Sexual Arousal and Desire: Interrelations and Responses to Three Modalities of Sexual Stimuli

Introduction.  Traditionally, sexual desire is understood to occur spontaneously, but more recent models propose that desire responds to sexual stimuli. Aims.  To experimentally assess whether sexual stimuli increased sexual desire; to compare how sexual arousal and desire responded to three modalities of sexual stimuli: erotic story, unstructured fantasy, and the Imagined Social Situation Exercise (ISSE). Methods.  In an online study, participants (128 women, 98 men) were randomly assigned to one of four arousal conditions (ISSE, story, fantasy, or neutral), and then completed desire measures. In the ISSE, participants imagined and wrote about a positive sexual encounter with a self‐defined attractive person. Main Outcome Measures.  Sexual arousal (perceived genital, psychological, and perceived autonomic), anxiety, positive and negative affect, and state sexual desire via self‐report measures pre‐ and post‐condition; “trait” desire via the Sexual Desire Inventory post‐condition. Results.  All three sexual conditions significantly increased sexual arousal and positive affect compared with the neutral condition, with trends for higher arousal to unstructured fantasy than the ISSE or story conditions. Sexual conditions significantly increased scores on state measures of sexual desire. In addition, sexual context influenced measurement of “trait” solitary sexual desire in women, such that women reported significantly higher trait desire after the neutral and ISSE conditions vs. fantasy. Conclusion.  Results highlight the responsiveness of sexual desire, problems with measurement of desire as a long‐term trait, trade‐offs of using the ISSE and other stimuli in sexuality research, and the need to address context in discussions of women's and men's desire. Goldey KL and van Anders SM. Sexual arousal and desire: Interrelations and responses to three modalities of sexual stimuli. J Sex Med 2012;9:2315–2329.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93670/1/j.1743-6109.2012.02845.x.pd

Why the Academic Pipeline Leaks: Fewer Men than Women Perceive Barriers to Becoming Professors

Women are underrepresented in the professoriate compared to men; this study was designed to examine whether systemic barriers associated with, parenting discourage women from pursuing academic careers. Data from 468 female and male graduate students were collected through an online questionnaire. More men than women intend to pursue academic careers. Parenting and mobility issues--but not research or teaching issues--were more negatively associated with entering the professoriate for women than for men. However, women were not more interested in having children than men were. Results support the hypothesis that women self-select away from academia in response to perceived systemic barriers related to parenthood. To ensure quality and equity in academia, universities should enact policy that addresses the realities of childbearing and childrearing women.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83868/1/Why_the_academic_pipeline_leaks.pd

Chewing gum has large effects on salivary testosterone, estradiol, and secretory immunoglobulin A assays in women and men.

Salivary assays are increasingly prevalent in behavioral research, and chewing gum is a widely used sialogogue. Methodological investigations into sialogogues have provided mixed results, and few of these have incorporated multiple analytes, gums, and genders. To test effects of gum on salivary testosterone (T), estradiol (E), and immunoglobulin A (IgA) assays, participants (86 women; 91 men) provided two saliva samples, the first of which was unstimulated. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the following seven conditions for the second sample, which was provided after the first: No Gum or one of six sugar-free gums with one of two flavors and three brands. This design avoided the confounding of time and condition by comparing endogenously vs. exogenously induced changes in analytes. Chewing gum significantly decreased production time for the second saliva samples by 3–6 min, and had very large effects on assay results, leading to lower IgA and higher T and E in men and women. Variability was large and differed by gender/sex. Implications include strong gum-assay immunoreactivity, the importance of gender/sex in methodological investigations, and that immunoreactivity can differ in degree and direction depending on analytes.Funding was provided via discretionary funds to the PI from Indiana University.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83875/1/chewing_gum.pd

Resisting Gender: Twenty-Five Years of Feminist Psychology

The article reviews the book "Resisting Gender: Twenty-Five Years of Feminist Psychology," by Rhoda K. Unger.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83919/1/book_review_of_resisting_gender_twenty-five_years_of_feminist_psychology.pd

Androgens and diversity in adult human partnering

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/84081/1/androgens_and_diversity_in_adult_human_partnering.pd

The Steroid/Peptide Theory of Social Bonds: Integrating Testosterone and Peptide Responses for Classifying Social Behavioral Contexts

Hormones, and hormone responses to social contexts, are the proximate mechanisms of evolutionary pathways to pair bonds and other social bonds. Testosterone (T) is implicated in trade-offs relevant to pair bonding, and oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) are positively tied to social bonding in a variety of species. Here, we present the Steroid/Peptide Theory of Social Bonds (S/P Theory), which integrates T and peptides to provide a model, set of predictions, and classification system for social behavioral contexts related to social bonds. The S/P Theory also resolves several paradoxes apparent in the literature on social bonds and hormones: the Offspring Defense Paradox, Aggression Paradox, and Intimacy Paradox. In the S/P Theory, we partition aggression into antagonistic and protective aggression, which both increase T but exert distinct effects on AVP and thus social bonds. Similarly, we partition intimacy into sexual and nurturant intimacy, both of which increase OT and facilitate social bonds, but exert distinct effects on T. We describe the utility of the S/P Theory for classifying “tricky” behavioral contexts on the basis of their hormonal responses using partner cuddling, a behavior which is assumed to be nurturant but increases T, as a test case of the S/P Theory. The S/P Theory provides a comparative basis for conceptualizing and testing evolved hormonal pathways to pair bonds with attention to species, context, and gender/sex specificities and convergences

Exploring Women's Postpartum Sexuality: Social, Psychological, Relational, and Birth‐Related Contextual Factors

