Sexually aggressive and nonaggressive men: Sexual arousal and judgments in response to acquaintance rape and consensual analogues.

Self-identified sexually aggressive (SA) and nonaggressive (NA) college men listened to audiotape analogues of consensual sexual intercourse and acquaintance rape. Phallometric and decision-latency methodology was used to examine sexual arousal and decisions to stop sexual advances in each scenario. Both groups showed increases in penile response to the consensual scenario. Consistent with the inhibition model of sexual aggression, the SA group showed greater sexual arousal and failed to inhibit responding when force was introduced in the rape, whereas the NA group exhibited less arousal and greater inhibition to force. The SA group allowed the rape to continue significantly longer than the NA group. These effects were greatly magnified in SA men who endorsed high calloused sexual beliefs, implying that a cognitive set that justifies sexual aggression and lacks victim empathy may disinhibit sexual arousal and potentiate coercive decision making. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol and expectancy set on male sexual arousal.

Assigned 48 undergraduate males to 8 experimental groups. The 6 Ss within each group received 1 of 4 dose levels (.08, .4, .8, or 1.2 g/kg body weight) of beverage alcohol and 1 of 2 different sets of expectancy instructions regarding sexual arousal. Changes in penile tumescence, in response to an erotic film, were measured physiologically by a mercury-in-rubber strain gauge. Muscle tension levels were also monitored during the film viewing. The following adjunctive measures of sexual arousal were also employed: (a) sexual imagery, (b) the subjective report of arousal, and (c) the estimation of the extent of penile erection. Alcohol significantly reduced the levels of penile tumescence (negative linear relation). The expectancy instructions regarding alcohol's effect did not significantly influence the penile response. Sexual imagery was negatively correlated with penile tumescence, whereas the subjective reports of sexual arousal and the estimations of penile erection were positively correlated with the physiological measure of sexual arousal. Muscle tension levels were not significantly influenced by alcohol or the expectancy set; neither was muscle tension correlated with penile tumescence. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

EEG hemispheric asymmetry during sexual arousal: Psychophysiological patterns in responsive, unresponsive, and dysfunctional men.

Investigated patterns of EEG hemispheric asymmetry and penile tumescence in 12 sexually functional and 6 dysfunctional men. All Ss were aged 31–60 yrs. Six sexually functional Ss were responsive and 6 were unresponsive to laboratory presentations of erotic stimuli. Each S was exposed to a counterbalanced sequence of visual and auditory conditions over 2 sessions of testing. Response measures included bilateral temporal and occipital EEG amplitude integrated over 5-sec epochs, strain gauge measures of penile tumescence, and subjective estimates of arousal. Analysis of the hemispheric laterality results indicated a pattern of right-temporal activation in association with maximum tumescence responses in the high-normal Ss. In contrast, the dysfunctional Ss showed moderate tumescence in response to the visual erotic stimuli but greater right-hemisphere activation in response to the auditory erotic stimuli. These psychophysiological patterns are consistent with the literature on cerebral asymmetry and affective arousal. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual arousal in response to aggression: Ideological, aggressive, and sexual correlates.

In Exp I, 37 male and 42 female undergraduates reported more sexual arousal in response to nonaggressive than to aggressive depictions when the portrayals were sexually explicit, but the opposite occurred when the portrayals were nonsexual. In Exp II, 367 males were classified into no arousal, moderate arousal, or high arousal from force (AFF) groups on the basis of self-reports. To evaluate the veridicality of this classification, 118 Ss' penile tumescence in response to various depictions was assessed. Findings generally replicate those of the Exp I and confirm the accuracy of the AFF classification. The no- and the moderate-AFF Ss were less sexually aroused by aggressive than by nonaggressive portrayals, but the opposite was found for the high-AFF group. Strong differences between AFF groups were found on ideological factors, including acceptance of violence against and dominance over women, acceptance of nonsexual aggression, and Ss' beliefs that they might actually use force against women. In contrast, differences were not found on sexuality factors. Implications for theories on the causes of rape are discussed. (64 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual arousal to rape depictions: Individual differences.

145 male undergraduates participated (a) in an orientation session in which personality variables, sexual motivations, sexual experience, and self-reported likelihood of raping were assessed and (b) in a laboratory session in which they listened to 1 of 8 audiotaped depictions of an interaction involving sexual acts between a man and a woman. The content of these depictions was systematically manipulated along the dimensions of consent, pain, and outcome. Later in the 2nd session, Ss listened to a 2nd audiotaped portrayal of either nonconsenting or consenting sex. Their sexual arousal was assessed throughout this 2nd session by penile tumescence and self-reports. Results highlight the importance of the interaction between individual differences variables and manipulations in the content of the portrayals in affecting sexual arousal to rape depictions. Support was obtained for the prediction that such arousal is not an isolated response but is associated with other measures of sexually aggressive tendencies. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancies, alcohol, and sexual arousal in male social drinkers.

