease in arousal in Barlow’s study?
when in sexual situation, there’s a performance demand.
- feel anxiety and other negative emotions, and thinking how awful its going to be when they’re not erect or not getting aroused
Combined Cognitive and Physiological Factors
Barlow says people with sexual disorder, interpret their arousal as anxiety.
in addition, phyiological processes and cognitive interpretation forms a feedback loop