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

Forensic assessment of sexual interest: A review

Affection exchange theory and previous research suggest that affectionate behavior has stress-ameliorating effects. On this basis, we hypothesized that increasing affectionate behavior would effect improvements in physical and psychological conditions known to be exacerbated by stress. This study tested this proposition by examining the effects of increased romantic kissing on blood lipids, perceived stress, depression, and relationship satisfaction. Fifty-two healthy adults who were in marital or cohabiting romantic relationships provided self-report data for psychological outcomes and blood samples for hematological tests, and were then randomly assigned to experimental and control groups for a 6-week trial. Those in the experimental group were instructed to increase the frequency of romantic kissing in their relationships; those in the control group received no such instructions. After 6 weeks, psychological and hematological tests were repeated. Relative to the control group, the experimental group ex...

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Kissing in Marital and Cohabiting Relationships: Effects on Blood Lipids, Stress, and Relationship Satisfaction

Thermography is a promising technology for the physiological measurement of sexual arousal in both men and women. This study was designed to extend our previous college student thermography study findings to an older sample (M age = 37.05 years), add an anxiety control group to further examine the specificity of temperature change, and examine the relationship between genital temperature and a continuous measure of subjective sexual arousal. Healthy men (n = 40) and women (n = 39) viewed a neutral film clip after which they were randomly assigned to view one of four other videos: neutral (n = 20), humor (n = 19), anxiety provoking (n = 20) or sexually explicit (n = 20). Genital and thigh temperature were continuously recorded using a TSA ImagIR thermographic camera. Continuous and discrete reports of subjective sexual arousal were also obtained. Results supported the validity of thermography as a measure of sexual arousal: temperature change was specific to the genitals during the sexual arousal condition and was significantly correlated with subjective continuous and discrete reports of sexual arousal. Further development should assess the potential of thermography as a tool for the diagnosis and treatment evaluation of sexual arousal difficulties and for studying sex differences.

An Evaluation of the Validity of Thermography as a Physiological Measure of Sexual Arousal in a Non-University Adult Sample

Thermometer devices and sheaths were donated by BD (mercury-in-glass) and RG Medical Diagnostics (Galinstan-in-glass). Funding for this investigation was received by the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) from two supporting sponsors: Geratherm Medical Diagnostic Systems and RG Medical Diagnostics. Funding requests were initiated by OHSU staff. Grant sources of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis/interpretation, or report writing.The principal investigator (manuscript author) formulated and implemented all aspects of this study and report.

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Reexamining age, race, site, and thermometer type as variables affecting temperature measurement in adults – A comparison study

The validity of groin skin temperature as a relatively unobtrusive physiological measure of psychosexual arousal was tested for both males and females. Groin skin temperature and hemodynamic (penile circumference, vaginal blood volume, and vaginal pulse amplitude) changes induced by erotic and non-erotic film presentations were monitored in 10 male and 10 female volunteers. Significant positive correlations (p<.001) between the measures were obtained for 16 of 20 subjects. Implications of the findings for detecting low levels of psychosexual arousal are discussed.

Peter W. Hoon

Papers

Groin Skin Temperature: Testing the Validity of a Relatively Unobtrusive Physiological Measure of Psychosexual Arousal