Gender Differences in the Relationship of Sexual Functioning with Implicit and Explicit Sex Liking and Sex Wanting: A Community Sample Study

Figures & data

Figure 1.  Dual-process model of sexual function.

Table 1. Target and attribute key mapping in subsequent blocks in the liking and wanting ST-IAT

Block	No. of Trials	Function	Items Assigned to Left-Key Response	Items Assigned to Right-Key Response
Liking ST-IAT
1	16	Attribute practice	Positive (8)	Negative (8)
2	16	Practice	Positive (4) + Erotic (4)	Negative (8)
3	48	Test	Positive (12) + Erotic (12)	Negative (24)
4	16	Practice	Positive (8)	Negative (4) + Erotic (4)
5	48	Test	Positive (24)	Negative (12) + Erotic (12)
Wanting ST-IAT
1	16	Attribute practice	I Want (8)	I Don’t Want (8)
2	16	Practice	I Want (4) + Erotic (4)	I Don’t Want (8)
3	48	Test	I Want (12) + Erotic (12)	I Don’t Want (24)
4	16	Practice	I Want (8)	I Don’t Want (4) + Erotic (4)
5	48	Test	I Want (24)	I Don’t Want (12) + Erotic (12)

Note. For half of the participants, the positions of Blocks 2 and 3 were switched with those of Blocks 4 and 5, respectively. ST-IAT = Single-Target Implicit Association Test.

ST-IAT instructions:

Block 1—Attribute Practice Block: In the first block you will see words in the center of the screen that belong to two categories: positive or negative. Hold your forefingers on the Z and M keys of your keyboard. You can press the space bar with your thumb. Press “Z” when a positive word is shown. Press “M” when a negative word is shown. Work as fast and accurate as you can. When you press the wrong key or press it too late, the word in the center of the screen will be replaced with a red “X.” Please press the correct key then. Press the space bar to start the test.

Block 2—Practice Block: In the second block you will see words or erotic pictures in the center of the screen. Press “Z” when a positive word or an erotic picture is shown. Press “M” when a negative word is shown. Work as fast and accurate as you can. When you press the wrong key or press it too late, the word in the center of the screen will be replaced with a red “X.” Please press the correct key then. Press the space bar to start the test.

Block 4—Practice Block: In the fourth block you will again see words or erotic pictures in the center of the screen. You now have to press a different key when an erotic picture appears. So please pay attention! Press “M” when a negative word or an erotic picture is shown. Press “Z” when a positive word is shown. Work as fast and accurate as you can. When you press the wrong key or press it too late, the word in the center of the screen will be replaced with a red “X.” Please press the correct key then. Press the space bar to start the test.

Table 2. Demographic, medical, sexual, and psychological functioning characteristics of participants (N = 116)

	Women		Men
	(N = 65)		(N = 51)
Domain (Scoring Range)	M (SD)/N (%)		M (SD)/N (%)
Demographics
Age (18–71 yrs)	31.6 (12.4)		37.0 (14.8)
Steady relationship (% yes)		50 (77%)		37 (73%)
Relationship duration (0.1– 46 yrs)	10.1 (12.5)		12.0 (12.9)
Education level
Elementary, secondary, and professional		31 (48%)		21 (40%)
College, university		34 (52%)		30 (60%)
Self-reported sexual problems
% Yes		2 (3%)		2 (4%)
Erectile failure				2 (4%)
Orgasm problem		1 (1.5%)
Sexual pain		1 (1.5%)
Sexual functioning (FSFI)
Sexual desire	3.6 (0.9)
Sexual arousal feelings	4.5 (1.7)
Vaginal lubrication	4.9 (1.8)
Orgasm	4.5 (1.8)
Sexual satisfaction	4.4 (1.5)
Sexual pain	4.4 (2.3)
FSFI total score	26.4 (7.9)
Sexual functioning (IIEF)
Erectile functioning			23.0 (10.0)
Orgasmic functioning			7.3 (3.9)
Sexual desire			7.2 (1.8)
Satisfaction with intercourse			9.3 (5.4)
Global sexual satisfaction			7.3 (2.3)
IIEF total score			54.1 (21.9)
Psychological functioning (HADS)
Anxiety symptoms (range 0–21)^a	12.0 (2.4)		12.5 (2.0)
Depression symptoms (range 0–21)^a	9.1 (1.4)		9.3 (1.6)
Explicit sexual attitude
Sexual Opinion Survey total score	85.2 (15.8)		81.2 (19.0)
Implicit sexual attitude
D600 liking	.002 (.393)		.053 (.449)
D600 wanting	−.126 (.401)		−.097 (.366)
Working memory capacity
Towers of Hanoi: N correct tasks	2.4 (4.0)		2.1 (3.1)

^aScoring algorithm according to Spinhoven et al. (1997).

Table 3. Bivariate correlations in female and male participants between automatic associations of erotic stimuli with liking and wanting, erotophilia, anxiety and depression symptoms, and sexual functioning indexes

	D600 Liking	D600 Wanting	Sexual Opinion Survey	HADS Anxiety	HADS Depression
Female participants (N = 65)
FSFI sexual desire	.00	−.16	.25*	.11	−.12
FSFI sexual arousal	−.08	−.26*	.40**	.09	.02
FSFI lubrication	−.01	−.19	.32**	.10	.03
FSFI orgasm	−.08	−.35**	.31*	.18	−.16
Male participants (N = 51)
IIEF sexual desire	.08	.09	.30*	.05	−.22
IIEF erectile function	.28	.17	.19	.27	.03
IIEF orgasmic function	.33*	.12	.11	.23	.04

*p < .05; **p < .01 (two-tailed).