The relationship between negative mood and sexuality in heterosexual college women and men (original) (raw)
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The relation between mood and sexuality in heterosexual men
Archives of sexual behavior, 2003
This paper reports on a study of individual variability in the relationship between negative mood and sexuality in men. Part 1 involves a questionnaire survey of 919 white heterosexual men, asking what typically happens to sexual interest and response when (a) depressed and (b) anxious/stressed, using the Mood and Sexuality Questionnaire (MSQ). Trait measures of sexual inhibition and excitation, depression, anxiety, and sensation seeking were also used. Relationships between trait measures and MSQ scores were tested using multiple linear and ordinal logistic regression. Of those reporting the experience of depression, 9.4% indicated increased and 42% decreased sexual interest when depressed; for anxiety/stress, the percentages were 20.6 and 28.3%, respectively. Increase in sexual interest during negative mood states was negatively related to age and trait measures of sexual inhibition and positively related to depression proneness and sexual excitation. In Part 2, the relationship b...
Journal of Sex Research, 2013
Previous research using the Mood and Sexuality Questionnaire (MSQ) has revealed substantial variability in how negative mood impacts sexual response and behavior. However, the MSQ does not address differences between desire for solo or partnered sexual activity, examine the effects of sexual activity on mood, or assess the effects of positive mood. This paper presents the development and factor structure of the Revised Mood and Sexuality Questionnaire (MSQ-R). An exploratory factor analysis in a sample of heterosexual men, homosexual men, and heterosexual women (N = 1983) produced 8 factors. Considerable variability was found in how moods influence sexual desire and arousal, in the effects of mood on sexual behavior, and in the reciprocal effects of sexual activity on mood. Among other findings, heterosexual women were less likely than heterosexual and homosexual men to experience increased sexual desire and arousal when anxious or stressed, whereas homosexual men and heterosexual women were less likely than heterosexual men to experience increased desire when sad or depressed. Heterosexual men and women were more likely than homosexual men to report increased desire when in a positive mood. Intercorrelations and correlations with various sexual behaviors varied by group. Limitations and implications of the findings are discussed.
Effects of positive and negative mood on sexual arousal in sexually functional males
Archives of sexual behavior, 1998
Effects of positive and negative musical mood induction on subjective and objective sexual arousal were examined in a group of sexually functional males (N = 24). Subjects evidenced significantly greater objective and subjective sexual response in the positive mood induction condition relative to both baseline and a neutral control condition. In contrast, the negative mood induction condition yielded significantly less objective sexual arousal than baseline and a neutral control condition. Data provide additional empirical support for the hypothesized impact of mood on sexual arousal.
The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2020
Background: A number of studies have found that hypersexuality is associated with a high propensity for sexual excitation. In comparison, less is known about the relationship between hypersexuality and sexual arousal at the state level. Also, previous research has revealed a relationship between hypersexuality and negative mood. However, the possibility that sexual response might not be as negatively impacted by negative mood in hypersexual individuals has, as yet, not been tested. Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate sexual responsivity and the effects of negative mood on sexual arousal in hypersexual men who have sex with men (MSM). Methods: A total of 211 MSM were assigned to a hypersexuality (N ¼ 81) or a control (N ¼ 130) group using an interview patterned with a semi-structured Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders format. Participants filled out questionnaires and were shown neutral, sexual, and anxietyand sadness-inducing films. Outcomes: Changes in penile circumference and self-reported sexual arousal were the primary outcomes analyzed in this study. Results: Controlling for age and HIV status, no differences were found in genital response between hypersexual and non-hypersexual men. Also, the 2 groups did not differ in subjective sexual arousal. Moreover, no effects of negative mood were found. Time series clustering analyses revealed 3 groups-low responders and slow and fast high responders. Sexual excitation, but not sexual compulsivity or pornography use, predicted cluster membership. Clinical Translation: Hypersexual MSM may benefit more from an exploration of motivational and behavioral, as compared to psychophysiological, mechanisms underlying possible links between (negative) mood and sexual behavior. Strengths & Limitations: Strengths of the study include its sample size, making it one of the larger psychophysiological sex studies; the use of clinical interviews for group assignment; the inclusion of genital response measures; and the application of time series clustering to examine differences among participants. Limitations include possible sample heterogeneity and the reliance on researcher-selected stimuli. Conclusion: Given the lack of any effects of negative mood on sexual response in hypersexual MSM, future studies could explore in more depth possible motivational and behavioral effects, including, for example, the impact of negative mood on the tendency to seek out sex as a form of distraction or for validation or emotional support.
