2021/01/25 by Kasey E. Vigil, Kasey Vigil, David C. de Jong +2 · 32 citations
Medicine · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Anxiety #Association (psychology) #Clinical psychology #Cognitive psychology #Developmental psychology #Distraction #Embarrassment #Marriage and Sexual Relationships #Orgasm #Pleasure #Psychiatry #Psychology #Psychotherapist #Self-image #Sex organ #Sexual dysfunction #Sexual function #Sexual function and dysfunction studies #Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology #Social psychology #Trait #Trait anxiety
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/0092623x.2021.1874581
published in Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy 47(4), 325-340 (Routledge)
openalex publication_date 2021/01/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Women with negative genital self-image are more likely to experience sexual dysfunction , but the processes underlying this association are unknown. We theorized that this association is mediated by distraction from the arousing sexual cues that foster pleasure and orgasm . In a sample of 1,619 women who had sex in the previous four weeks, women with negative genital self-image were more likely to be distracted by self-critical concerns (i.e., appearance- and performance-based distraction and embarrassment) during sex, and in turn, experienced less sexual pleasure and worse sexual function. Additionally, this indirect effect via appearance-based distraction was strongest among women with trait-level anxiousness and social anxiety. We found a similar pattern of results when investigating the indirect effect of genital self-image on sexual function. Implications for understanding sexual function and therapeutic approaches are discussed.