The partner-specific sexual liking and sexual wanting scale: psychometric properties

Dyadic Sexual Desire in Romantic Relationships: The Dyadic Interactions Affecting Dyadic Sexual Desire Model

In most theoretical models, sexual desire for one's partner is predominantly conceptualized from an individual perspective. There is, however, a growing body of empirical evidence on the dyadic aspects of sexual desire. That evidence is as yet not well-integrated into theoretical conceptualizations of sexual desire. Aiming to fill this gap, we present the Dyadic Interactions Affecting DyadIC Sexual desire model (DIADICS), a new conceptual model inspired by systems theory that describes how dyadic interactions between partners influence dyadic sexual desire in romantic relationships. After defining dyadic sexual desire, we discuss (1) the structure of dyadic interactions, (2) their content, and (3) the process through which they affect dyadic sexual desire in a romantic relationship. Thereafter, we review theoretical, clinical, and empirical insights underscoring the relation between dyadic interactions and (dyadic) sexual desire, use DIADICS as a framework for understanding fluctuations in dyadic sexual desire in long-term relationships, and conclude by discussing implications of DIADICS for research and clinical practice.

I (Dis)Like it Like That: Gender, Pornography, and Liking Sex

Rates of pornography consumption in the U.S. are high and increasing. With exploratory aims, this study addresses the questions: What is the association between pornography consumption and liking of sexual behaviors commonly depicted in pornography, and is enjoyment moderated by gender? Sexual scripts theory suggests that increased pornography consumption is associated with increased engagement in pornographic sex acts, but it does not speak to enjoyment of the acts when engaged. The current study seeks to fill that gap. Based on data collected from a larger sample of 1,883 heterosexual men and women (predominantly, 86.6%, college or university students) in the U.S., and comparing correlations between pornography consumption (frequency of use) and reported enjoyment of a range of sexual behaviors by gender using Fisher's z transformations (α value set at <.0025), analysis revealed that pornography consumption, overall, was not significantly correlated with increased enjoyment of the sexual acts that comprise the pornographic sexual script. However, gender was a significant moderating factor in the enjoyment, specifically, of degrading and/or uncommon acts. Male respondents were significantly more likely to report enjoying these acts than their female counterparts. These findings have possible implications for consumers, educators, and mental health professionals.

Sexual Arousal and Implicit and Explicit Determinants of Condom Use Intentions

Being sexually aroused may be an important risk factor contributing to sexual decision making. Dual-process cognitive models, such as the reflective-impulsive model of Strack and Deutsch (2004), could be used to explain the effect of sexual arousal on intentions to use a condom. In this study, we investigated whether explicit and implicit attitudes toward condom use can predict intentions to use a condom when participants are sexually aroused and not aroused. In a within-subjects experimental design, male participants (N = 27) watched both a neutral and an erotic movie clip in counterbalanced order. After each clip, participants completed a questionnaire assessing their intentions to use a condom and explicit condom attitudes, followed by a wanting Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald et al., 2003) and a liking IAT to assess their implicit attitudes to unsafe sex. In concordance with the reflective-impulsive model, we found that when participants were not sexually aroused, their intentions to use a condom were solely predicted by their explicit attitudes. However, when they were sexually aroused, intentions to use a condom were predicted by both explicit and implicit attitudes toward condom use.

What Sexual Behaviors Relate to Decreased Sexual Desire in Women? A Review and Proposal for End Points in Treatment Trials for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

INTRODUCTION

Counts of satisfying sexual events (SSEs) per month have been criticized as an end point in treatment trials of women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) but grounding improvement in sexual desire by assessing changes in sexual behavior remains of some importance.

METHODS

We conducted a literature review to find validated measurements that are specific sexual behavioral correlates of low sexual desire. We compared expert-proposed criteria for dysfunctional desire, expert-developed sets of scale items, and self-rated scales developed before issuance of, or in accordance with, the Food and Drug Administration's guidance on developing patient-reported outcomes. Behavioral measurements of HSDD were isolated from these sets of criteria or scales.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

We outline a plan to evaluate such behavioral measurements of HSDD with reference to SSEs.

