Persistent sexual arousal syndrome: a newly discovered pattern of female sexuality.

This article describes a phenomenon, persistent sexual arousal syndrome (PSAS), which heretofore has not been noted or described in the sexuality, psychiatric or medical literature. The syndrome is precisely the opposite of female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD), in that the woman's complaint is of excessive and often unremitting arousal rather than of deficient or absent arousal. Five case descriptions are reported, highlighting the essential feature of the syndrome--persistent physiological arousal in the absence of conscious feelings of sexual desire. To date, no obvious hormonal, vascular, neurological, or psychological causes have been identified as underlying the symptoms of any of these patients. The cases are presented in the hope that they will stimulate efforts to investigate the prevalence, etiology, course, and management of PSAS.

The epidemiology of the DSM-III psychosexual dysfunctions.

The findings of 22 general population sex surveys are reanalyzed to assess the prevalence and distribution of the Psychosexual Dysfunctions as defined by DSM-III. Methodological shortcomings of the studies and problems with utilizing data originally collected for other purposes are discussed. Prevalence is estimated to be: Inhibited Female Orgasm, 5-30 + %; Inhibited Male Orgasm, 5%; Premature Ejaculation, 35%; Inhibited Sexual Excitement, 10-20% for men, indeterminate for women; Inhibited Sexual Desire, 1-15% for men, 1-35% for women. The author discusses the usefulness of epidemiological data for clinical, research, and public health undertakings.

The uses of transference in the treatment of the individual patient in sex therapy.

In the increasingly common situation in which an individual patient, rather than a couple, is seen in sex therapy, special transference issues arise. The particular ways in which transference may be manifested in this format of sex therapy are discussed and illustrated with clinical examples. It is stressed that transference need not be interpreted to the patient in order to be of use; the therapist's own awareness of the transference can provide insights into the issues underlying a patient's sexual complaint and can help in designing effective treatment strategies.

Cross-cultural perspectives on penis envy.

From the outset, Freud's notion of penis envy stirred controversy within and outside the psychoanalytic movement (Fliegel 1973; Moulton 1975). charges leveled at the theory ranged from biological improbability to lack of clinical support, but the most compelling challenge has always been Clara Thompson's formulation that what women really envy is not male anatomy but male status and power, for which the penis is a convenient symbol (1941, 1942, 1943, 1950). But despite the inherent plausibility of Thompson's argument, empirical evidence has never been adduced to confirm it. This paper reports a cross-cultural investigation that lends support to Thompson's view. In this study, the extent of penis envy imagery in the dreams of women from 20 cultures was correlated with a measure of female status in those cultures; an inverse relationship was found demonstrating that the higher social position of these women, the less they manifested penis envy fantasies in their dreams. For the men from these cultures, penis envy fantasies varied not with the status of women but with the visibility of sex differences, suggesting that penis envy may have a different and more literal meaning for men than for women. The clinical and social implications of these findings are discussed.