Mindfulness skills are associated with female orgasm?

Abstract

Mindfulness was studied in relation to sexual distress and the ability to achieve orgasm. The initial hypotheses were that mindfulness abilities would predict women's level of sexual distress and that orgasmic women would possess greater mindfulness skills. In total, 251 women (176 orgasmic women and 75 anorgasmic women) responded to several questionnaires online: the Female Sexual Distress Scale – Revised (FSDS-R), the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and the Sexual Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-S). According to our results, mindfulness during dyadic sexual activities (FFMQ-S) explained 54% of the variability in sexual distress (FSDS-R). Overall, orgasmic women reported more mindfulness than anorgasmic women, both in daily life (FFMQ) and significantly more during dyadic sexual activities (FFMQ-S). In conclusion, our results support the evaluation of women's level of mindfulness during dyadic sexual activities and the integration of mindfulness training in future sex therapy treatments.

Keywords:

• mindfulness skills
• anorgasmia
• sexual five-facets mindfulness questionnaire
• sexual dysfunction
• sexual distress

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Françoise Adam is a doctoral student at the Catholic University of Louvain in the Psychological Sciences Research Institute in Belgium. Since 2010 she has had an active clinical practice as a sexologist and works as a sex therapist at Sexopositive in Brussels, Belgium. Her clinical interests focus on sexual difficulties and specifically on using mindfulness-based methods in the treatment of anorgasmia. Françoise is also an invited professor at UCL of the certificate program in clinical sexology.

Marie Géonet is a PhD and psycho-sexotherapist. Her clinical practice focuses on difficulties linked to intimacy or marital relationship. She proposes to use mindfulness in treatment of sexual problems. She is also interested in women sexuality, following a breast cancer treatment. Marie Géonet is an invited professor at UCL of the certificate program in clinical sexology.

James Day, PhD, is a developmental and clinical psychologist, and professor in the Human Development Laboratory, Center for Research in Psychology of Religion, and the Psychological Sciences Research Institute at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.

Pascal De Sutter is a professor at Catholic University of Louvain in the department of Psychological Sciences Research Institute in Belgium. He teaches sex therapy at the University of Lille and the University of Nancy in France. He is the director of the certificate program in clinical sexology.