Sexual orientation and drive: a comparative pilot study on sexual desire

Many studies addressing sexual drive and hypersexuality stated that homosexuals are used to report higher levels of sexual desire and compulsive sexual behaviors. Literature showed a lack of comparisons between perceived level of desire in hetero and gay population. This study aims to analyze some variables which could predict levels of sexual desire in both heterosexual and homosexual men such as sexual satisfaction, distress, sexism and dysfunctional sexual beliefs

Psycho-relational well-being in women with sexual pain: a preliminary study

Female sexual pain is a complex multi-factorial condition. Most of the research has focused on underlying biomedical factors. Although psychological and relational factors have been studied as possible correlates, data are still controversial. The aim of the present study was to investigate psychological and relational well-being in women who complain of sexual pain. The hypothesis was that sexual pain is associated with worse scores

Extraversion and neuroticism in sexually dysfunctional men suffering from erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation: a cross-sectional study

The role of personality traits in sexual complaints and dysfunctions is ever more evident. However, the literature is very scarce as to the possible relationships between such personality traits and specific sexual dysfunctions like ED, PE or both, their subtypes as to time of onset and severity levels. The main aim of the present study was to investigate if Neuroticism and Extraversion have different roles and trends in men suffering from PE and/or ED, both lifelong and acquired. Moreover, we verified if, by adopting DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 criteria for diagnosing PE, some differences emerged in percentages of diagnosed cases. The sample consisted of 222 patients aged 18-70. The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-15) was used to assess erectile function, and the Premature Ejaculation Severity Index (PESI) was used to assess the severity of PE dysfunction. Neuroticism and Extraversion were measured with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R). In our results, Neuroticism and Extraversion were dependent on the kind of sexual dysfunction and its severity. These results suggest that type, time of onset and severity of sexual dysfunctions should be considered as related to specific personality characteristics and vice versa

Exploring the psychosocial predictors of male sexual desire. Testing an integrated model

Objectives: The literature lacks studies of male sexual desire under the umbrella of the Biopsychosocial approach. The aim of this study was to evaluate and test in a general conceptual model the role of selected psychological and social variables affecting male sexual desire such as sexual function, sexism, and cognitive-emotional factors. Material and Method(s): Psychosocial variables were selected from a previous study on the best predictors of male sexual desire in a group of 450 heterosexual Italian men (age 31.36±10.73). According to the Biopsychosocial approach, a Path Diagram was built including “Orgasmic Function”, “Lack of Erotic Thoughts (LET)”, “Erection Concerns Thoughts (ECT)”, “Hostile Sexism”, and “Positive Affect” as predictors of sexual desire. The model was designed as a “partial mediation model” from automatic thoughts to desire. ECT and LET were put as main predictors, with direct paths going from ECT to Positive Affect and Sexual Desire, and from LET to Positive Affect, Orgasmic Function and Sexual Desire. Direct paths were also drawn from emotions and orgasm to Sexual Desire. In this model, part of ECT and LET effect is mediated by emotions and orgasm, and part directly influences Sexual Desire. Hostile Sexism and Socio-demographic variables were considered outside (exogenously), as external variables influencing Sexual Desire. Path Analysis was performed through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach. Result(s): Results showed a satisfactory fit to the data (χ2=35.312, df=34, p=.406; GFI=.987; NFI=.945; CFI=.998; RMSEA=.009 [95% CI: .000 - .036]). All the endogenous paths and Hostile Sexism were found to be significant. None of the Socio-demographic variables was significant, even if it was important to have them included in this model in order to control their possible confounding effects highlighted by previous studies. Conclusion(s): Our findings suggest that cognitive, emotive, sexual functioning and cultural variables play a very important role on men’s sexual interest. Clinical implications of the model are addressed: it explains the need to operate under an integrated approach, considering cognitive, emotional and sexual aspect all together in order to elicit an effective arise of sexual desire