RESULTS

Eleven rating scales, four expert-originated and seven self-rated scales mainly derived from patient input were identified as well validated and relevant to HSDD. Three recent sets of diagnostic criteria for conditions such as HSDD were compared with the scales. Twenty-four different symptoms were found in the scales. Content found relevant to HSDD during development of the rating scales varied highly among measurements, including the self-rated scales developed in conformity with current recommendations for patient-reported outcome measurements. The only item on all sets was desire for sexual activity. Four other items were in approximately at least half the sets: sexual thoughts or fantasies, frequency of sexual activity, receptivity, and initiations. Sexual thoughts or fantasies were in every expert-derived set but in only three of the seven patient-derived sets. Receptivity was in five of the seven expert-derived sets vs two of the seven patient-derived sets. Frequency of sexual activity was in one of the seven expert-derived sets but in five of the patient-derived sets. Initiation was in approximately half the two sets. All other items were on one to three sets each. We identified three sexual behaviors of validated specificity for female HSDD: frequency of sexual activity, receptivity, and initiations. Six or seven items are relevant and informative. The item on frequency of sexual activity in the Changes in Sexual Functioning-Female scale is the only item that covers frequency of dyadic and solitary sexual activity. An item in the Female Sexual Desire Questionnaire (FSDQ) covers the intuitively relevant topic of frequency of sexual activity motivated by the woman's desire. Three FSDQ items on initiations and two items on receptivity reflect expert opinion on the sexual behaviors of most relevance to HSDD, but the FSDQ has not been validated in women with HSDD.

CONCLUSIONS

SSEs have been discredited as the primary measurement in clinical trials of women with HSDD, but it would be meaningful to include at least one sexual behavioral symptom specific to HSDD as an end point. Expert-recommended sexual behaviors specifically related to HSDD are irregularly represented in self-rating scales whether developed as in the Food and Drug Administration guidance on patient-reported outcomes or not. Six or seven items on sexual behavior in self-rated scales can be recommended for relevance to women with HSDD in clinical trials. Items on female sexual behavior should be tested in comparison with SSEs in women with HSDD for relevance and for treatment sensitivity, and responder and functional and dysfunctional cutoffs should be determined before incorporation into large-scale clinical trials. Pyke R and Clayton A. What Sexual Behaviors Relate to Decreased Sexual Desire in Women? A Review and Proposal for End Points in Treatment Trials for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder. Sex Med 2017;5:e73-e83.

Sex and Eating: Relationships Based on Wanting and Liking

Sex and eating may have behavioral and psychological relationships and have cortical regions in common. This research investigated the general relationship between sex and eating from a reward perspective among the general population. Two-hundred and sixty-one Chinese participants were recruited via the internet (136 males, 125 females, mean age 30.46 years) to fill in questionnaires about wanting and liking for sex and eating. The results revealed that first, there was a positive correlation between wanting for sex and wanting to eat only for males. Second, the relationship between liking for sex and eating was also positive for males and not significant in females. Third, the correlation between sociosexual orientation and wanting to eat was significant only in females, and there was no significant correlation between sociosexual orientation and liking for eating. Fourth, emotional sex cravings (or emotional sexual activity) was positively correlated with emotional food cravings (or emotional eating behavior), with a higher magnitude correlation in males than females. Finally, analysis of wanting (liking) models of sex and eating for males and females revealed three models for wanting among females: high wanting, low wanting for eating, and low wanting for sex; and two models for wanting among males: high wanting and low wanting. Liking for sex and eating among females consisted of two types of model: high liking and low liking; whereas three type models existed for males: high liking for sex, high liking for eating, and low liking. In general, our research revealed that, as with other natural reward, sex and eating have considerable commonality and are related in numerous ways.

