Surviving cancer: the importance of sexual self-concept.
Sexual self-schemas are cognitive generalizations regarding sexual aspects of the self; they represent a core component of one's sexuality. We contend that individual differences in sexual self-view are an important cognitive diathesis for predicting sexual difficulty or dysfunction. We illustrate the role of sexual self-schemas in sexual behavior and responsiveness in healthy female and male samples. Next, we examine the diathetic properties of sexual self-schemas. Finally, we discuss an empirical test of the proposed diathesis-stress interaction, reviewing the role of women's sexual self-views on sexual morbidity following diagnosis and treatment for gynecologic cancer.
Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210-1222, USA. andersen.l@osu.edu
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D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*