A new view of women's sexual problems: Why new? Why now?

Tiefer, Leonore

doi:10.1080/00224490109552075

Cited by 155 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Frequently, for women with sexual 'dysfunction' there is no evidence of innate dysfunction of sexual response, rather, a paucity of reasons to begin, or problematic stimuli and/or context explain the reported dysfunctional episodes of sexual engagement. 25 Thus, to assist a woman experiencing sexual dysfunction, we must assess the context of her life and relationship, as well as the details of sexual interactions. The inclusion of etiological descriptors-current context, developmental history or medical factors, alongside any diagnosis of sexual disorder-has recently been recommended.…”

Section: Data Source Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women's sexual function and dysfunction: current uncertainties, future directions

Basson

2008

Int J Impot Res

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There is increasing evidence that women at the outset of sexual activity do not need to have sexual desire, as in 'drive', and that many do not distinguish desire from arousal. Multiple modes of investigation confirm poor correlation between women's subjective arousal and measured genital congestion. Suggested revisions to the DSM-IV definitions of sexual disorder have been published: there is now need to align interview assessments and screening questionnaires with contemporary understanding of women's sexual response. Whereas the psychological factors associated with women's sexual function and resilience to biological insults and external stressors are well documented, the role of biological factors is less clear. Variations in the rate of decline of adrenal and ovarian pro-hormones, activity of converting enzymes in peripheral cells, sensitivity of androgen and estrogen receptors and cerebral production of sex steroids may all be involved. Thus there is great complexity underlying the question of sex hormone supplementation, and in particular, little clarity as to which women have decreased brain and/or peripheral androgen activity. When psychosexual etiological factors appear to be minimal and investigational testosterone supplementation is considered, it would be appropriate to target women with disordered arousal and desire in keeping with the recently recommended revised definitions.

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Section: Data Source Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women's sexual function and dysfunction: current uncertainties, future directions

Basson

2008

Int J Impot Res

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“…1 One feature of this debate centers on the extent to which biological, psychosocial, and cultural factors each contribute to these various difficulties. Yet, assessments of their relative influence on the prevalence of sexual problems have been hampered by the lack of systematic, cross-cultural population studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The objectives of the current analysis of the GSSAB include the following: (1) to estimate the prevalence of sexual problems among women and men for seven regional clusters and (2) to identify factors that increase the likelihood of reporting selected, common sexual problems by gender and regional cluster.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual problems among women and men aged 40–80 y: prevalence and correlates identified in the Global Study of Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors

et al. 2004

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The Global Study of Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors (GSSAB) is an international survey of various aspects of sex and relationships among adults aged 40-80 y. An analysis of GSSAB data was performed to estimate the prevalence and correlates of sexual problems in 13 882 women and 13 618 men from 29 countries. The overall response rate was modest; however, the estimates of prevalence of sexual problems are comparable with published values. Several factors consistently elevated the likelihood of sexual problems. Age was an important correlate of lubrication difficulties among women and of several sexual problems, including a lack of interest in sex, the inability to reach orgasm, and erectile difficulties among men. We conclude that sexual difficulties are relatively common among mature adults throughout the world. Sexual problems tend to be more associated with physical health and aging among men than women.

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“…These discourses all serve to emphasize a caveat against the medicalization of female sexual dysfunctions, which 'offers a vocabulary of biological innocence' 11 and may lead to stigmatization of women with sexual dysfunction, as also gender equality on the sociocultural basis must be addressed in the context of sexual behaviour. However, in much of the ongoing discussion on the aetiological contributors to FSD, sociodemographic factors have attracted limited attention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On categorization and quantification of women's sexual dysfunctions: An epidemiological approach

2004

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The objectives of this study are to compare the two definitions of female sexual dysfunction, namely dysfunction per se (A category) and personal distress caused by dysfunction (B category), and to gauge their associations with some sociodemographic aspects and level of sexual well-being. The subjects were a nationally representative sample of sexually active Swedish women (n: 1056) aged 18-65 y, who participated in a combined structured interview/questionnaire investigation. The functions analysed were: self-reported sexual desire, interest, lubrication, orgasm, genital pain and vaginism, which were subclassified for the A and B categories into no, mild (sporadically occurring) and manifest dysfunction. Sexual well-being was reported along a six-grade scale ranging from very satisfied to very dissatisfied. The sociodemographic items registered were: education, occupation, financial situation, social group, immigrant status, location of domicile and church-going. Aggregated mild and manifest dysfunction per se of sexual interest, orgasm and vaginal lubrication were reported by about 60-90%. More than one-third had dyspareunia, but few reported vaginism. Mild dysfunctions were clearly more common than manifest dysfunctions. Not fully 45% of those with manifest low interest and orgasm perceived these dysfunctions as manifestly distressing, while in 60-70% lubricational insufficiency of dyspareunia led to manifest distress. Age and the included sociodemographic variables had marginal or no influence on sexual functions. A four-factor sexual function pattern was identified, closely linking A and B categories in a pairwise manner. Three factors, labelled sexual desire, orgasm and genital function were powerful classifiers (discriminant analysis) of level of sexual well-being. Hence, it is a matter of taste whether to use the A or the B category. Together, they can explain the gross level of satisfaction with sexual life to an adequate extent.

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A new view of women's sexual problems: Why new? Why now?

Cited by 155 publications

References 21 publications

Women's sexual function and dysfunction: current uncertainties, future directions

Women's sexual function and dysfunction: current uncertainties, future directions

Sexual problems among women and men aged 40–80 y: prevalence and correlates identified in the Global Study of Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors

On categorization and quantification of women's sexual dysfunctions: An epidemiological approach

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