sex disorders Flashcards

Question

# mood and sexuality experimental manipulation of mood and its effect on sexual response | Bancroft (2009) ## Footnote Sexual arousal and response - the psychosomatic circle

Answer 1

More evidence for anxiety - generally considered negative for sexual arousal, however, inducing anxiety can enhance the genital response to erotic stimuli (however, only for functional men) Amplifying effect of arousal (mostly for men) - For pos, neg, or non-specific arousal, arousal enhances the focus of info processing - If it is **focused on sexual cues** → the response will be enhanced - If it is **focused on non-/anti-erotic cues** (like worrying thoughts about performance) → the non-erotic effect will be enhanced Difficult to draw general conclusions about the role of anxiety in women's sexual arousal For depression: more limited evidence but more consistent, in that a depressed mood decreases sexual arousal

Answer 2

Sexual satisfaction (SS) = affective response arising from one's subjective evaluation of the positive/negative dimensions associated with one's sexual relationship SS has been shown to predict various broader aspects of QOL - e.g., life satisfaction, mental health, happiness, and relationship satisfaction Consistent findings for gender moderating the relationship between SS and life satisfaction - Males may exhibit a stronger link between SS and QOL than women - However, still mixed results

Answer 3

A new scale, The New Sexual Satisfaction Scale (NSSS): differentiates between **'ego-centred'** (intrapersonal) SS and **'partner-centred'** (interpersonal) SS Studies suggest that, in general, women's experiences w/sexuality may be more dependent on the relational context than men's If this is true, than it is possible that gender differences in the link between SS and QOL may be most prominent when a distinction is made between satisfaction with interpersonal vs intrapersonal aspects of activity

Answer 4

**hypotheses:** Men would exhibit a slightly stronger association between SS (broadly defined) and QOL than women Across genders, Interpersonal vs. Intrapersonal aspects of SS might differ in strength of association with QOL Men would exhibit stronger associations between intrapersonal aspects of SS and QOL than women, while women would exhibit stronger associations between interpersonal SS and QOL **measures:** - Sexual satisfaction - NSSS measuring 'ego-centered', 'partner centered, and total score - Quality of life: life satisfaction & mental health - Relationship satisfaction

Answer 5

Males exhibited a somewhat stronger link between SS and mental health factors of depression and anxiety Women exhibited a very slightly stronger association between SS and life satisfaction Identical in terms of the strength of association between SS and relational satisfaction

Answer 6

For the whole sample: intrapersonal, but not interpersonal SS, was a sig predictor of QOL across outcomes - Only for relational satisfaction both intra-/interpersonal aspects were predictors For men, intrapersonal SS was the only sig predictor of QOL in every case - Their personal experiences and performance may be of primary importance For women, results more mixed, but generally more interpersonal - It might be the case that, both inter- and intrapersonal aspects are uniquely important

Answer 7

Intrapersonal SS seemed of primary importance in (statistically) predicting men's QOL, whereas for women, interpersonal SS was as (or more) predictive than intrapersonal SS The pattern is consistent with the idea that the relational context of sexual activity may be of greater importance to women Men are (on average) less aware of the quality of their partners' sexual experiences - Women may perceive and act in accordance with stereotypes that make them more passive in curating their own sexual experiences - Bc of this women feel less comfortable engaging in explicit communication about their preferences

Answer 8

A declining trend in female sexual satisfaction and orgasm - from 56% in 1999 to 46% in 2015 Difficulties experiencing an orgasm - appears that more and more women are not capable to experience an orgasm from sexual intercourse - i.e., decline in orgasmic capacity among women - Generally, women differ greatly from one another in terms of their capacity to experience orgasms

Answer 9

Most young women experience their first orgasm during masturbation - average age of such an orgasm has declined from 22 to 15 years First intercourse: - Although women had their first sex at 17, 40-50% had their first orgasm from sex only after the age of 20; - The difference between the age of first orgasm in intercourse, and age of the first orgasm in masturbation has increased

Answer 10

Appeared to have no effect on the ability of women to have orgasms - Didn't vary according to the number of steady relationships they had nor to the number of times they had fallen in love - No effect of the number of sexual partners However, sexual experience w/a steady partner was positively associated w/ the frequency of having orgasms - effect of union