Randomly assigned 40 undergraduate males, all social drinkers, to 1 of 2 expectation conditions in which they were led to believe that the beverage they were administered contained either vodka and tonic or tonic only. For half of the Ss in each expectation condition, the beverage contained vodka; the others drank only tonic. After their drinks, measures of penile tumescence were taken from Ss using a penile strain gauge during 2 erotic films, 1 depicting a heterosexual interaction, the other a male homosexual interaction. Although analyses of variance failed to reveal any effect of alcohol per se, there were significant effects of expectation on penile tumescence during both the heterosexual and homosexual films. Ss who believed that they had consumed an alcoholic beverage manifested significantly greater sexual arousal than those believing they had consumed a nonalcoholic beverage, regardless of the contents of their drinks. Although no consistent effects were observed on additional measures of sexual arousal, including the TAT, the Word Association Test, and forehead skin temperature, there was a significant positive correlation between self-report measures of sexual arousal and penile tumescence. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity monitoring in young potent volunteers: reproducibility, evaluation criteria and the effect of sexual intercourse

PURPOSE: We studied the reproducibility of nocturnal penile tumescence, rigidity evaluation criteria and the possible effects of sexual intercourse in young, healthy, potent male volunteers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We recruited 12 male medical students 21 to 24 years old into the study. A disorder-free medical history, availability of a sexual partner and normal erectile function were the inclusion criteria. All subjects completed 3 sessions of 3 nights of recording using the RigiScan* device with at least a 3-day interval between recordings. During the last 3-night recording subjects were asked to have sexual intercourse at least once. Analysis of the recordings was focused on the best erectile event as well as on rigidity and tumescence activity units normalized per hour. RESULTS: The subjects completed 36, 3-night recordings. Of the total of 108 sessions 18 occurred after sexual intercourse. We analyzed 562 erectile episodes. All 3-night recordings included at least 1 episode of rigidity at the penile tip greater than 60% and more than 10 minutes in duration. Sexual intercourse did not significantly affect nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity. When rigidity and tumescence activity unit values were normalized by the hour and expressed as mean values of the 3-night sessions, documented values became reproducible. CONCLUSIONS: At least 2 consecutive nights of recording are necessary to evaluate nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity recordings. Nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity with at least 1 erectile episode of tip penile rigidity greater than 60% and 10 minutes in duration may be associated with potency. Mean rigidity and tumescence activity unit values per hour of a recording may be used as objective parameters to measure overall erectile activity. In addition, sexual intercourse seems to decrease nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity measurements, although not statistically significant. We anticipate that application of these criteria for nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity evaluation will improve the diagnostic validity of the test. Future research will determine whether these criteria are too strict for the evaluation of aging men.     

Alcohol and erectile response: The effects of high dosage in the context of demands to maximize sexual arousal.

Although drinking often precedes men's sexual activity, basic questions about alcohol's effects on men's sexual arousal remain unanswered. Inconsistencies in findings from studies examining subjective and physiological effects on erectile functioning suggest these effects are context specific, for example, dependent on whether a man wants to maximize or suppress his arousal. To address unresolved questions about alcohol and erectile functioning, the authors evaluated the effects of high blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) and arousal instructional demands on indices of penile circumference change and self-reported sexual arousal. In Study 1, a target BAC of .10% (vs. .00%) attenuated peak circumference change from a neutral baseline but did not affect mean change, latency to arousal onset (a 5% increase in circumference from baseline), latency to peak achieved arousal, or subjective arousal, which correlated moderately with physiological indices. In Study 2, instructions to maximize (vs. suppress) arousal increased peak and mean circumference change and interacted with a target BAC of .08% (vs. .00%) to influence latency to arousal onset. Sober men instructed to maximize showed a shorter latency to arousal onset than did those instructed to suppress arousal; however, intoxicated men did not show a differential pattern. Moreover, compared with intoxicated counterparts, sober men instructed to maximize arousal showed a marginally shorter latency to arousal onset. Overall, alcohol and arousal instructions had small but discernible effects. Findings highlight the importance of contextual factors in alcohol's impact on erectile functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol and cognitive set on sexual arousal to deviant stimuli.

