Sexual Inhibition is a Vulnerability Factor for Orgasm Problems in Women

Abstract

Background: The differential role of psychological traits in the etiology and maintenance of female orgasm difficulties is yet to be consistently established.

Aim: To investigate the contribution of different psychological trait features (personality, sexual inhibition and excitation, and sexual beliefs) to predict female orgasm and to assess the degree to which these dispositional factors moderate the association between sexual activity and orgasm occurrence in a large community sample of Portuguese women.

Methods: 1,002 women (18-72 years, mean age = 26.27, SD = 8.74) completed questionnaires assessing personality traits (NEO-Five Factor Inventory), sexual inhibition and sexual excitation (Sexual Inhibition/Sexual Excitation Scales-Short Form [SIS/SES]), sexual beliefs (Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs Questionnaire), sexual behavior (frequency of sexual activities and frequency of orgasm occurrence), and social desirability (Socially Desirable Response Set). Hierarchical multiple regression and moderation analyses were conducted while controlling for the effect of covariates such as social desirability, sociodemographic and medical characteristics, and relationship factors.

Outcomes: The main outcome measurement was orgasm frequency as predicted and moderated by personality, SIS/SES dimensions, and sexual beliefs.

Results: Results of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated a significant predictive role for sexual inhibition (associated with fear of performance failure [SIS1] and related to the threat of performance consequences) and body image beliefs in female orgasm occurrence. The significant predictive effect of extraversion and of sexual excitation on orgasm frequency ceased to be significant with the insertion of all trait predictors in the final model. Furthermore, SIS1 significantly moderated the relation between sexual activity and orgasm occurrence.

Clinical implications: Attention should be given to individual factors impairing orgasmic response in women, particularly sexual inhibition processes. The development of clinical strategies to address and regulate them is recommended.

Strengths and limitations: Although this study investigated a large community sample, this sample was composed of heterosexual, relatively young women and thus generalization of the present results demands some caution. Social desirability was controlled for in the analyses and questionnaires were not collected face to face, which constitutes a strength of this study because social desirability is lower in self-administered online questionnaires compared with paper-and-pencil questionnaires, particularly for more sensitive sexual issues.

Conclusion: SIS1 was found to be a vulnerability factor for female orgasmic difficulties. Future research should test these findings with different samples, particularly clinical samples of women with orgasmic problems, preferably with the use of longitudinal designs. Tavares IM, Laan ETM, Nobre PJ. Sexual Inhibition is a Vulnerability Factor for Orgasm Problems in Women. J Sex Med 2018;15:361-372.

Keywords: Female Orgasm; Personality; Sexual Beliefs; Sexual Excitation; Sexual Inhibition.