A Qualitative Content Analysis of Perceived Individual and Relational Consequences of Sexual Compliance and Their Contributors.

Sexual compliance (i.e., consensually engaging in sex despite a lack of desire for it) is common in committed intimate relationships, but the consequences of compliance for the well-being of the individual and the relationship are poorly understood. We investigated the perceived consequences of sexual compliance and perceptions of factors contributing to negative/positive consequences by applying qualitative content analysis to free-text retrospective survey responses from 107 (mostly) Finnish adults. We identified five themes of personal consequences (emotions and mood, sexual experience, sexual desire, pressure and violations, and physical pain), four of relational consequences (relationship satisfaction, partner's response, relationship interaction, and value alignment), and nine of possible factors contributing to negative/positive consequences (communication, self-esteem, motives for sex, relationship factors, agency and self-knowledge, mental health and stress, psychological flexibility, societal norms, and past negative experiences). Perceived consequences varied widely across individuals, both in terms of whether any positive or negative consequences were experienced and whether compliance was perceived as improving or worsening specific domains of well-being. We discuss the themes identified in relation to previous theories of sexuality and intimate relationships and offer hypotheses that can be tested in future quantitative studies.

An Exploratory Network Analysis of Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction Comparing Partnered Cisgendered Men and Women.

BACKGROUND: Sexual and relationship satisfaction are intimately connected and share many predictors. AIM: The aim of the present study is to disentangle the relationship between sexual and relationship satisfaction, by exploring the connections to other relevant correlates. METHODS: Regularized mixed graphical model networks were estimated separately for men and women, which were compared using the network comparison test. In addition, strength centrality and community structure were explored. OUTCOME: The partial correlation structure between sexual satisfaction, relationship satisfaction and their correlates. RESULTS: The associations between variables measuring sexual and relationship satisfaction and related constructs did not differ significantly between partnered, cisgendered men and women. Sexual and relationship satisfaction were associated with sexual pleasure, sexual distress, and sexual communication for both men and women. Sexual satisfaction was the most central variable in the network for men (strength = 1.1), while sexual desire was the most central variable for women (strength = 1.1). Frequency of sexual activity was a central variable for both men and women (strength men = 1.0, strength women = 1.1). The community analysis showed similar communities of variables for men and women, except that frequency of sexual activity consistently belonged to the same community as sexual and relationship satisfaction for men, but not as consistently for women. CLINICAL TRANSLATION: The results have clinical implication in sex and couples therapy, as they increase the knowledge on sexual and relationship satisfaction. STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS: A strength of the study is the population-based dataset, and a limitation is that inferences of causality cannot be made due to the cross-sectional study design. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that men and women are largely similar when comparing constructs related to sexual and relationship satisfaction. Nickull S, Källström M, Jern P. An Exploratory Network Analysis of Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction Comparing Partnered Cisgendered Men and Women. J Sex Med 2022;19:711-718.

The Prevalence of BDSM in Finland and the Association between BDSM Interest and Personality Traits.

According to previous research, interest in BDSM (Bondage-Discipline, Dominance-Submission and Sadomasochism) activities is high in several European countries and various BDSM practices are not uncommon. There is a limited amount of research on the personalities of BDSM practitioners, but in previous research practitioners have been found to have better overall well-being and to be more educated than the general population. The current study explored the prevalence of BDSM interest and practice in a Finnish sample (n = 8,137, age range 18-60, M = 30.14, SD = 8.08) and investigated the association between BDSM interest and personality measured with the six-factor personality measure HEXACO. A total of 38% of the sample was interested in BDSM sex and non-heterosexual individuals displayed almost twice as much interest and at most 83% more participation in BDSM than heterosexual individuals. Younger participants (18-28 years old) displayed almost three times as much interest than older participants. There were some associations between BDSM interest and personality factors, but the effect sizes of these associations were modest. The study shows that BDSM interest is quite common among the Finnish population.

Mental health among sexual and gender minorities: A Finnish population-based study of anxiety and depression discrepancies between individuals of diverse sexual orientations and gender minorities and the majority population.

Substantial empirical evidence suggests that individuals who belong to sexual and gender minorities experience more anxiety and depression than heterosexual and cisgender people. Many previous studies have not, however, used population-based samples. There is also a shortage of evidence about certain sexual and gender minorities (e.g., nonbinary individuals). We examined differences in levels of anxiety and depression within sexual and gender minorities, as well as compared to the heterosexual and cisgender majority in a population-based Finnish sample (N = 8,589). We also explored if individuals who belong to both a gender and a sexual minority (double minority) reported higher rates of anxiety and depression than individuals who hold either a gender or a sexual minority status (single minority). Individuals who belonged to either a sexual or a gender minority overall experienced significantly higher rates of anxiety and depression than cisgender and heterosexual individuals. Among the different sexual and gender minorities, bisexual, emerging identity, and nonbinary individuals reported the highest rates of anxiety and depression. We found no differences in anxiety and depression between single minority and double minority individuals. Our results suggest that even though Finland is a country with an inclusive social climate, sexual and gender minorities are, nevertheless, disproportionately affected by mental health issues. The present study gives further support to the claim that individuals holding a sexual or gender minority status experience higher levels of depression and anxiety compared to cisgender and heterosexual individuals and pinpoints the need to acknowledge these issues both in the context of health care and in the society at large.

A network analysis of female sexual function: comparing symptom networks in women with decreased, increased, and stable sexual desire.

Problems related to low sexual desire in women are common clinical complaints, and the aetiology is poorly understood. We investigated predictors of change in levels of sexual desire using a novel network approach, which assumes that mental disorders arise from direct interactions between symptoms. Using population-based data from 1,449 Finnish women, we compared between-subject networks of women whose sexual desire decreased, increased, or remained stable over time. Networks were estimated and analyzed at T1 (2006) and replicated at T2 (2013) using R. Domains included were, among others, sexual functions, sexual distress, anxiety, depression, body dissatisfaction, and relationship status. Overall, networks were fairly similar across groups. Sexual arousal, satisfaction, and relationship status were the most central variables, implying that they might play prominent roles in female sexual function; sexual distress mediated between general distress and sexual function; and sexual desire and arousal showed different patterns of relationships, suggesting that they represent unique sexual function aspects. Potential group-differences suggested that sex-related pain and body dissatisfaction might play roles in precipitating decreases of sexual desire. The general network structure and similarities between groups replicated well; however, the potential group-differences did not replicate. Our study sets the stage for future clinical and longitudinal network modelling of female sexual function.