Erectile dysfunction: An empirical approach based on Beck's cognitive theory

Working from Beck's latest theoretical model (modes model, 1996), this study aimed to investigate cognitive and affective factors which may help to understand the processes involved in erectile dysfunction. Results suggest that sexually dysfunctional subjects differ from functional subjects in a range of cognitive and affective variables: sexual attitudes ('macho latino' attitude, demands for women's satisfaction and catastrophization of sexual failure consequences); automatic thoughts in sexual situations (performance demand and failure anticipation thoughts) and affect in the sexual context (essentially negative and directly connected to the above mentioned automatic thoughts). Results permit a re-examination of the main role performed by the cognitive-affective factors in sexual dysfunctional processes of this dysfunction and possibly suggest some future therapeutic approaches.