Effects of sex guilt, repression, sexual "arousability," and sexual experience on female sexual arousal during erotica and fantasy.

Hypothesized that, among women who were asked to fantasize about sex, erotic preexposure would facilitate arousal during the fantasy, and arousal would be greater among those who had less sex guilt, those who were more arousable, those who were more experienced, and sensitizers. 62 female Ss (aged 18–53 yrs) were randomly assigned to view either an erotic or a nonerotic videotape. All Ss then imagined and wrote out a sexual fantasy. Sexual arousal was measured subjectively by self-report ratings and physiologically by continuous vaginal photoplethysmograph recording. Ss high in sex guilt reported less arousal but showed significantly greater physiological arousal during the erotic videotape than did Ss low in sex guilt. For the high sex-guilt Ss, the erotic videotape facilitated physiological arousal during fantasy. Ss low in sexual arousability and low in sexual experience followed a similar pattern. No significant differences were found for repression-sensitization. Results point toward a pattern of behavioral inhibition that facilitates increased response to forbidden erotica. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Women's theories of menstruation and biases in recall of menstrual symptoms.

In this study, the relation between women's theories of menstrual distress and their recollections of physical and affective symptoms was examined. Ss completed daily questionnaires in which they evaluated themselves on several physical and affective symptoms. Later, some Ss were asked to recall the ratings they had made on a day when they were menstruating; others recalled a day when they were not menstruating. At the time of recall, all Ss were in the intermenstrual phase. Finally, Ss completed a measure designed to assess their theories of how they are typically affected by menstruation. The recollections of Ss who recalled the menstrual state were biased so as to be consistent with their theories of menstrual distress: The more a woman believed in the phenomenon of menstrual distress, the more she exaggerated, in recall, the negativity of her symptoms during her last period. The recollections of women asked to recall the intermenstrual state were unrelated to their theories of menstruation. Daily questionnaire ratings revealed that physical symptoms varied with menstrual cycle phase, whereas affective symptoms did not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Premenstrual and menstrual mood changes in adolescent women.

Studied the presence and magnitude of menstrual-cycle-related mood changes using standardized measures of depression and anxiety. 158 females aged 15–16 yrs completed the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire and reported the actual date of onset of their next 2 menstrual periods. These Ss and their male classmates were later given the Depression Adjective Check List, Forms A and D, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory twice, 2 wks apart, in an unrelated classroom setting. This study assessed the magnitude of anxiety and depression experienced by the 29 Ss who were tested within 4 days preceding the onset of menstruation and the 23 Ss who were tested during the first 4 days of menstruation. Premenstrual and menstrual test scores were compared with those obtained during the intermenstrual phase of the cycle. No significant differences in mood attributable to cycle phase were found. A control group of males also showed no significant difference in mood. Adolescent women appear to be different from women over 30 who have been reported to show significantly increased state anxiety and depression during the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of oral contraceptives by adolescents for contraception, menstrual cycle problems or acne

BACKGROUND: Oral contraceptives are prescribed as contraception but also as therapy for menstrual cycle disturbances and acne. We studied the prevalence of oral contraceptive (OC) use and the indications to start OC use among adolescents. METHODS: A cohort consisting of ninth grade secondary school girls (mean age 15.3+/-0.6 (s.d.) years) answered a questionnaire on their menstrual cycle. OC users were asked about duration and reasons for OC-use and the name of the preparation they used. The influence of calendar age, gynecological age and level of education on the prevalence of OC was studied by multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The response on the questionnaire was 92%. Of 2248 responders 248 (11%) used oral contraceptives: 74% used low dose 'sub 50' preparations, 3% pills with 50 microg estrogen, 3% tri-phase preparations and 17% pills with antiandrogens. Of girls aged 14, 15 and 16 years 4%, 12% and 28% respectively, used OC. Of the 15-year-olds 31% mentioned contraception as most important reason for OC use, 18% menstrual cycle irregularity, 26% dysmenorrhea, 10% acne and 5% other reasons. Calendar age, gynecological age and level of education were independent variables for OC use in general and for OC use for contraception or dysmenorrhea, but less so for OC use for menstrual cycle irregularity or acne. CONCLUSIONS: During adolescence low dose OC's were frequently used. In The Netherlands OC use among girls aged 15 and 16 years doubled in comparison with 1982. One third of the adolescent OC-users mentioned contraception as most important reason to start OC. Gynecological age (a determinant of biological maturation), calendar age (a determinant of biological maturation and lifestyle in peer groups), and level of education (a determinant of lifestyle in peer groups) were associated with OC use.     