Answer 11

Most considered it 'rather important' Women usually rated their partner's orgasm to be more important than their own Relation between importance of orgasm and one's own orgasmic capacity - Women who experienced orgasm sig more often than not rated them as more important - Women who had difficulties experiencing orgasms rated them as less important - 'a sensible coping strategy': by placing less value on orgasms they will not be disappointed by their sexual experiences happy relationships were associated w/orgasmic capacity, but less so if women didn't consider sex to be important to the happiness of their current relationship

Answer 12

Clitocentrism: the idea that women can orgasm only via clitoral stimulation The technique of how women stimulated their sexual orgasm had a strong association with their orgasmic capacity in intercourse - Those who typically experienced vaginal stimulation had orgasms more often than other women → this finding challenges clitocentrism Techniques that include active partner involvement - effective to female orgasmic capacity Duration strongly associated with orgasm during intercourse - min 15 mins = orgasm Sexual position: if women were more active → 2/3 of women achieved one/more orgasms during intercourse

Answer 13

Sexual self-esteem (agreeing that you're good in bed) was positively correlated with frequency of orgasm in women Communication skills with partner - generally, can make a big difference in orgasmic capacity - However, high sex self-esteem had a positive association with org, even when sexual communication w/partner was problematic - Suggests that even in relationships that are not positive, women may experience a lot of sex pleasure and orgasm if they have high sex self-esteem - However, if self-esteem low, communication helped with achieving orgasm

Answer 14

No orgasm if (relationship factors): - Low saliency of sex for the happiness of the relationship - Lack of intimacy - Lack of sexual desire - Lack of manual/oral sex from partner - Painfulness of intercourse - Premature partner orgasm Other factors: - Unhappy relationship - Low sex self-esteem - Erectile problems in partner - Illness - Sex under 5 min

Answer 15

'Innate skills' enabling women to enjoy sexual experiences; - Young age of first sex - No active masturbation - Orgasm as easily in intercourse as masturbation - No pain during intercourse Good sexual skills and high sexual self esteem - Considered themselves good in bed - Got orgasms due to powerful arousal - Able to concentrate completely on love-making - Consider sex important - Great mental and bodily capacity to let go and to experience orgasm Skillful partner - Partner able to promote orgasm if he was not too fast - Enough time to concentrate on sexual pleasure w/partner

Answer 16

Improving gender equality has not helped women to experience progress in female sexual pleasure Masturbation-orgasm-practice does not help - counter common sex therapy assumptions; The issue of personal sexual motivation: women who are high on this construct are more likely to experience orgasm during intercourse; Past failure to orgasm can elicit self-defeating and distracting thoughts, leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy Social exchange theory: men achieve greater rewards from sex, hence they have high sex desire, leading to more orgasms - If women were to enjoy intercourse more and have orgasms more regularly, the desire gap should decline

Answer 17

certain characteristics of the abuse experience can increase the risk of sexual dysfunction CSA most predictive of sexual dysfunction included: - Threat or force - Chronic - Committed by the father - Multiple perpetrators However, more research is needed / mixed findings Types of sexual dysfunction - women with abuse histories report equally increased rates of arousal and desire dysfunctions

Answer 18

CSA women show a lower response to standardized sex therapy, including pharmacological and psychological approaches - they report greater fear, anger, and disgust during sexual arousal so a therapy directly increasing arousal might be too intrusive for such a population CSA women show a higher response to mindfulness-based sex therapy that focused on non-judgmental body awareness

Answer 19

CSA women process sexual stimuli differently - Positive emotions towards sexuality might be more relevant to the sexual funcion of women with abuse histories than negative emotions **Sexual self-schemas** = views and attitudes about the self as a sexual being that affect the processing of sexually relevant cues and inform sexual behavior - positive associations w/sexuality are more important to the sexual function of women with CSA histories than greater negative associations with sexuality

Answer 20

SNS hyperactivity is a common reaction to CSA - increased heart rate/respiration, muscle tension, perspiration, exaggerated startle, difficulty sleeping SNS activity naturally increases during sexual arousal For CSA women, SNS arousal could already be so elevated that the increase in SNS arousal that occurs during sexual arousal might push their SNS activation beyond the optimal range, leading to impaired sexual function

