Validation of the multidimensional model of the subjective orgasm experience in the context of same-sex relationships.

Background/objective: The Multidimensional Model of the Subjective Orgasm Experience (MMSOE) has been validated in the context of heterosexual relationships, with no evidence in the context of same-sex relationships. This study aims to examine the association of its dimensions (Affective, Intimacy, Sensory, and Rewards) with the propensity for sexual excitation, rating of sexual arousal, rating of genital sensations, and genital response. Method: Sixty-eight young adults (34 males and 34 females) who were sexually active with people of the same sex participated in a laboratory task in which they viewed content-neutral and sexually explicit gay films. Regression models were conducted to explain the dimensions of MMSOE from measures of sexual arousal. Results: In males, the rating of sexual arousal explained the Sensory dimension, while the genital response explained the Affective dimension, with sexual arousal as a state gaining more prominence. In females, however, the propensity for sexual excitation explained the Sensory dimension, with more salience of sexual arousal as a trait. Conclusions: The MMSOE is shown to be a valid theoretical framework for the study of orgasmic experience in the context of same-sex relationships, with clear implications for clinical practice.

Sex Differences in Sexual Motivation in Humans and Other Mammals: The Role of Conscious and Unconscious Processes.

In self-report questionnaires, men report higher scores than women on variables such as desire for sex, frequency of sexual thoughts, number of sex partners, etc. Based on this, men are considered to have a higher level of sexual motivation than women. However, retrospective self-reports may be unsuitable for estimations of the inherent level of sexual motivation. We review data on automatic (unconsciously controlled) responses and measures of implicit motivation during exposure to sexual stimuli. These responses and measures are inaccessible to willful manipulations and make it possible to determine whether the sex difference in answers to questionnaires is replicated when volitional response manipulations are unlikely. We complement the human data with observations from some rodent and non-human primate species. The attentional resources allotted to stimuli with sexual relevance as well as genital responses to such stimuli are similar in men and women. Measures of implicit motivation also fail to detect any sex difference. Finally, the frequency of masturbation is superior in female infants before the age at which social expectations begin to determine behavior. Neither in rodents nor in non-human primates is there any clear-cut evidence for sex differences in motivation. It seems that males and females are similar with regard to the intensity of sexual motivation. The responses to questionnaires may be affected by social learning of sexual scripts and/or the inferior quality of sexual experiences in women, among other things.

Solitary Sexual Desire: Its Relation to Subjective Orgasm Experience and Sexual Arousal in the Masturbation Context within a Spanish Population.

The tridimensional sexual desire proposal (i.e., dyadic to partner, dyadic to attractive other and solitary) has been empirically supported. However, solitary sexual desire and its relationship to other dimensions of sexual functioning has received less attention. Hence, we examined the capacity of solitary sexual desire to explain the subjective orgasm experience (Study 1) and sexual arousal (Study 2) in the context of solitary masturbation. Study 1, composed of 2406 heterosexual adults (M age = 39.72, SD = 11.81), assessed for solitary sexual desire, dyadic sexual desire, and the intensity of the subjective orgasm experience obtained through solitary masturbation, along with other associated parameters. Study 2, consisting of 41 heterosexual young people (M age = 22.49, SD = 3.17), evaluated the genital response (penile circumference/vaginal pulse amplitude) and subjective arousal to sexually explicit films related to solitary masturbation. In both men and women, solitary sexual desire accounted for a significant percentage of the subjective orgasm experience obtained through solitary masturbation. In addition, in women, the propensity for sexual arousal was explained by solitary sexual desire. It is concluded that solitary sexual desire -as opposed to dyadic- is important to explain sexual arousal and orgasm in the solitary masturbation context. These results highlight the importance of addressing sexual desire in the solitary context, given its implications with other dimensions of sexual functioning.