A test of reciprocal inhibition: are anxiety and sexual arousal in women mutually inhibitory?

Tested J. Wolpe's (1958) prediction that autonomic sexual and anxiety arousal states are mutually inhibitory. Using a new physiological measure of female sexual arousal (vaginal blood volume), changes in 7 sexually experienced Ss (mean age 27 yrs) were compared during erotic video stimulation following anxiety and control stimulus preexposure and during anxiety and control stimulation following erotic stimulus preexposure. Consistent with reciprocal inhibition theory, when Ss were sexually aroused by erotic preexposure, anxiety arousal inhibited sexual arousal more rapidly than did an attention control stimulus. However, contrary to reciprocal inhibition theory, Ss became more rapidly aroused sexually following anxiety preexposure than following neutral preexposure. In the case of heart rate, changes were compared during erotic and neutral stimulation following anxiety preexposure and during anxiety arousal following erotic and neutral preexposure. Consistent with the literature to date, there were no heart rate changes that could be attributed to differential preexposure. Taken together, the results do not support Wolpe's reciprocal inhibition theory but do suggest a context interpretation: The way in which sexual and anxiety arousal states interact with each other may depend on the context in which Ss perceive the stimuli that generate these respective arousal states. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biased reporting of therapist–patient sexual intimacy.

To investigate bias in reports of therapist–patient sexual intimacy, information about 559 patients who were sexually intimate with their previous therapists was collected via questionnaire from 318 psychologists who subsequently saw these patients in therapy. Psychologists, the experimental Ss in the present study, were predominantly aged 40–49 yrs, and 64% were male. It was found that Ss who reported that no harm occurred to patients as a result of therapist–patient sexual intimacy (SI) admitted twice the prevalence of SI between patients and themselves than did Ss in general. Those Ss who had experienced SI with patients were less likely to report adverse effects of SI either for patients or for therapy. Fewer Ss with a history of SI than those without reported anger toward offending therapists, and fewer recommended punishment. A higher percentage of female than male Ss reported anger toward offenders and recommended punishment, yet women did not rate the effects of SI as more harmful than did men. In general, anger toward offending therapists and recommendations for punishment were associated with the degree to which patients were thought to have been harmed. Ss who had been consultants to a greater number of other therapists about sexual contact with patients reported relatively more cases in which therapy ended soon after SI began than did Ss who were consulted by fewer therapists. (18 ref) (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)     

Effects of alcohol on sexual arousal in women.

During weekly experimental sessions each of 16 university females received in counterbalanced order 4 doses of beverage alcohol prior to viewing a control film and an erotic film. Half of the Ss were instructed beforehand that alcohol would increase their degree of sexual arousal in response to the erotic film; the other half were told that alcohol would decrease their sexual arousal. Measures of vaginal pressure pulse obtained by means of a vaginal photoplethysmograph showed a significant negative linear relation with alcohol doses. A significant Sessions * Instructional Set interaction indicated that Ss in the increase-set condition experienced less sexual arousal. This result is attributed to performance pressure induced by the demand characteristics of the instructional set. Additional measures of sexual arousal, including TAT responses and self-report, showed no differences. With increasing levels of intoxication, however, a greater proportion of Ss reported enhanced sexual arousal. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Arousal-induced attention to self.

Tested the prediction that increments in general arousal would induce self-focused attention. 10 undergraduates in each of 3 groups were exposed to manipulations designed to vary their levels of general arousal (running in place, waiting in a chair, reclining in a lounge chair) and were then given a measure of self-focused attention. It consisted of the number of 1st-person singular pronouns Ss used to complete a set of sentences. Although a simple heart rate check on the manipulations revealed that running in place produced greater arousal than waiting in a chair, it did not indicate that reclining in a lounge chair reduced arousal below the level experienced while waiting. Results show that significant differences in self-focus were observed among all 3 conditions, however, such that Ss who had run were more self-focused than those who had waited, and reclining Ss were less self-focused than waiting Ss. Implications for the experience of emotion and for the relationship between arousal and self-awareness theories are considered. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological impacts of sexual contact between therapists or other health care practitioners and their clients.

