Continuum of Symptoms in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): Links with Sexual Behavior and Unrestricted Sociosexuality

ABSTRACT

Symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) exist on a continuum, are associated with hyperandrogenism, and have fertility implications. The present study investigated the relationship between PCOS symptoms and sociosexuality in young women with a continuum of symptoms ranging from none to clinical levels. Given that unrestricted sociosexuality, or one’s orientation toward uncommitted sexual activity, is associated with hyperandrogenism, we hypothesized that women experiencing more symptoms of PCOS, and a greater likelihood of androgen excess, would have a more unrestricted sociosexual orientation. Women completed questionnaires about PCOS symptoms, sociosexuality, and sexuality. Unrestricted sociosexuality, unrestricted desire, romantic interest in women, and masturbation frequency were all positively associated with PCOS symptoms (including male pattern hair growth). The sexuality scores were also higher in women who scored above (versus below) the cutoff on a self-report PCOS screening questionnaire. In addition, attraction to women was higher in participants reporting a past diagnosis of PCOS. The findings are in line with theories that androgens play a role in sociosexuality and sexual orientation. Future research should examine sociocultural explanations, and whether the continuum of PCOS symptoms (e.g., hirsutism) is a useful model for studying the effects of androgen exposure, hyperandrogenism, or androgen responsiveness on women’s behavior.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all participants, and both Michelle Bong and Christine Hanlon who assisted with some of the early data collection and data entry as a part of their honours theses. A poster based on these data was presented at the 2018 International Congress on Applied Psychology (ICAP) conference in Montreal.

Disclosure statement

The authors do not have any potential conflicts of interest to report.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. Due to the sensitive nature of the questions asked in this study (e.g., medical diagnoses and sexual behavior), participants were not asked to provide consent to share the data publicly. However, access to the data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, and will be deposited and available upon approved request in Scholars Portal Dataverse (https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/SCWCSO) upon acceptance of this manuscript.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this paper can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.