Cognitive and Emotional Predictors of Female Sexual Dysfunctions: Preliminary Findings

Abstract

The influence of cognitive and emotional variables on specific female sexual dysfunctions was investigated. A total of 207 women (160 without sexual problems and 47 with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) diagnosis of sexual dysfunction) answered a set of questionnaires assessing cognitive and emotional variables (cognitive schemas activated in sexual context - Questionnaire of Cognitive Schema Activation in Sexual Context (QCSASC); sexual beliefs - Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs Questionnaire (SDBQ); automatic thoughts and emotions presented during sexual activity - Sexual Modes Questionnaire (SMQ)); and sexual functioning (Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)). Results indicated that most women with sexual dysfunction activate incompetence schemas when facing unsuccessful sexual situations. Additionally, lack of erotic thoughts and increased attentional focus on failure and disengagement thoughts during sexual activity were also common in the clinical sample. Besides these common factors, results showed that some specific cognitive and emotional factors are associated with different clinical presentations. Sexual conservative beliefs seem to be closely related to hypoactive sexual desire and to a certain extent to arousal difficulties in women. Body image beliefs and automatic thoughts focusing on self-body appearance seem to be strongly associated with orgasmic disorder. Regarding emotions, fear was one of the best predictors of vaginismus, whereas sadness, disillusion, guilt, and lack of pleasure and satisfaction were closely associated to hypoactive sexual desire. Overall, these findings may contribute to the discussion regarding the treatment strategies used for the different female sexual dysfunctions.

Positive and Negative Affect During Sexual Activity: Differences Between Homosexual and Heterosexual Men and Women, With and Without Sexual Problems

“…Similar results have been found for men with sexual dysfunctions (Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2006;Rowland, Georgoff, & Burnett, 2011). Studies conducted with clinical samples with different sexual problems have indicated that experiencing more negative emotions (negative affect) and less positive emotions (positive affect) during sexual activity was common in men and women with sexual desire problems (Carvalho & Nobre, 2010Geonét, de Sutter, & Zech, 2013;Mehta, Walls, Blood, & Shrier, 2014;Nobre, 2009;Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2008; Running head: AFFECT, SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND SEXUAL PROBLEMS 5 Feldman, Black, Walls, Kensall, Lops, & Beardslee, 2012), men with erectile disorder (Nobre, 2010;Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2000), women with symptoms of persistent genital arousal disorder (Carvalho, Veríssimo, & Nobre, 2013), and women with dyspareunia (Brauer, Ter Kuile, Laan, & Trimbos, 2009). …”

Dysfunctional sexual beliefs as vulnerability factors for sexual dysfunction

“…It could be that conservative beliefs and beliefs about sex as a sin are specifically associated with some but not all sexual dysfunctions. Recent data seems to support this hypothesis, showing that these dimensions are significantly related to sexual desire disorders, but not to orgasm or pain disorders, while age-related beliefs seem to be associated with both desire and pain disorders (Nobre, 2003;Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2004). In general, these results supported some etiological hypotheses about female sexual dysfunction presented in the clinical literature (Hawton, 1985;Heiman & LoPicollo, 1988;LoPiccolo & Friedman, 1988;Kaplan, 1979;Masters & Johnson, 1970).…”

Cognitive Schema Factors in Opioid Substance Abuser Men with Sexual Dysfunction

“…18,24,25 Findings suggest the existence of specific cognitive schemas underlying sexual dysfunction and raise the question whether a more general cognitive organization could be proposed as a core vulnerability factor for sexual problems.…”

“…20 A negative cycle could be established by the continuous interplay between negative thoughts and emotions, preventing the cognitive processing of erotic stimuli, and maintaining individual's poor sexual functioning. 18,24,25 Findings suggest the existence of specific cognitive schemas underlying sexual dysfunction and raise the question whether a more general cognitive organization could be proposed as a core vulnerability factor for sexual problems.…”