The Relationship between Female Sexual Arousal and Response Bias in Women with and without Provoked Vestibulodynia

Abstract

Smaller correlations have typically been found between genital and subjective sexual arousal in female versus male samples. This study evaluated the association between response bias and the relationship between genital and subjective arousal (i.e., concordance) in women with (n = 20) and without (n = 21) provoked vestibulodynia. Participants (M = 21.27 years, SD = 2.27) underwent blood flow imaging via a laser Doppler imager to assess genital responsiveness to a visual erotic stimulus; subjective arousal was assessed during and following the film. The relationships between three types of subjective arousal ratings (perceived sexual arousal, perceived genital responsiveness, and reported desire to engage in sexual activity) and two forms of socially desirable responding (impression management and self-deceptive enhancement) were examined. Concordance estimates were statistically non-significant in both groups, with the exception of the desire to engage in sexual activity, which was moderately correlated with genital arousal in the control group. Impression management was not a statistically significant moderator of the relationship between genital and subjective arousal, but was moderately negatively related to the three forms of subjective arousal ratings in the provoked vestibulodynia group. The results highlight the importance of assessing response bias in laboratory studies comparing women with and without sexual dysfunction.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) operating grant held by Caroline F. Pukall. Stéphanie C. Boyer was supported by a CIHR Master's Award. We thank Jennifer Brunet, Sara Caird, Nicole Campbell, Samia Hussein, and Melyssa Wright for their help with data collection. Thanks are also extended to Corrie Goldfinger for her comments.

Notes

¹Correlations are reported from Chivers, Seto, Lalumière, Laan, and Grimbos (2010) if the original articles cited did not include the actual concordance estimates or if the reported correlations were calculated differently than in our study (e.g., across both male and female participants) and it was, thus, more appropriate to include specific correlations from this meta-analysis.

Note. PVD = provoked vestibulodynia.

^a Three PVD participants self-identified as bisexual, and one control participant identified as heteroflexible (i.e., identified as heterosexual but open to same-sex experiences).

^b Pain intensity was rated from 0 (no pain at all) to 10 (worst pain ever felt).

²Between-subjects concordance was also calculated with a change score representing the difference between maximum blood flow during the erotic film and mean baseline blood flow; the results did not differ from those reported with average blood flow during the erotic film.

³Between-subjects correlations were also calculated using a change score between pre-film and post-film ratings of overall sexual arousal; the results did not significantly differ from those reported with post-film ratings.

Note. PVD = provoked vestibulodynia; SAI = Sexual Arousability Inventory; FSFI = Female Sexual Function Index; BIDR–7 = Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding; IM = impression management; SDE = self-deceptive enhancement.

⁴There were no statistically significant differences between women tested within and outside days 7 to 12 of their menstrual cycle in each group with regards to the sexual arousal variables examined in this study.

Note. PVD = provoked vestibulodynia.

^a Change scores are represented in flux units.

Note. PVD = provoked vestibulodynia; IM = impression management.

*p < .05. ^a p < .08.

Note. PVD = provoked vestibulodynia; SDE = self-deceptive enhancement; IM = impression management; SAI = Sexual Arousability Inventory; FSFI = Female Sexual Function Index. Correlations with the SAI and FSFI desire subscale are based on the entire sample; correlations for the sexual satisfaction subscale of the FSFI were computed with participants who had engaged in sexual intercourse within the previous four weeks (PVD group, n = 19; control group, n = 17). Application of a Bonferroni correction to the correlations to correct for multiple comparisons between social desirability and sexuality variables would change the required significance level to p < .008. Despite moderate associations between certain variable pairs, given the small sample size, no correlation reached this level of significance.

*p < .05.