Study of Sexual Concordance in Men and Women with Different Typologies of Adherence to the Sexual Double Standard / Estudio de la concordancia sexual en hombres y mujeres con diferentes tipologías de adhesión al doble estándar sexual

ResumenAntecedentes/Objetivo: La concordancia sexual (i.e., relación entre respuesta genital y excitación sexual subjetiva) parece ser mayor en hombres que en mujeres. Entre los factores que podrían explicar dicha diferencia estaría el doble estándar sexual (DES). Se examina la concordancia sexual en función de la tipología de adhesión al DES (igualitaria, favorable al hombre y favorable a la mujer). Método: Durante la exposición a un filme de contenido sexual, se registró la respuesta genital (circunferencia peniana/amplitud del pulso vaginal) y la excitación sexual autoinformada de 104 adultos jóvenes (42 hombres y 62 mujeres), distribuidos en las tipologías de adhesión al DES a partir de sus puntuacio-nes en la Sexual Double Standard Scale. Resultados: Se obtuvo concordancia sexual en hombres y mujeres con tipología igualitaria y favorable al hombre. La excitación sexual subjetiva explicó un porcentaje significativo de la varianza de la respuesta genital en la tipología igualitaria (hombres: R2= 0,32, p < 0,01; mujeres: R2= 0,19, p < 0,05) y en la favorable al hombre (hombres: R2= 0,21, p < 0,05; mujeres: R2= 0,23, p < 0,05). Conclu-siones: El acuerdo entre la respuesta genital y la excitación sexual subjetiva depende de la tipología de adhesión al DES.

AbstractBackground/Objective: Sexual concordance (i.e., relationship between genital response and subjective sexual arousal) is higher in men than in women. Among the factors that could explain this difference would be the sexual double standard (SDS). Sexual concordance is examined by SDS typologies of adherence (egalitarian, man-favorable, and woman-favorable). Method: During exposure to a film with sexual content, genital response (penile circumference/vaginal pulse amplitude) and self-reported sexual arousal were recorded in 104 young adults (42 men and 62 women), distributed into SDS typologies of adherence on the basis of their scores on the Sexual Double Standard Scale. Results: Sexual concordance was obtained in men and women with egalitarian and man-favorable typology. Subjective sexual arousal explained a significant percentage of the variance in genital response in the egalitarian typology (men: R2= .32, p < .01; women: R2= .19, p < .05) and man-favorable typology (men: R2= .21, p < .05; women: R2= .23, p < .05). Conclusions: Agreement between genital responsiveness and subjective sexual arousal depends on DES adherence typology.

Study of Sexual Concordance in Men and Women with Different Typologies of Adherence to the Sexual Double Standard.

Background/Objective: Sexual concordance (i.e., relationship between genital response and subjective sexual arousal) is higher in men than in women. Among the factors that could explain this difference would be the sexual double standard (SDS). Sexual concordance is examined by SDS typologies of adherence (egalitarian, man-favorable, and woman-favorable). Method: During exposure to a film with sexual content, genital response (penile circumference/vaginal pulse amplitude) and self-reported sexual arousal were recorded in 104 young adults (42 men and 62 women), distributed into SDS typologies of adherence on the basis of their scores on the Sexual Double Standard Scale. Results: Sexual concordance was obtained in men and women with egalitarian and man-favorable typology. Subjective sexual arousal explained a significant percentage of the variance in genital response in the egalitarian typology (men: R2  = .32, p < .01; women: R2  = .19, p < .05) and man-favorable typology (men: R2  = .21, p < .05; women: R2  = .23, p < .05). Conclusions: Agreement between genital responsiveness and subjective sexual arousal depends on DES adherence typology.