Editorial: psychological dimensions in human sexual health and behavior

Human sexuality is still an underexplored world, subjected to great taboos and controversies over the decades, representing one of the most challenging areas of research and facing countless political and social demands. In this sense, leading organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO, 2014) and the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS, 2014) have established sexual health and well-being as human rights and key goals to be achieved worldwide to improve the health-related quality of life. The newmessage that is being carried out by these entities, is that sexual health not only concerns reproductive issues, sexual problems, sexual violence, and sexually transmitted infections, but also positive aspects related to intimate relationships, pleasure, consenting sexual relationships, gender and sexual orientation variety, and sexual functioning among other aspects

Sexual Fantasies and Stereotypical Gender Roles: The Influence of Sexual Orientation, Gender and Social Pressure in a Sample of Italian Young-Adults

Differences in gender and sexual orientation are suggested to be linked to differences in the way individuals think and behave. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the effect of gender and sexual orientation on sexual fantasies and gender roles in heterosexual and gay and lesbian people. The sample was composed of 547 participants, 246 men (Mage = 28.85; SD = 9,27) and 301 women (Mage = 25,97; SD = 7,141). Within this sample, 61.8% of men and 79.4% of women were heterosexual, whereas 38.2% of men and 20.6% of women were gay and lesbian. Participants completed an online battery of questionnaires to assess their sexual orientation, sexual fantasies, and gender roles on three different dimensions. It was hypothesized that the heterosexual group would report more normative sexual fantasies (H1) and that women in general would report androgynous characteristics, which would be linked to a low degree of reported feminine ideal roles and high social pressure to conform to feminine social expectations (H2). The results showed that lesbian women scored slightly higher than heterosexual women on transgressive sexual fantasies and lower on emotional-romantic ones. Moreover, heterosexual women, but not lesbian women, showed a pattern of high social pressure to conform to feminine expectations together with lower scores in the IRQ. We found the same results on gay men but not for heterosexual men. The overall results suggest that sexual fantasies and gender roles are relatively independent concepts and are influenced by different mechanisms

NIMBI F.M. (2019). Sexual beliefs, automatic thoughts, and cognitive schemas as psycho-social risk factors for sexual dysfunctions in men and women. Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology 7(S2):86. Proceedings XXI National Congress Italian Psychological Association, Clinical and Dynamic Section Milan – 27-29 September 2019, POSTER SESSION

The literature highlights a significant role of sexual beliefs, automatic thoughts, and cognitive schemas as risk factors triggering and maintaining sexual disfunctions. The aim of this study was to summarize the evidences highlighted in the validation studies of the Italian versions of the “Sexual Modes Questionnaire (SMQ)”, the “Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs Questionnaire (SDBQ)”, and the “Questionnaire of Cognitive Schema Activation in Sexual Context (QCSASC)” for the clinical practice. The questionnaires were assessed in 1051 participants (425 men and 626 women) exploring different classes of cognitions related to sexuality, such as failure and erection concerns, age and body thoughts, erotic fantasies, attitudes towards sexuality, conservatism, occidental gender stereotypic roles and control over sexuality. The Italian versions of SMQ, SBDQ and QCSASC demonstrated good psychometric properties. Results showed that these questionnaires can differentiate between sexually clinical and healthy people and that many cognitions evaluated are clearly gender specific: “Erection Concerns”, “Worries about Partner’s evaluation and Failure Anticipation thoughts” and “Macho Beliefs” for men; “Failure and Disengagement Thoughts” and “Age related Beliefs” for women. “Control over sexuality”, feeling “Helpless” and “Unlovable” were highlighted as important risk factors, without any gender difference. A strong association between cognitions, emotions and sexual functioning was also reported. Our findings confirmed that cognitive aspects have a primary role on sexual health. The strong association with sexual functioning and emotions confirmed the need to operate under an integrated approach, considering cognitive, emotional and sexual aspect all together to elicit an effective improvement during the therapeutic process. These questionnaires are suggested for assessment and therapy evaluation. In research, they are useful to study psychosocial aspects of sexuality and can be implemented in multicultural studies