48 undergraduate male social drinkers were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 expectancy set conditions in which they were led to believe that the beverage they were administered contained alcohol or no alcohol. For half of the Ss in each expectancy condition, the beverage was an alcoholic malt liquor; the others drank a nonalcoholic malt beverage. After their drinks, changes in penile tumescence (PT) in response to normal and deviant tape recordings and to self-generated fantasy were measured physiologically by a mercury-in-rubber strain gauge. The cognitive set (expectancy) significantly increased PT in response to the various erotic recordings. Alcohol did not significantly influence levels of sexual arousal. Ss who believed they had consumed an alcoholic beverage evidenced significantly more arousal to the forcible rape recording and to the sadistic stimuli than Ss who believed that they had consumed a nonalcoholic beverage, regardless of the actual contents of the beverage. The cognitive set, as well as the alcohol, significantly influenced heart rate, skin temperature, and subjective reports of sexual arousal. Self-report measures of sexual arousal were positively correlated with PT. Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory scores were not significantly correlated with PT, although the Sex Guilt subscore was negatively correlated with the subjective measure of sexual arousal for the heterosexual intercourse and forcible rape tapes. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of sexual arousal in sexually aggressive behavior: A meta-analysis.

Meta-analyses were performed on 9 studies of 434 Ss' penile responsivity to rape stimuli. The mean effect size for raw score data suggested that most sexual aggressors against women exhibit slightly more rape arousal than control or comparison Ss, whereas the mean effect size for rape index (rape arousal:consenting sexual arousal) data suggested a moderate between-groups difference. Rape index effect sizes in individual studies, however, were heterogeneous. The rape index appears sensitive to differences between sexually aggressive men and those who are not but is not sensitive to differences between men who sexually aggress against women vs other types of sexual aggressors. Also discussed are the needs for standardization and methodological and statistical improvements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

RO 48-6791--a short acting benzodiazepine. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in young and old subjects in comparison to midazolam

PURPOSE: Men with epilepsy appear to have an approximately fivefold increase in risk of erectile dysfunction (ED). We attempted to determine whether ED in men with epilepsy was due to a physiological basis and whether erectile function could be adequately evaluated with an ambulatory nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity monitor. METHODS: The physiologic integrity of the sexual response in men with epilepsy and ED was assessed with an ambulatory nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity monitor (NPTR). Six men with localization-related epilepsy of temporal lobe origin (TLE) and ED, 2 men with TLE and normal sexual function, and 1 man with nonepileptic seizures (NES) and ED underwent evaluation of nocturnal erections for at least 2 nights. RESULTS: Five of 6 men with TLE and complaints of ED had abnormal ambulatory NPTR evaluations. All others had normal ambulatory NPTR. All abnormal evaluations showed reduced levels of rigidity, often with normal levels of tumescence. CONCLUSIONS: Previous studies have shown this abnormal ambulatory NPTR pattern to be associated with neurogenic rather than vasogenic ED. Therefore, epilepsy-related ED may have a substantial neurophysiologic component.     

Effects of alcohol on sexual arousal in male alcoholics.

During successive daily sessions, each of 8 29–44 yr old chronic male alcoholics received, in counterbalanced order, doses of beverage alcohol (.08, .4, .8, and 1.2 g/kg) prior to viewing nonerotic and erotic films. Measures of penile tumescence obtained by means of a penile plethysmograph showed a significant negative linear effect of increasing alcohol doses during the heterosexual and homosexual films. Ss' expectations about the effect of alcohol on sexual arousal and behavior were discrepant with these physiological findings. Consistently, Ss reported that alcohol would have no effect on their sexual arousal or would increase it. Results are discussed with reference to other studies, and it is concluded that penile tumescence is a convenient, reliable, and discriminating measure of male sexual arousal. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sleeping and waking-state measurement of erectile function in an aging male population.

Sleeping and waking-state erectile ability and sexual adjustment in 58 men aged 50 to 79 years were evaluated using the "Snap Gauge" measure of nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT). The data indicated that 50% of the sample failed to demonstrate nocturnal erections of sufficient rigidity to activate the Snap-Gauge. Nevertheless, these men did not differ from those who did activate the device on 11 out of 13 self-report measures of daytime sexual functioning. The two exceptions to the negative findings were significant differences in frequency of morning erections and sexual desire. The findings cast further doubt on the neurophysiological equivalence of sleep and waking-state erections and on the clinical utility of NPT monitoring for differentiating psychogenic from organically based erectile dysfunction in aging men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol, sexual arousal, and intentions to use condoms in young men: Applying alcohol myopia theory to risky sexual behavior.