Antecedentes/Objetivo: La concordancia sexual (i.e., relación entre respuesta genital y excitación sexual subjetiva) parece ser mayor en hombres que en mujeres. Entre los factores que podrían explicar dicha diferencia estaría el doble estándar sexual (DES). Se examina la concordancia sexual en función de la tipología de adhesión al DES (igualitaria, favorable al hombre y favorable a la mujer). Método: Durante la exposición a un filme de contenido sexual, se registró la respuesta genital (circunferencia peniana/amplitud del pulso vaginal) y la excitación sexual autoinformada de 104 adultos jóvenes (42 hombres y 62 mujeres), distribuidos en las tipologías de adhesión al DES a partir de sus puntuaciones en la Sexual Double Standard Scale. Resultados: Se obtuvo concordancia sexual en hombres y mujeres con tipología igualitaria y favorable al hombre. La excitación sexual subjetiva explicó un porcentaje significativo de la varianza de la respuesta genital en la tipología igualitaria (hombres: R2  = 0,32, p < 0,01; mujeres: R2  = 0,19, p < 0,05) y en la favorable al hombre (hombres: R2  = 0,21, p < 0,05; mujeres: R2  = 0,23, p < 0,05). Conclusiones: El acuerdo entre la respuesta genital y la excitación sexual subjetiva depende de la tipología de adhesión al DES.

Preliminary Evidence on How the Dual Control Model Predicts Female Sexual Response to a Bogus Negative Feedback.

The Dual Control Model of sexual response has been mostly tested with men. As such, there is a lack of evidence on how such model applies to women's experience of sexual arousal, particularly when they face a threatening situation such as the threat of sexual performance failure. The aim of the current study was to test whether the Dual Control Model dimensions predict women's sexual responses to a bogus negative feedback about their sexual performance. In addition, 22 women were exposed to a sexually explicit film clip, while their genital arousal was being measured. During this presentation, a bogus negative feedback, aimed at increasing women's anxiety about their sexual performance, was provided. Vaginal photopletismography and self-report questions were used as means to evaluate women's genital and subjective sexual arousal, respectively. The Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women was further used to capture women's sexual dynamics. Regression analysis on the high-order factors revealed that sexual excitation proneness was the only predictor of the subjective sexual responses, while none of the factors has predicted genital arousal. "Arousability" and "Concerns about sexual function" dimensions predicted subjective sexual arousal. Sexual arousability may prevent women of lowering their subjective sexual responses in a sexually demanding situation, while "Concerns about sexual function" may have the opposite role, thus being a target of clinical interest. This work provides new data on the Dual Control Model of sexual response, and particularly on its role in women's sexual functioning.

Effect of a Condom Cover on Vaginal Photoplethysmographic Responses.

INTRODUCTION: The vaginal photoplethysmograph (VPP) is a reusable intravaginal device often employed in sexual psychophysiology studies to assess changes in vaginal blood flow, an indicator of sexual arousal. AIM: To test whether placing a disposable cover on the VPP probe impacts the acquired data. A condom cover would reduce risk of disease transmission and likely increase participant comfort but may negatively impact the VPP signal. METHOD: The genital responses of 25 cisgender women (mean age = 21.3 years, standard deviation = 2.6) were assessed with VPP in a within-subjects design with 2 conditions-with and without a polyisoprene condom cover. Sexual responses were elicited by audiovisual film clips that varied in erotic intensity: nonsexual (nonsexual male-female interaction), low-intensity sexual (nude exercise), and high-intensity sexual (male-female intercourse). Women continuously rated their sexual arousal during stimulus presentations. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Change in vaginal pulse amplitude and also self-reported sexual arousal. RESULTS: The magnitude of sexual response to each stimulus category and the overall pattern of results were found to be highly similar in the cover-off and cover-on conditions. The high-intensity sexual stimulus category elicited a greater sexual response than all other categories. The low-intensity sexual category elicited a (small) genital response in only the cover-on condition, although we suspect this is a spurious finding. There was no difference in the average number of edited movement artifacts across conditions. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Potential benefits of encasing the VPP probe with a protective cover include enhanced participant safety and comfort, especially if assessing genital responses of high-risk or immunocompromised samples. The use of a cover complies with current guidelines for reprocessing semi-critical medical devices (eg, vaginal ultrasound probes) in many regions. STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS: Although the idea of a VPP probe cover had been discussed among sexual psychophysiology researchers, this is the first study to empirically test whether a cover could jeopardize VPP data. Potential limitations include the use of a 10-Hz VPP sampling rate and a cover that was not tailored to the size of the VPP probe. CONCLUSION: Placing a protective cover on the VPP probe did not appear to meaningfully impact sexual arousal or the VPP data. Based on these results and the potential advantages of a protective cover, researchers may wish to integrate the use a condom cover in their experiment protocols and clinical applications. Sawatsky ML, Lalumière ML. Effect of a Condom Cover on Vaginal Photoplethysmographic Responses. J Sex Med 2020; 17:702-715.

