title: Beyond the Bedroom: Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Responses to Partner Touch in Women With and Without Sexual Problems.
abstract: Women with female sexual problems (FSP) are more likely than unaffected women to demonstrate negative appraisals, negative affect, and avoidance of sexual activity. Research suggests affected women also experience negative affect and avoidance in response to intimate partner contact for fear it will lead to sex. This online study examined whether women with FSP (N = 157) and without FSP (N = 129) exhibited different perceptions, affective reactions, and behavioral responses to hypothetical touch occurring outside sexual activity. Women (Mage= 30.70; SD = 6.66) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions representing hypothetical interactions with their partner (affectionate, sexual, or no touch), and answered questions about their perceptions of their partner's sexual intentions and their own anticipated negative affect and behavioral avoidance. Women with FSP reported higher perceptions of sexual intent, negative affect, and avoidance in the sexual touch condition, and higher negative affect in the affectionate touch condition, than women without FSP. Results highlight that women with FSP have more negative reactions to partners' hypothetical affectionate and sexual touch than women without FSP. Interventions for FSP may benefit from targeting women's perceptions, affective reactions, and behavioral reactions to partner touch when it occurs outside of explicitly sexual contexts.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology and Neuroscience , Dalhousie University.
authors.forename: Kate M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Rancourt
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology and Neuroscience , Dalhousie University.
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: MacKinnon
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology and Neuroscience , Dalhousie University.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Snowball
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology and Neuroscience , Dalhousie University.|b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , IWK Health Centre.
authors.forename: Natalie O
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4525-0770
authors.initials: NO
authors.lastname: Rosen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*