Exploring the Role of Sexual Avoidance in Male Sexual Dysfunction

Abstract

Theoretical models of male sexual dysfunction highlight the role of sexual avoidance as a maintaining factor. However, little empirical research has directly tested the role of sexual avoidance in samples of men with sexual problems. The goals of the current study were to A) assess the association between sexual avoidance, sexual function, and subjective sexual well-being, and B) explore possible predictors of sexual avoidance, including insecure attachment, activation of negative sexual schemas, and trait experiential avoidance. One hundred and fifty eight men with self-identified impairments in sexual function (low desire, erectile function, and/or premature/delayed ejaculation) completed validated self-report measures in a secure online survey. Sexual avoidance was uniquely predicted by most aspects of sexual function, and was correlated with poorer subjective sexual well-being. Higher levels of attachment avoidance and activation of negative schemas uniquely predicted more frequent sexual avoidance. Alternatively, interaction models suggested that impaired erectile function was less likely to be associated with sexual avoidance for those with high levels of attachment anxiety and for those with high levels of trait experiential avoidance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Allison Whitby, Jonathan Kerth, Lina Truong, Lyndsey Shimazu. John Paul Welch, Lev El-Askari, Whitney Widrig, Camryn Pickworth, Ross Enlow, and Mackenzie Stueve for their help with data collection and coding.

Notes

¹ In validation studies, scores on the GRISS were computed using stanines. In the current sample, the mean stanine score on the avoidance subscale was 4.92 (SD = 1.97), which is near the cutoff score of 5 specified by the initial authors as indicating a “problem.” Responses in the current sample were very similar to other samples of men reporting sexual problems, but not necessarily seeking treatment (van Lankveld & ter Kuile, 1999). However, the conversion from raw scores to stanine scores necessarily results in lost information (i.e., men with different raw scores receive the same standardized score). As such, we utilized the raw sum of item scores in all analyses (although results did not differ substantially regardless of which coding method was used).

² Although there is now a scale of sexual distress validated for men (Santos-Iglesias, Mohamed, Danko, & Walker, 2018), this validation had not been published when data collection began for the current study.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by a grant from the iHuman Sciences initiative at Willamette University.