Beyond the Bedroom: Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Responses to Partner Touch in Women With and Without Sexual Problems

Abstract

Women with female sexual problems (FSP) are more likely than unaffected women to demonstrate negative appraisals, negative affect, and avoidance of sexual activity. Research suggests affected women also experience negative affect and avoidance in response to intimate partner contact for fear it will lead to sex. This online study examined whether women with FSP (N = 157) and without FSP (N = 129) exhibited different perceptions, affective reactions, and behavioral responses to hypothetical touch occurring outside sexual activity. Women (M_age = 30.70; SD = 6.66) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions representing hypothetical interactions with their partner (affectionate, sexual, or no touch), and answered questions about their perceptions of their partner’s sexual intentions and their own anticipated negative affect and behavioral avoidance. Women with FSP reported higher perceptions of sexual intent, negative affect, and avoidance in the sexual touch condition, and higher negative affect in the affectionate touch condition, than women without FSP. Results highlight that women with FSP have more negative reactions to partners’ hypothetical affectionate and sexual touch than women without FSP. Interventions for FSP may benefit from targeting women’s perceptions, affective reactions, and behavioral reactions to partner touch when it occurs outside of explicitly sexual contexts.

FUNDING

This research was supported by an operating grant awarded to the last author from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR; MOP-130338). The primary author holds a Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank Dr. Sarah Vannier for her feedback on this manuscript, as well as the women who participated in this research.

Notes

^1. The approach items used can be acquired by contacting the study authors.

^2. Contrary to the pilot study, respondents in the current study reported higher sexual intent in the no-touch control condition, pilot: M (SD) = 8.26 (5.58); current study: M (SD) = 11.73 (6.02), which impacted the manipulation, in that mean ratings of sexual intent were similar between the no-touch and the affectionate touch conditions, M (SD) = 10.83 (5.25).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by an operating grant awarded to the last author from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR; MOP-130338). The primary author holds a Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).