Introduction.  Women's postpartum sexuality can be influenced by factors related to physical, personal, and relationship transitions after the newborn arrives. Despite this, many experiential and social factors remain unexplored. Aims.  This study aims to (i) investigate a range of variables thought to influence postpartum sexuality; (ii) expand the focus beyond latency to penis–vagina intercourse; and (iii) assess positive aspects of postpartum sexuality. Methods.  Via retrospective reporting on the first 3 months postpartum, 304 women completed an online questionnaire. Main Outcome Measures.  The main outcome measures were retrospective reports of sexual desire (Sexual Desire Inventory), latency to resumption of sexual activity, and perceptions of partner's sexual desire. Other measures were birth experience (Questionnaire Measuring Attitudes About Labor and Delivery), breastfeeding status, perceptions of social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support), stress (Perceived Stress Scale), and body image (Body Image Self‐Consciousness Scale). Results.  Significant differences in time to resumption were found. Women performed oral sex on their partners earlier than engaging in masturbation, which was followed by intercourse and then receiving oral sex. Post hoc analyses identified birth experience, social support, importance of partner's sexual fulfillment, and perception of partner's desire as contributors to this pattern. Women's postpartum sexual desire was influenced by their perceptions of their partner's postpartum sexuality and individual's level of fatigue. Results suggested that postpartum desire was not significantly influenced by breastfeeding status, vaginal issues, or psychosocial variables including stress, body image, or social support. Conclusion.  Results suggest that women's perceptions of their partner's sexuality impact postpartum sexuality more than the physical factors most commonly studied (e.g., vaginal trauma and breastfeeding). These results portray postpartum sexuality as a multidimensional phenomenon and highlight the need for further research that addresses its social context. Hipp LE, Kane Low L, and van Anders SM. Exploring women's postpartum sexuality: Social, psychological, relational, and birth‐related contextual factors. J Sex Med 2012;9:2330–2341.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93653/1/j.1743-6109.2012.02804.x.pd

Testing the Prenatal Androgen Hypothesis: Measuring Digit Ratios, Sexual Orientation, and Spatial Abilities in Adults

The present study examined whether the following variables putatively associated with prenatal androgens are inter-related in women: spatial abilities, sexual orientation, and 2nd to 4th finger (digit) length ratio (2D:4D). Participants were 99 healthy premenopausal women tested in the menstrual phase of the ovarian cycle between 0800 and 0930 hr. Women completed the Kinsey scales of sexual orientation, and were either strictly heterosexual (HS; N = 79) or not-strictly heterosexual (NHS; N = 20). Photocopies of the two hands were collected, and participants completed the revised Vandenberg Mental Rotations test, the Paper Folding test, and a short version of the Guilford-Zimmerman Spatial Orientation Test. Results showed that NHS women exhibited superior spatial ability relative to HS women. No significant difference was found between the HS and NHS women in the 2D:4D digit ratio. There was no association between the digit ratio and spatial performance. These results support an association between increased spatial abilities and heteroflexible sexual orientation, which may possibly be mediated by high prenatal androgens.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83872/1/testing_the_prenatal_androgen_hypothesis.pd

Testosterone levels in women and men who are single, in long-distance relationships, or some-city relationships.

Research points to an association between testosterone (T) and partnering in some women and men, and this association has been interpreted as an effect of either relationship status (i.e. differences in relationship status lead to differences in T) or relationship orientation (i.e. T is associated with the likelihood of entering relationships). To address whether physical partner presence was associated with decreased T, we examined T levels in people (72 women; 49 men) who were single, in long-distance relationships, or in same-city relationships. No participants were using exogenous hormones, including hormonal contraceptives. Participants provided a saliva sample and responded to questions about their relationship status. Single men had higher T than long-distance and same-city partnered men, which supports the relationship orientation interpretation. In contrast, same-city partnered women had lower T than single women and women in long-distance relationships, which supports the relationship status interpretation. We conclude that physical partner presence is not necessary to see an association between partnering and hormones in men (since same-city and long-distance partnered men had similar T levels), but may be necessary in women (since same-city partnered women had lower T than long-distance partnered women)This research was supported by Discovery Grant 0194522 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to N.V. Watson. S.M. van Anders was supported by a War Memorial Scholarship from IODE Canada.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83915/1/testosterone_levels_in_women_and_men_who_are_single_in_long-distance_relationships_or_same-city_relationships.pd

Sexy thoughts: Effects of sexual cognitions on testosterone, cortisol, and arousal in women.

This article is currently in press.Previous research suggests that sexual stimuli increase testosterone (T) in women and shows inconsistent effects of sexual arousal on cortisol (C), but effects of cognitive aspects of arousal, rather than behaviors or sensory stimuli, are unclear. The present study examined whether sexual thoughts affect T or C and whether hormonal contraceptive (HC) use moderated this effect, given mixed findings of HC use confounding hormone responses. Participants (79 women) provided a baseline saliva sample for radioimmunoassay. We created the Imagined Social Situation Exercise (ISSE) to test effects of imagining social interactions on hormones, and participants were assigned to the experimental (sexual) or one of three control (positive, neutral, stressful) conditions. Participants provided a second saliva sample 15min post-activity. Results indicated that for women not using HCs, the sexual condition increased T compared to the stressful or positive conditions. In contrast, HC using women in the sexual condition had decreased T relative to the stressful condition and similar T to the positive condition. The effect was specific to T, as sexual thoughts did not change C. For participants in the sexual condition, higher baseline T predicted larger increases in sexual arousal but smaller increases in T, likely due to ceiling effects on T. Our results suggest that sexual thoughts change T but not C, baseline T levels and HC use may contribute to variation in the T response to sexual thoughts, and cognitive aspects of sexual arousal affect physiology.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83874/1/sexy_thoughts.pd