Asexuality: Classification and characterization

This is a post-print version of the article. The official published version can be obtaineed at the link below.The term “asexual” has been defined in many different ways and asexuality has received very little research attention. In a small qualitative study (N = 4), individuals who self-identified as asexual were interviewed to help formulate hypotheses for a larger study. The second larger study was an online survey drawn from a convenience sample designed to better characterize asexuality and to test predictors of asexual identity. A convenience sample of 1,146 individuals (N = 41 self-identified asexual) completed online questionnaires assessing sexual history, sexual inhibition and excitation, sexual desire, and an open-response questionnaire concerning asexual identity. Asexuals reported significantly less desire for sex with a partner, lower sexual arousability, and lower sexual excitation but did not differ consistently from non-asexuals in their sexual inhibition scores or their desire to masturbate. Content analyses supported the idea that low sexual desire is the primary feature predicting asexual identity

Automatic and Deliberate Affective Associations with Sexual Stimuli in Women with Superficial Dyspareunia

Current views suggest that in women with superficial dyspareunia the prospect of penile–vaginal intercourse automatically activates fear-related associations. The automatic activation of negative associations is assumed to interfere with the development of sexual arousal. In turn, this may further aggravate the dyspareunia-related complaints. To assess whether automatic negative associations are involved in this sexual pain disorder, women with superficial dyspareunia (n = 35) and a control group (n = 35) completed a modified pictorial Affective Simon Task (AST). Questioning the role of dysfunctional automatic associations in superficial dyspareunia, the AST indicated that symptomatic women displayed relatively positive rather than negative automatic associations with sexual stimuli. At the self-report level, however, affective associations with sex cues were significantly more negative for women with dyspareunia than for controls. This discrepancy between “reflective” and “reflexive” affective associations with sexual stimuli in women with dyspareunia points to the relevance of conscious appraisal and deliberate rather than automatic processes in the onset and maintenance of dyspareunia

End stage renal disease and the marital dyad: An empirical investigation

The psychological well-being of end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and spouses was investigated from a dyadic perspective. The responses of patients and spouses from five groups of couples--illustrating different points in the progression and treatment of ESRD--were compared both across ESRD groups and between patients and spouses. Despite the fact that the ESRD groups reflected differences in illness/treatment intrusiveness, no significant differences were found between the ESRD groups, or between patients and spouses, in either marital relations or psychological well-being. However, while for all the participants marital role strain was a significant predictor of psychological well-being, the two dialysis groups evidenced significantly greater correlations between marital role strain and psychological distress than the nondialysis groups. These findings are interpreted as being consistent with a general systems theory approach to the conceptualization and treatment of chronic illness.end stage renal disease marital dyad marital role theory general systems theory

End stage renal disease (ESRD) and the marital dyad : A literature review and critique

As medical advances have increased the expected longevity of ESRD patients, the familial elements of adjustment to this illness and its treatment regimen have become particularly important. Over the past dozen years, a body of literature has accumulated on the psychosocial adjustment of ESRD patients and their partners. In general, it has shown that each spouse's individual adjustment may be strongly influenced by the other's reactions to the illness. However, a good integration of an interpersonal framework has been lacking in most of these studies. This article reviews the area and offers methodological and theoretical suggestions for future investigations.