Answer 21

Body esteem = cognitive and aﬀective appraisal of one's own body that are influenced by individual experiences and socialization Among women, higher body image is associated with better sexual function During CSA a child might learn to associate their body with the abuse, leading to negative body esteem that can continue into adulthood and impair sexual function

Answer 22

CSA women have a lower response to standardized sex therapy treatments than non-abused women CSA women respond better to mindfulness-based sex therapy Expressive writing treatments focusing on sexual function help CSA women - provides them with ultimate control over the content of their essays and the pace of treatment

Answer 23

Increasing blood levels of alcohol: - In males: suppressed erectile response to erotic stimuli + increased the latency to ejaculation - In females: suppression of vaginal blood flow + increased latency to orgasm Experimental studies on expectancy of alcohol effect - In males: if they believed they were given alcohol, whether or not they had → showed greater erectile response and subjective arousal to erotic stimuli - In females: less studied and the straightforward expectancy effects observed in men are less evident 'Alcohol myopia' = as a result of alcohol, attention is focused on the pos, sexually arousing aspects of the situation and turned away from appraisal of neg consequences and associated inhibition of arousal - sexual risk taking more likely

Answer 24

Complex relationship with sexuality Sexual(-social) problems may possibly mediate alcoholism - alc used to cope with anxieties Long-term toxic effects of alcohol impair sexuality - e.g. reduced fertility in females Alcoholism does not cause irreversible damage to sexual function in men - relevance of the limited endocrine effects are uncertain

Answer 25

**Opiates**: most consistent picture from the drugs discussed - evidence consistently shows a reduction in sexual interest and response; the 'rush' produced by the drug compares to orgasm **Cocaine**: reported tendency for coke to have positive sexual effects particularly with early use but negative effects with chronic use **Marijuana**: commonly regarded as a sexually enhancing drug - however, this most likely reflects confounding variables, such as a more liberal attitude, than a causal link - Relatively high incidence of erectile problems in daily consumers (20%) **Amphetamine** and related drugs: uncertain to what extent its 'sexually enhancing' effect is related to a less specific activation rather than a more specific effect on the DA

Answer 26

Common assumptions that they show uncontrolled/inappropriate sexual behavior → self-fulfilling prophecies People with learning disabilities are not given opportunities to learn and talk about sexuality, leading them to show 'maladaptive' behaviors when in such situations

Answer 27

LD folk are somewhat less sexually active → the less intelligent the less sex Less post-pubertal sexual experience → may reflect the lack of any opportunity/encouragement to explore heterosexual relationships More prone to get involved in sexual offences Committed non-sexual offences, but were usually not sexual aggressors Poor self control? - no! Just lack of inappropriate learning - typically no sex education - Ppl with LD may have special sex educational needs - info needs to be given in extremely simple terms and in small amounts, repeatedly

Answer 28

**Sexual skills training** (SST): focus exclusively on exercises helping patients attain effective sexual functioning strategies **Sex therapy** (ST) - Delivered by a male and female co-therapy team - Necessarily comprises psychoeducation, couple exercises and counselling **CBT**: aim at modifying dysfunctional beliefs through cognitive restructuring **Marital therapy** (MT): focus on relationship problems - Communication training, social skills training, or cognitive interventions **Systematic desensitization** (SD): a behavior therapy in which muscle relaxation is used to reduce the anxiety associated with certain situations **Educational intervention** (ED): focus exclusively on disseminating information about sexual responses **Other psychotherapy** (OP): psychodynamic, hypnotherapy, rational emotive therapy

Answer 29

sex severity - PI is superior to wait-list - small variety in the results across these studies sex satisfaction - PI is superior to wait-list - small variety in the results across these studies

Answer 30

sex severity - large effects for women with HSDD - medium effects for women with OD sex satisfaction - medium effects on women with OD - medium effects for mixed sexual dysfunctions

Answer 31

Evidence that psychological interventions are effective in improving both symptom severity and sexual satisfaction in patients with Female Orgasmic Disorder and Female Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder - No clear evidence for other disorders Low methodology in many studies → when accounted for the effect of psychological interventions on improving sexual satisfaction disappeared Sex therapy and sexual skills training were most frequently studied Generally lack of research, small sample sizes so a lot of uncertainty