Data from 7 studies were aggregated to examine how reported sexual arousal and alcohol intoxication interact to affect attitudes and intentions toward engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse in college-age men (N?=?358). When participants were in a sober or placebo condition, their self-reports of sexual arousal had no effect on their responses. When participants were intoxicated, however, those who felt sexually aroused reported more favorable attitudes, thoughts, and intentions toward having unprotected sex than did those who did not feel aroused. These findings support alcohol myopia theory (C. A Steele & R. A. Josephs, 1990), which states that alcohol intoxication restricts attentional capacity so that people are highly influenced by the most salient cues in their environment. It is suggested that sexual arousal is a powerful internal cue that interacts with alcohol intoxication to enhance attitudes and intentions toward risky sexual behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subjective versus objective measurements of deviant sexual arousal in clinical evaluations of alleged child molesters.

Psychological assessments of sex offenders involve evaluating deviant sexual arousal. We evaluated 24 male alleged child molesters and 23 normal control subjects, comparing self-reports of sexual interest with physiological responses during penile plethysmography. Alleged child molesters reported more subjective arousal to children than did normals; subjective and objective measurements were significantly correlated for alleged child molesters' response to children and normals' response to adults; alleged nonincestuous offenders had significantly higher subjective response to pictures of children than did alleged incestuous offenders; and both alleged child molesters and normals reported sexual arousal despite showing no penile responses, and repulsion despite showing significant penile responses. Results suggest that self-reports of deviant arousal in conjunction with penile plethysmography can help in differentiating pedophiles from normals and can provide critical information for clearer, more comprehensive assessments of deviant sexual arousal and denial of deviant sexual arousal than that obtainable from plethysmography alone. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal attributions and male sexual arousal: The impact of attributions for a bogus erectile difficulty on sexual arousal, cognitions, and affect.

After viewing 2 sexually explicit films, 52 sexually functional participants were given bogus feedback indicating a low erectile response. The men were given either an external, fluctuating attribution (i.e., poor films) or an internal, stable attribution (i.e., problematic thoughts about sex) for the low arousal. As hypothesized, participants in the external, fluctuating group evidenced greater erectile response and subjective arousal during a 3rd film than did participants given the internal, stable attribution. This may indicate that after an occasion of erectile difficulty, the cause to which the difficulty is attributed plays an important role in future sexual functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal?

The authors investigated the role of homosexual arousal in exclusively heterosexual men who admitted negative affect toward homosexual individuals. Participants consisted of a group of homophobic men (n?=?35 ) and a group of nonhomophobic men (n?=?29); they were assigned to groups on the basis of their scores on the Index of Homophobia (W. W. Hudson & W. A. Ricketts, 1980). The men were exposed to sexually explicit erotic stimuli consisting of heterosexual, male homosexual, and lesbian videotapes, and changes in penile circumference were monitored. They also completed an Aggression Questionnaire (A. H. Buss & M. Perry, 1992). Both groups exhibited increases in penile circumference to the heterosexual and female homosexual videos. Only the homophobic men showed an increase in penile erection to male homosexual stimuli. The groups did not differ in aggression. Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk recognition and trauma-related symptoms among sexually revictimized women.

This study used experimental methodology to investigate the differential impact of various levels of sexual victimization on women's perceptions of risk and evaluative judgments of sexual assault within a dating interaction. Single- and multiple-incident victims were compared with nonvictims. Results supported the hypothesis that revictimized women would exhibit longer latencies than either single incident victims or nonvictims in signaling that an audiotaped date rape should be halted. Revictimized women with greater posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, arousal symptoms in particular, exhibited latencies similar to those of nonvictims, whereas revictimized women with lower levels of PTSD symptoms had significantly longer latencies. Dissociative symptoms were not related to latency These findings suggest that PTSD-related arousal symptoms may serve a buffering effect, increasing sensitivity to threat cues that portend a sexually coercive interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causes of sexual dysfunction: The role of anxiety and cognitive interference.

Research findings have implicated 5 factors that seem to differentiate sexually functional Ss from sexually dysfunctional Ss suffering from inhibited sexual excitement. These factors include differences in affect during sexual stimulation, differences in self-reports of sexual arousal and perception of control over arousal, distractibility during sexual stimulation, and differential sexual responding while anxious. These findings suggest a working model of sexual dysfunction that is based on cognitive interference and anxiety. According to this model, dysfunctional Ss show an inappropriate attentional focus that involves attending to the consequences of not performing or some other issue not directly related to erotic cues. Neutral distracting stimuli inhibit the arousal of sexually functional but not sexually dysfunctional Ss. Implications of this model for the treatment of sexual dysfunction are suggested. (68 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)