This article presents the development of a brief, self-report measure of female sexual function. Initial face validity testing of questionnaire items, identified by an expert panel, was followed by a study aimed at further refining the questionnaire. It was administered to 131 normal controls and 128 age-matched subjects with female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD) at five research centers. Based on clinical interpretations of a principal components analysis, a 6- domain structure was identified, which included desire, subjective arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. Overall test-retest reliability coefficients were high for each of the individual domains (r=0.79 to 0.86) and a high degree of internal consistency was observed (Cronbachs alpha values of 0.82 and higher) Good construct validity was demonstrated by highly significant mean difference scores between the FSAD and control groups for each of the domains (p<0.001). Additionally, divergent validity with a scale of marital satisfactio...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/009262300278597

The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI): A Multidimensional Self-Report Instrument for the Assessment of Female Sexual Function

Many lay persons and professionals believe that child sexual abuse (CSA) causes intense harm, regardless of gender, pervasively in the general population. The authors examined this belief by reviewing 59 studies based on college samples. Meta-analyses revealed that students with CSA were, on average, slightly less well adjusted than controls. However, this poorer adjustment could not be attributed to CSA because family environment (FE) was consistently confounded with CSA, FE explained considerably more adjustment variance than CSA, and CSA-adjustment relations generally became nonsignificant when studies controlled for FE. Self-reported reactions to and effects from CSA indicated that negative effects were neither pervasive nor typically intense, and that men reacted much less negatively than women. The college data were completely consistent with data from national samples. Basic beliefs about CSA in the general population were not supported.

Content Notes Appendix References: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A Meta-Analytic Examination of Assumed Properties of Child Sexual Abuse Using College Samples

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A meta-analytic examination of assumed properties of child sexual abuse using college samples

The assessment of sexual arousal in men and women informs theoretical studies of human sexuality and provides a method to assess and evaluate the treatment of sexual dysfunctions and paraphilias Understanding measures of arousal is, therefore, paramount to further theoretical and practical advances in the study of human sexuality In this meta-analysis, we review research to quantify the extent of agreement between self-reported and genital measures of sexual arousal, to determine if there is a gender difference in this agreement, and to identify theoretical and methodological moderators of subjective-genital agreement We identified 132 peer- or academically-reviewed laboratory studies published between 1969 and 2007 reporting a correlation between self-reported and genital measures of sexual arousal, with total sample sizes of 2,505 women and 1,918 men There was a statistically significant gender difference in the agreement between self-reported and genital measures, with men (r = 66) showing a greater degree of agreement than women (r = 26) Two methodological moderators of the gender difference in subjective-genital agreement were identified: stimulus variability and timing of the assessment of self-reported sexual arousal The results have implications for assessment of sexual arousal, the nature of gender differences in sexual arousal, and models of sexual response

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Agreement of Self-Reported and Genital Measures of Sexual Arousal in Men and Women: A Meta-Analysis

Brain areas activated in human male sexual behavior have not been characterized precisely. For the first time, positron emission tomography (PET) was used to identify the brain areas activated in healthy males experiencing visually evoked sexual arousal. Eight male subjects underwent six measurements of regional brain activity following the administration of [15O]H2O as they viewed three categories of film clips: sexually explicit clips, emotionally neutral control clips, and humorous control clips inducing positive but nonsexual emotions. Statistical Parametric Mapping was used to identify brain regions demonstrating an increased activity associated with the sexual response to the visual stimulus. Visually evoked sexual arousal was characterized by a threefold pattern of activation: the bilateral activation of the inferior temporal cortex, a visual association area; the activation of the right insula and right inferior frontal cortex, which are two paralimbic areas relating highly processed sensory information with motivational states; and the activation of the left anterior cingulate cortex, another paralimbic area known to control autonomic and neuroendocrine functions. Activation of some of these areas was positively correlated with plasma testosterone levels. Although this study should be considered preliminary, it identified brain regions whose activation was correlated with visually evoked sexual arousal in males.

Neuroanatomical correlates of visually evoked sexual arousal in human males.

This report describes the development of a self-report Sexual Arousability Inventory (SAI) for women. Sexual arousability was defined as the sum of a respondent's ratings of 28 erotic experience along a 7-point Likert arousal dimension. Multiple-regression and factor analyses were used to select valid items from a 131-item pool and build in factorial purity. The SAI has concurrent validity with respect to sexual experience, activity, and satisfaction, and discriminates between clinical and normal populations. In addition, the SAI is easy to administer and score, may be used with single, married, or lesbian women, is available with norms and in alternate forms, and possesses exceptional internal consistency. Although the SAI was designed primarily for clinical use, the construct it measures may have theoretical significance in future research.

An inventory for the measurement of female sexual arousability: the SAI.

Six sexually normal women were exposed to a wide variety of erotic video tapes while vaginal, groin, and breast vasocongestion measures were taken. The women indicated their subjective level of sexual arousal while viewing the tapes by positioning a lever device along a calibrated scale. The results indicated highly significant positive correlations among the cognitive and physiological measures for five out of six individual subjects, although the pooled group data failed to show significance. The methodology described in this research shows promise as a diagnostic and research tool.

Emily Franck Hoon

Papers

An inventory for the measurement of female sexual arousability: the SAI.

Sexual arousal in women: a comparison of cognitive and physiological responses by continuous measurement.

Multiple measure analysis of women experiencing low sexual arousal