Assessing Paraphilic Interests Among Women Who Sexually Offend.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We examine the state of scientific research on the assessment of paraphilic interests among women who have committed sexual offences. RECENT FINDINGS: Research on the assessment of sexual interests in women using genital measures shows little evidence, overall, that women's genital responses are indicative of sexual interests. Some non-genital measures of sexual interest may be a valid indicator of age interests. Very few studies have focused on women who sexually offend. At this time, there is no validated measure that can be used to assess paraphilic interests among women who sexually offend. Much research is needed to determine if some measures (other than self-report) could validly assess a variety of sexual interests in women in general, and women who sexually offend in particular (e.g. interest in children, interest in sexual violence). This research is needed to determine if paraphilic interests are involved in women's motivation for sexual offending, and to determine if such interests are predictive of sexual recidivism.

Concurrent measurement of genital lubrication and blood flow during sexual arousal.

Genital lubrication and blood flow are theoretically related outcomes of women's sexual response that prepare the genitals for sexual activity. Despite its importance for sexual function, few experimental studies have directly assessed genital lubrication or empirically demonstrated how genital lubrication and blood flow relate during sexual arousal. In this study, 36 women viewed stimuli that varied by sexual activity intensity (nonsexual, low-intensity sexual, and high-intensity sexual) while their genital responses were assessed using concurrent measures of genital lubrication (using litmus test strips) and genital blood flow (using laser Doppler imaging). Both measures detected a genital response to high-intensity sexual stimuli relative to nonsexual; however, only the laser Doppler imager was sensitive to varying degrees of genital response elicited by stimuli of different sexual activity intensities. The two measures of genital response were suitable for repeated measurement within a single session. Genital lubrication and blood flow were positively correlated for the high-intensity sexual stimuli. Implications for the assessment of women's genital response and understanding women's sexual arousal are discussed.

The Specificity of Women's Sexual Response and Its Relationship with Sexual Orientations: A Review and Ten Hypotheses.

Category-specific sexual response describes a pattern wherein the individual shows significantly greater responses to preferred versus nonpreferred categories of sexual stimuli; this pattern is described as gender specific for sexual orientation to gender, or gender nonspecific if lacking response differentiation by gender cues. Research on the gender specificity of women's sexual response has consistently produced sexual orientation effects, such that androphilic women (sexually attracted to adult males) typically show gender-nonspecific patterns of genital response and gynephilic women (sexually attracted to adult females) show more gender-specific responses. As research on the category specificity of sexual response has grown, this pattern has also been observed for other measures of sexual response. In this review, I use the Incentive Motivation and Information Processing Models as complementary frameworks to organize the empirical literature examining the gender specificity of women's sexual response at each stage of sexual stimulus processing and response. Collectively, these data disconfirm models of sexual orientation that equate androphilic women's sexual attractions with their sexual responses to sexual stimuli. I then discuss 10 hypotheses that might explain variability in the specificity of sexual response among androphilic and gynephilic women, and conclude with recommendations for future research on the (non)specificity of sexual response.

The Sexual Thoughts Questionnaire: Psychometric Evaluation of a Measure to Assess Self-Reported Thoughts During Exposure to Erotica Using Sexually Functional Individuals.