14 females who had had sexual contact with their therapists/psychiatrists (Group 1), 7 females who had had sexual contact with their health care practitioners (principally physicians [Group 2]), and 10 females who had received counseling services but had not engaged in sexual contact with therapists (Group 3) were compared by administering a questionnaire on self-esteem, depression, attitudes, beliefs about sexual contact, emotional effects of treatment, sexual attitudes, and psychosomatic and psychological symptoms. In addition, data were obtained from Ss, who were primarily aged 26–45 yrs, on (1) history of sexual victimization, (2) marital status of therapist/physician, (3) who initiated sexual contact, and (4) frequency of sexual contact. Results show that Ss in Group 1 had greater mistrust of and anger toward males and therapists and a greater number of psychological and psychosomatic symptoms following the cessation of therapy than did Ss in Group 3. Ss in Groups 1 and 2 did not differ in psychological impacts. Severity of impacts were significantly related to the magnitude of psychological and psychosomatic symptoms prior to treatment, prior sexual victimization, and the marital status of the therapist or health practitioner. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive-behavioral prevention of adolescent pregnancy.

Assigned 36 high school sophomores to a no-training control condition or to a small group training condition in which Ss received contraceptive information, steps for solving problems, and practice in communicating decisions about sexual behavior. Compared with controls, trained Ss had more positive posttest scores on measures of sexual knowledge, interpersonal problem solving, and in vivo performance. At a 6-mo follow-up, Ss who participated in training groups had better attitudes toward family planning and were practicing more effective contraception than were controls. (32 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)     

Expectancy, alcohol, and sex guilt as determinants of interest in and reaction to sexual stimuli.

Selected 72 male undergraduate social drinkers from high, moderate, and low scorers on the Sex Guilt subscale of the Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Scale. Ss were assigned to 1 of 4 conditions in a balanced-placebo design utilized to control for psychological as well as physiological factors determining the effects of drinking on behavior. After consuming beverages, Ss viewed and evaluated photographic slides of erotic content and then reported on their sexual arousal. The time Ss spent viewing each slide was unobtrusively recorded. Overall, greater sexual arousal was indicated by Ss who thought they had received alcoholic beverages, regardless of actual drink content. In all conditions except the high sex guilt/expect tonic groups, viewing times increased as a positive linear function of pornography ratings of the slides. Results demonstrate that psychological aspects of individual differences can mediate expectancy effects in research on alcohol and social behavior. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subjective sexual arousal to films of masturbation.

A film of a male or female masturbating was viewed by 96 male and 102 female undergraduate volunteers. Following the film, Ss responded to 3 measures of subjective sexual arousal and to 7 measures of affective responses. Males reported the highest level of sexual arousal to the female film and the lowest level of arousal to the male film. Males who viewed the film of the male masturbating reported the most disgust, depression, guilt, and shame. Females were sexually aroused by both films. Women who masturbated more frequently reported more sexual arousal to the films than the other 3 groups. A measure of negative attitudes toward masturbation differentiated the sexual arousal and affective responses of Ss. Sex guilt (measured by the Sex Guilt subscale of the Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory) was related to negative affective responses to the films. Several interpretations of the meaning of the data are offered. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A method for empirically assessing volunteer selection effects: Recruitment procedures and responses to erotica.

Examined whether 58 male and 47 female undergraduates who were recruited for a study on erotica responded in a similar manner to an erotic film as 29 male and 26 female undergraduates who were recruited for research on a neutral topic, personality questionnaires. In Part 1 of the study, all Ss answered questionnaires, including the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and a sexual opinion survey, that assessed personality and demographic characteristics. In Part 2, Ss watched the erotic movie and completed a feelings scale. Findings indicate that conclusions about prior sexual experience, sexual opinions, and affective responses to the erotic film were qualified by recruitment condition. Ss who volunteered for the experiment on erotica were more sexually experienced and, for women, were significantly more erotophilic than Ss who volunteered for the research on personality questionnaires. Results suggest that volunteer selection can have an important effect on experimental results and demonstrate a method for assessing the extent of these effects. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compliance, counseling and satisfaction with oral contraceptives: a prospective evaluation