Gender Differences in Liking and Wanting Sex: Examining the Role of Motivational Context and Implicit Versus Explicit Processing

The present study investigated the specificity of sexual appraisal processes by making a distinction between implicit and explicit appraisals and between the affective (liking) and motivational (wanting) valence of sexual stimuli. These appraisals are assumed to diverge between men and women, depending on the context in which the sexual stimulus is encountered. Using an Implicit Association Test, explicit ratings, and film clips to prime a sexual, romantic or neutral motivational context, we investigated whether liking and wanting of sexual stimuli differed at the implicit and explicit level, differed between men and women, and were differentially sensitive to context manipulations. Results showed that, at the implicit level, women wanted more sex after being primed with romantic mood whereas men showed the least wanting of sex in the romantic condition. At the explicit level, men reported greater liking and wanting of sex than women, independently of context. We also found that women's (self-reported) sexual behavior was best predicted by the incentive salience of sexual stimuli whereas men's sexual behavior was more closely related to the hedonic qualities of sexual stimuli. Results were discussed in relation to an emotion-motivational account of sexual functioning.

Beyond Sexual Orientation: Integrating Gender/Sex and Diverse Sexualities via Sexual Configurations Theory

Sexual orientation typically describes people's sexual attractions or desires based on their sex relative to that of a target. Despite its utility, it has been critiqued in part because it fails to account for non-biological gender-related factors, partnered sexualities unrelated to gender or sex, or potential divergences between love and lust. In this article, I propose Sexual Configurations Theory (SCT) as a testable, empirically grounded framework for understanding diverse partnered sexualities, separate from solitary sexualities. I focus on and provide models of two parameters of partnered sexuality--gender/sex and partner number. SCT also delineates individual gender/sex. I discuss a sexual diversity lens as a way to study the particularities and generalities of diverse sexualities without privileging either. I also discuss how sexual identities, orientations, and statuses that are typically seen as misaligned or aligned are more meaningfully conceptualized as branched or co-incident. I map out some existing identities using SCT and detail its applied implications for health and counseling work. I highlight its importance for sexuality in terms of measurement and social neuroendocrinology, and the ways it may be useful for self-knowledge and feminist and queer empowerment and alliance building. I also make a case that SCT changes existing understandings and conceptualizations of sexuality in constructive and generative ways informed by both biology and culture, and that it is a potential starting point for sexual diversity studies and research.

Perception of men's beauty and attractiveness by women with low sexual desire

INTRODUCTION

Despite the high prevalence of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), especially among women, this sexual disorder remains poorly understood. Among the multiple factors possibly involved in HSDD, particularities in the cognitive evaluations of social stimuli need to be better characterized. Especially, beauty and attractiveness judgments, two dimensions of interpersonal perception that are related but differ on their underlying motivational aspects, may vary according to the level of sexual desire.

AIM

The main goal of this study was to investigate whether women with and without HSDD differ in their evaluations of beauty and attractiveness of men's faces and voices.

METHODS

Young women from the general population (controls, n = 16) and with HSDD (patients, n = 16) took part in the study. They were presented with a series of neutral/nonerotic voices and faces of young men from the GEneva Faces And Voices database.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Ratings of beauty (i.e., assessments of aesthetic pleasure) and of attractiveness (i.e., assessments of the personal propensity to feel attracted to someone) and the frequency to which the participants pressed a key to see or listen to each stimulus again were the main outcome measures.

RESULTS

Ratings of attractiveness were lower than ratings of beauty in both groups of women. The dissociation between beauty and attractiveness was larger in women with HSDD than in control participants. Patients gave lower attractiveness ratings than the controls and replayed the stimuli significantly less often.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that women with HSDD are characterized by specific alterations of the motivational component of men's perception, very early in the process of interpersonal relationships. Our findings have significant implications, both in better understanding the specific cognitive processes underlying hypoactive sexual desire and more largely the evaluative processes involved in human mate choice.