Sexual Excitation and Sexual Inhibition in the Context of Sexual Risk-Taking

ABSTRACT

The current study examined the roles of sexual excitation and sexual inhibition in the context of sexual risk-taking among heterosexual women and men to better understand the link between sexual arousal and sexual risk-taking. We set out to determine which factors in the Sexual Excitation and Sexual Inhibition Inventory for women and men (SESII-W/M) were most predictive of sexual response and sexual risk-taking behavior. Participants (N = 266, women = 166) completed the SESII-W/M instrument and responded to items assessing their sexual risk-taking intentions and their risk-taking indicators. A sub-sample (n = 133, women = 83) also completed a sexual arousal manipulation. Sexual excitation was linked with higher levels of self-reported sexual arousal (among women and men) and greater risk-taking intentions (among women only). However, controlling for gender, sexual inhibition was a better predictor of sexual risk-taking intentions, compared to sexual excitation. The Dual Control Model offers unique insights into conceptualizations of sexual response to erotic stimuli and behavioral risk-taking. These findings can inform more effective interventions to promote risk reduction through sex positive approaches that capitalize on the pleasure enhancing capabilities of safer sex strategies.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge Drs. Jessica Wood, Christopher Quinn-Nilas, and Serge Desmarais. Support (emotional, implicit, and/or tangible) from these colleagues was instrumental for the completion of this work.

Supplementary Material

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

Notes

¹ This may help explain why heterosexual women tend to show lower sexual risk-taking intentions compared to heterosexual men (e.g., Skakoon-Sparling & Cramer, 2019, 2020; Skakoon-Sparling et al., 2016).

² These participants were recruited as part of a broader study on attitudes and risky sexual behavior (Skakoon-Sparling & Cramer, 2020).

³ Note that the full sample did not view the sexual video clips because this was part of an experimental manipulation used in broader study.