INTRODUCTION: Validated instruments for assessing specific thought content during exposure to sexually explicit material are lacking. AIM: To investigate the psychometric properties of a measure that assesses self-reported thoughts during exposure to sexual stimuli in laboratory settings, namely the Sexual Thoughts Questionnaire. The factorial structure of the questionnaire and its reliability and validity were examined. METHODS: One hundred sixty-seven sexually functional individuals (97 women and 70 men) were exposed to sexually explicit material while their genital arousal was being assessed. Subjective sexual arousal and thoughts during exposure to sexually explicit material also were assessed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women's genital arousal was measured with a vaginal photoplethysmograph and men's genital arousal was measured with an indium-gallium strain gauge. Subjective sexual arousal and thoughts during exposure to erotica were assessed with self-report scales. RESULTS: Principal component analysis with varimax rotation identified five factors: sexual arousal thoughts, distractive and disengaging thoughts, body image and performance thoughts, actress's physical attractiveness thoughts, and sinful and lack of affection thoughts. Moreover, the scale showed satisfactory levels of internal consistency. Studies on convergent validity showed an association between self-reported thoughts and subjective sexual arousal levels in the women and men. CONCLUSION: The Sexual Thoughts Questionnaire showed adequate psychometric properties in a sexually functional sample. It could be useful in further experimental research on the role of cognitions in sexual response and allow further comparison between sexually functional and dysfunctional individuals, with possible significant implications for the assessment and treatment of sexual problems.

Affective and cognitive determinants of women's sexual response to erotica.

INTRODUCTION: The specific cognitive-affective mechanisms involved in the activation and regulation of the subjective and genital components of sexual arousal are not fully understood yet. AIM: The aim of the present study was to investigate the contribution of self-reported thoughts and affect to the prediction of women's subjective and genital responses to erotica. METHODS: Twenty-eight sexually functional women (mean age = 32, SD = 6.29) were presented with sexually explicit and nonexplicit romantic films. Genital responses, subjective sexual arousal, state affect, and self-reported thoughts were assessed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Vaginal pulse amplitude was measured using a vaginal photoplethysmograph. Subjective sexual arousal, thoughts, and affective responses were assessed through self-report scales. RESULTS: Correlations between subjective and physiological sexual arousal were low (r = -0.05, P > 0.05). Self-reported thoughts and affect were significant predictors of subjective sexual arousal. The strongest single predictor of subjective arousal was sexual arousal thoughts (e.g., "I'm getting excited") (ß = 0.63, P < 0.01). None of the cognitive or affective variables predicted women's genital responses. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, results support the role of cognitive (self-reported thoughts) and affective dimensions in women's subjective sexual arousal to erotica and, consistent with previous findings, suggest that subjective and physiological sexual arousal may be impacted by different processes.

The relationship between sexual concordance and interoception in anxious and nonanxious women.

INTRODUCTION: Sexual concordance refers to the association between physiological and self-reported sexual arousal. Women typically exhibit lower sexual concordance scores than men. There is also a sex difference in interoception--awareness of (nonsexual) physiological states or responses--such that women, compared with men, tend to be less aware of and less accurate at detecting changes in their physiological responses. Women with anxiety problems tend to have better interoceptive abilities than nonanxious women. AIM: To investigate whether women's lower sexual concordance is associated with interoception using a sample likely to show high variation in interoceptive abilities. METHOD: Sixteen anxious and 15 nonanxious women were presented with twelve 90 seconds sexual and nonsexual film clips while their genital response, heart rate, and respiration rate were measured. A heartbeat mental tracking task was also employed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Genital response was measured with a vaginal photoplethysmograph. Heart rate was measured with an electrocardiogram and respiration rate with a thermistor. Participants estimated their physiological responses after each film. A mental tracking task was also used to assess participants' awareness of heart rate. Within-subject correlations were computed for each physiological/self-reported response combination. RESULTS: Overall, sexual concordance (i.e., the correlation between genital responses and perceptions of genital response) was not significantly associated with heart rate awareness or respiration rate awareness. Anxious women did not exhibit significantly higher sexual concordance or heart rate awareness than nonanxious women; the nonanxious women actually exhibited higher respiration rate awareness. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that sexual concordance may be a distinct phenomenon from interoception and in need of its own explanation.