The Relation of Mood and Sexual Desire: An Experience Sampling Perspective on the Dual Control Model
Archives of Sexual Behavior
We investigated the effect of fluctuations in negative and positive affect on momentary sexual motivation in a sample of women and men in a steady relationship (n = 133). Sexual motivation was regarded as the aggregate of sexual desire, subjective sexual arousal and openness to sexual contact. Experience sampling methodology was used to collect up to 70 measurements per participant over a period of seven consecutive days of sexual motivation, and negative and positive affect. Using multilevel analysis, we investigated cross-level interactions between affect and trait measures as specified in the dual control model (DCM). This model postulates sexually excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms as relatively independent systems that together can explain individual differences in sexual motivation and behavior. Results implicated that any intensification of feelings, positive or negative, was associated with a momentary increase in sexual motivation for participants more prone to sexual exc...
The Effects of Experimentally-Induced Sad and Happy Mood on Sexual Arousal in Sexually Healthy Women
Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2010
In depressed women, common sexual difficulties include decreased sexual desire, sexual arousal and orgasmic difficulties, reduced sexual satisfaction, and reduced sexual pleasure. Experimental research on the influence of depressed mood on genital and subjective sexual arousal in women is scarce. Aim. To investigate the effects of sad mood on genital and subjective sexual arousal in sexually healthy women, using a mood induction procedure. Method. Thirty-two subjects received a sad mood and a happy mood induction, on two different days, using a within subjects design. The mood induction procedure was a combination of the Velten procedure and music. In the Velten procedure, the subject is asked to read sad or happy self-referent sentences and to experience the mood suggested by these sentences. Immediately following mood induction, the subjects were exposed to an erotic film clip. Main Outcome Measure. Genital arousal was assessed using vaginal photoplethysmography. Self-report ratings of sad and happy mood, subjective sexual arousal and affective reactions were collected before and after the erotic clip. Results. The sad and happy mood ratings indicated that the mood inductions affected mood as intended. No difference in genital sexual arousal was found between the sad and happy mood conditions. Subjects reported significantly less subjective sexual arousal and positive affect and marginally significant fewer genital sensations and more negative affect in the sad mood condition than in the happy mood condition.
Psychological Treatment of Major Depression: An Analysis of the Sexual Desire
Objective: Sexual dysfunction is frequently reported as a side effect of many antidepressant medications. As a result, for those depressed patients to whom sexual desire is important, psychological treatment may be a better intervention. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the possible changes in sexual desire following psychological treatments in depression, when focus of therapy is not on sexual function. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study, which was conducted in Tehran, Iran. A total of 281 depressed patients in the remission phase underwent psychological treatments, either cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT, n=131) or mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT, n=150). The therapy did not focus on any aspect of sexual function. Using a single item measure before and after treatment, sexual desire of the patients was categorized into intact, mild, moderate, or severe decline. A total of 255 participants completed the study questionnaires and were randomly assigned to CBT (122) and MBCT groups (133). Before therapy, 128(50.2%) participants were categorized in intact sexual desire group, 73(28.6%) in mild sexual desire dysfunction group, 40(15.7%) in moderate sexual desire dysfunction group, and 14(5.5%) in severe sexual desire dysfunction group. Logistic regression was used for analyzing the data by SPSS-16. Results: Low sexual desire in depression remission was predicted by age (P<0.001, OR=0.21, CI=0.01–0.03), presence of comorbid anxiety disorder (P<0.04, OR=-0.13, CI=-0.46–0.02), and global assessment of functioning (GAF) (P<0.001, OR=-0.23, CI=-0.03–0.01). Clinical improvement in sexual desire was predicted by the type of intervention (P=0.023, OR=0.351, CI=0.142–0.869) and GAF (P=0.003, OR=0.927, CI=0.881–0.975). Conclusion: CBT might be superior to MBCT in improving sexual desire in patients with depression. Further studies using validated sexual function questionnaires are necessary.
Positive emotions and sexual desire among healthy women
2009
Sexual desire disorders are highly prevalent, account for a significant proportion of sexual problems, and affect important aspects of women's lives. Sexuality research has traditionally focused on dysfunction models, rather than human strengths approaches. Recently, positive psychologists have developed models and methods to examine human strengths. This study used Frederickson's Broaden and Build model to examine links between positive emotions and sexual desire among women. Positive emotions words were examined relative to sexual domains frequently cited in clinical studies, and compared to sexual cognitions which have been linked to positive sexual outcomes in past studies. One hundred sixty five women answered questionnaires sent via a secure online assessment and survey tool. Analysis revealed that (a) women use more positive than negative words to describe desire; (b) the frequency of using positive words related favorably to sexual desire; (c) positive emotion word use did not correlate with other measures of sexual satisfaction and functioning; and (d) women who used positive emotion words also expressed more positive sexual cognitions about the self. A clearer understanding of the role that positive emotions play in sexual desire using a positive psychology approach may provide a useful framework for researchers, educators, and clinicians who seek to develop successful strategies to help women increase sexual desire.