This article offers objectification theory as a framework for understanding the experiential consequences of being female in a culture that sexually objectifies the female body. Objectification the...

Objectification Theory: Toward Understanding Women's Lived Experiences and Mental Health Risks:

Causes of sexual dysfunction: The role of anxiety and cognitive interference.

▪ Abstract This review addresses the importance of studies of human psychoneuroimmunology in understanding the role of psychological factors in physical illness. First, it provides psychologically and biologically plausible explanations for how psychological factors might influence immunity and immune system–mediated disease. Second, it covers substantial evidence that factors such as stress, negative affect, clinical depression, social support, and repression/denial can influence both cellular and humoral indicators of immune status and function. Third, at least in the case of the less serious infectious diseases (colds, influenza, herpes), it considers consistent and convincing evidence of links between stress and negative affect and disease onset and progression. Although still early in its development, research also suggests a role of psychological factors in autoimmune diseases. Evidence for effects of stress, depression, and repression/denial on onset and progression of AIDS and cancer is less consi...

HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY: Psychological Factors and Physical Disease from the Perspective of Human Psychoneuroimmunology

Measuring passionate love in intimate relationships.

https://www.sjsu.edu/people/jennifer.gregg/courses/c4/s1/sex.pdf

Psychological and interpersonal dimensions of sexual function and dysfunction.

A test of reciprocal inhibition: are anxiety and sexual arousal in women mutually inhibitory?

The purpose of this investigation was to validate the use of vaginal photoplethysmography along with six other physiological measures for the assessment of sexual arousal in women. Six women in counterbalanced order were presented control, dysphoric, and sexually arousing videotapes. Subjective ratings revealed that subjects experienced moderate levels of sexual and anxiety arousal during the videotapes, and comprehension quizzing at the end of the experiment showed that subjects attended to the content. Heart rate, heart rate variability, and skin conductance response failed to discriminate between any of the videotapes. In order from highest to lowest sensitivity, vaginal blood volume, skin conductance, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and forehead temperature showed significant increases during the erotic videotape. Though sensitive, skin conductance appeared to he unreliable. Areas for further research were identified.

Physiological assessment of sexual arousal in women.

Physiological responsivity of normal and sexually dysfunctional women during erotic stimulus exposure.

Past research suggests that lesbians may be more sexually responsive and sexually satisfied than heterosexual women. In order to clarify the similarities and differences between lesbians and heterosexual women, questionnaire responses of sexual arousability preferences and ratings of sexual behavior and satisfaction of 407 lesbians and 370 heterosexual women were compared. Both groups consisted primarily of Caucasian, college‐educated, young women. The mean score on the Sexual Arousability Inventory was significantly higher for the lesbian sample than for the sample of heterosexual women. A discriminant analysis of the SAI questionnaire items was also significant in separating the heterosexual from the lesbian sample. Chi‐square analyses determined that, compared to heterosexual women, the lesbians reported having sex more often, reported more frequent orgasms through masturbation and through other means of stimulation, and reported both more sexual satisfaction and a greater number of partners. ...

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3812419.pdf

Arousability and sexual satisfaction in lesbian and heterosexual women

• It is widely believed that emotional stress triggers recurrences of both oral and genital herpes simplex virus. On a daily basis, we studied 64 subjects prospectively for 1 to 3 months; all subjects had at least one culture-proved recurrence of genital herpes simplex virus type 2 before or during the study. All subjects filled out a questionnaire that measured psychological/ emotional stress in six areas: physical health, relations with friends, relations with family, relations with sex partner(s), financial, and vocation/education. These questionnaires were mailed back to us daily. Data were analyzed by General Linear Models analysis of variance to compare stress reported on each of the 6 days before a recurrence with that on days during or after a recurrence, as well as days not temporally related to recurrence. Under these conditions, in which retrospective bias was minimized, there was no significant increase in psychological/emotional stress on any day in any area preceding a recurrence of genital herpes simplex virus. (Arch Intern Med. 1990;150:1889-1893)

https://jamanetwork.com/HttpHandlers/ArticlePdfHandler.ashx?journal=intemed&articleId=613843&pdfFileName=archinte_150_9_015.pdf

Emily Franck Hoon

Papers

A test of reciprocal inhibition: are anxiety and sexual arousal in women mutually inhibitory?

Physiological assessment of sexual arousal in women.

Physiological responsivity of normal and sexually dysfunctional women during erotic stimulus exposure.

Arousability and sexual satisfaction in lesbian and heterosexual women

Daily stress and recurrence of genital herpes simplex.