Abstract
Sexual distress is a core characteristic of sexual dysfunction; however, little is known about its correlates. In the current study, we aimed to contribute to the understanding of both sexual distress and its positive counterpart, sexual pleasure, by taking a transdiagnostic approach to sexual distress using two types of repetitive negative thinking: worry and rumination. Because sexual activity mostly occurs in a dyadic context, we also looked at the potential mediating effect of co-worry and co-rumination, and we used them as mediators. Our preliminary exploratory quantitative study used a cross-sectional design, with a sample of 206 partnered heterosexual people. We used path analysis with parallel mediation, with structural equation modelling being performed using lavaan designed for R environment. Overall, our results show that repetitive negative thinking is associated with both sexual distress and sexual pleasure, and that neither co-rumination nor co-worry mediates these associations. The exception is the indirect effect of rumination on sexual pleasure that is mediated by co-rumination. These results demonstrate that a transdiagnostic approach to sexual distress is a new field worth exploring, and they contribute to establishing the relevance of a cognitive approach to sexual dysfunction.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 7864 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-13 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 21 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Funding
Acknowledgments: The authors would like to acknowledge all the participants in the study. Also, we would like to thank the reviewers who took the time and energy to review this article. They are the invisible authors of the final product. Finally, we thank T. Borkovec and A. Rose for their permission to adapt their measures and for their support for our idea to explore repetitive negative thinking in amorous dyads. The editing of the English language was possible due to funding from the Science and Technology Foundation (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia-FCT). The CICPSI reference is UIDP/04527/2020.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | |
| Foundation for Science and Technology |
Keywords
- Co-rumination
- Co-worry
- Perseverative cognitions
- Repetitive negative thinking
- Rumination
- Sexual distress
- Sexual pleasure
- Transdiagnostic factors
- Worry