CONTEXT: Oral contraceptive users' risk of accidental pregnancy may be higher than it should be, because of inconsistent pill-taking. However, few reliable data are available on pill users' everyday experiences with their method, especially characteristics that may affect consistency of use. METHODS: Two months after initiating or resuming oral contraceptive use, a nationwide sample of 943 women completed questionnaires examining their compliance with instructions for proper use, the quality of their interactions with their provider, their satisfaction with the method, and the frequency and costs of visits or calls to their providers because of pill-related side effects. Regression analyses were used to determine the factors associated with compliance difficulties and method dissatisfaction. RESULTS: In all, 47% of users missed one or more pills per cycle, and 22% missed two or more. Women who lacked an established pill-taking routine, who did not read and understand all of the informational material accompanying the pill package, or who experienced spotting or heavy bleeding had increased odds of missing two or more pills per cycle. Method satisfaction was most likely among women who were aware of the pill's noncontraceptive benefits, were satisfied with their relationship with their provider, had used the pill in the past and experienced few side effects. Some 22% of users called their provider at least once about pill-related side effects, and 9% made at least one visit for this reason; these women spent $25 and $62, respectively, to treat side effects. CONCLUSIONS: Improving pill use is a shared responsibility of the provider, the patient and, to a lesser degree, pill manufacturers. Awareness of potential difficulties such as inadequate counseling is a key step in helping women use oral contraceptives effectively.     

The enhancing effects of anxiety on arousal in sexually dysfunctional and functional women.

Effects of anxiety on sexual arousal were examined to determine if sexually dysfunctional and functional women exhibit different patterns of physiological and subjective response. 32 Ss viewed 2 videotape conditions: an anxiety-evoking and neutral-control preexposure stimulus, each paired with a sexual arousal-evoking stimulus. Anxiety preexposure enhanced the rate and magnitude of genital arousal for both dysfunctional and functional Ss in relation to the neutral condition. Despite increased genital responses, both groups reported less subjective sexual arousal after anxiety preexposure. Functional Ss exhibited greater physiological but not subjective arousal than dysfunctional Ss in both conditions. Results are discussed in terms of desynchronous patterns of sexual response, mechanisms by which sympathetic activation enhances sexual arousal, and implications for treatment of sexual dysfunction in women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modifying shyness-related social behavior through symptom misattribution.

An experimental misattribution paradigm proved to be a significant intervention treatment of altering social participation among 14 dispositionally shy undergraduate women. When specific arousal symptoms previously associated with their social anxiety were misattributed to a nonpsychological source (high-frequency noise), Ss behaved as if they were not shy. Their verbal fluency and interactional assertiveness resembled that of 16 not-shy Ss given the same treatment. Moreover, their scores on these measures were significantly elevated from the low levels recorded by 15 shy controls who had been led to expect shyness-irrelevant "side effects" from their exposure to noise. A male partner (a confederate) accurately perceived whether or not Ss in the 2 control groups were shy, but he misjudged as "not shy" the shy Ss in the misattribution group. The greater enjoyment of the interaction by those in this latter group, despite high-frequency noise bombardment, was also reflected in their stronger preference for further affiliation than that shown by either comparison group. The continuously monitored heart rate data provide grounds for speculation as to the relationship of physiological arousal and behavior. However, a paradoxical placebo finding emerged when it appeared that not-shy Ss in this same misattribution condition experienced a higher level of arousal, and this anxiety-like arousal was associated with preferences for nonaffiliation. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social anxiety, sexual behavior, and contraceptive use.

170 female and 90 male college students completed a questionnaire that provided information regarding their sexual experience, knowledge, and attitudes; their self-evaluations on dimensions related to sexuality; and their level of heterosocial anxiety (anxiety experienced in social interactions with members of the other sex). Compared with Ss low in heterosocial anxiety, highly anxious Ss were less sexually experienced, engaged in sexual activity less frequently, had fewer sexual partners, were less likely to have engaged in oral sex, expressed a higher degree of apprehension about sex, and had a somewhat higher incidence of sexual dysfunctions. In addition, low socially anxious women tended to use the pill, whereas highly anxious women preferred the condom. High and low heterosocially anxious Ss also differed on self-ratings related to their sexuality but did not differ in their attitudes or knowledge regarding sex. Results are discussed in terms of the cognitive, behavioral, and affective concomitants of social anxiety. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Females' affective responses to reading erotic literature.

The affective states of sexual arousal, guilt, anxiety, and 11 Nowlis mood factors were studied in 72 college females before and after reading either an erotic or an academically oriented literary passage, with a female E either present or absent, and as a function of the personality disposition of sex guilt. Ss who read the erotic passage showed a significant increase in sexual arousal. High sex guilt Ss significantly increased their affective state of guilt when they read the erotic passage in comparison to the Ss in all of the other cells. Anxiety increased as a function of reading the erotic passage in the presence of E. Conceptual distinctions between sexual behavior and sexual arousal, between guilt as personality disposition and as state, and between affective states of fear and guilt are discussed. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)