The effect of emotional regulation difficulties on sexual and psychological distress using repetitive negative thinking as a mediator.

BACKGROUND: Sexual distress, a determinant factor in diagnosing sexual dysfunction, plays a significant role in individuals' sexual well-being, yet it has been overlooked in research. AIM: This exploratory study adopted a transdiagnostic approach to sexual distress and sought to examine the association between emotional regulation difficulties and sexual and psychological distress, with repetitive negative thinking as a potential mediator. METHODS: We used a quantitative cross-sectional design with a sample of 509 partnered individuals. OUTCOMES: The survey included a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Short Form, the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, the Persistent and Intrusive Negative Thoughts Scale, and the Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised. RESULTS: Correlational analysis revealed significant associations among emotional regulation difficulties, repetitive negative thinking, psychological distress, and sexual distress. Furthermore, a mediation model demonstrated that repetitive negative thinking significantly mediated emotion dysregulation and psychological and sexual distress. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: These findings underscore the importance of considering emotion regulation difficulties and repetitive negative thinking as a maladaptive coping strategy when evaluating sexual distress and suggest that therapeutic interventions targeting such difficulties and thoughts may yield beneficial outcomes. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: These findings reinforce the importance of considering the role of emotional regulation difficulties and, consequently, repetitive negative thinking as a dysfunctional coping strategy, when studying and intervening in sexual distress. Future research with clinical samples should be developed to establish better the significance of considering these two dimensions in assessment and therapeutic intervention. CONCLUSION: Future research should corroborate and expand upon these findings to advance our understanding of sexual distress and optimize interventions in this domain.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Sexual Health: A Preliminary Framework Based on a Qualitative Study With Clinical Sexologists.

INTRODUCTION: In recent months, some attempts were made to understand the impact of COVID-19 on sexual health. Despite recent research that suggests COVID-19 and lockdown measures may eventually impact sexual response and sexually related behaviors, we are missing clinical sexologists' perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 in sexual health. Such perspectives could inform a preliminary framework aimed at guiding future research and clinical approaches in the context of COVID-19. AIM: To explore the perspectives of clinical sexologists about the impact of COVID-19 on their patients' sexual health, as well as the professional challenges they have faced during the current pandemic. Findings are expected to inform a preliminary framework aimed at understanding the impact of COVID-19 on sexual health. METHODS: We conducted an online qualitative exploratory survey with 4 open-ended questions with 39 clinical sexologists aged between 32 and 73 years old. The survey was advertised among professional associations' newsletters. We performed a Thematic Analysis using an inductive, semantic, and (critical) realist approach, leading to a final thematic map. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome is the thematic map and the corresponding table that aggregates the main themes, subthemes, and codes derived from participants' answers and that can serve as a preliminary framework to understand the impact of COVID-19 on sexual health. RESULTS: The final thematic map, expected to serve as a preliminary framework on the impact of COVID-19 in sexual health, revealed 3 main themes: Clinical Focus, Remapping Relationships, and Reframing Technology Use. These themes aggregate important interrelated issues, such as worsening of sexual problems and dysfunctions, mental health, relationship management, the rise of conservatism, and the use of new technology that influences sexuality and sexual health-related services. CONCLUSION: The current study allowed us to develop a preliminary framework to understand the impact of COVID-19 on sexual health. This framework highlights the role of mental health, as well as the contextual nature of sexual problems, and subsequently, their relational nature. Also, it demonstrates that the current pandemic has brought into light the debate of e-Health delivery within clinical sexology. Pascoal PM, Carvalho J, Raposo CF, et al. The Impact of COVID-19 on Sexual Health: A Preliminary Framework Based on a Qualitative Study With Clinical Sexologist. Sex Med 2021;9:100299.

A Transdiagnostic Approach to Sexual Distress and Sexual Pleasure: A Preliminary Mediation Study with Repetitive Negative Thinking.

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.

Evidências de validade da Global Measure of Relationship Satisfaction (GMREL) em três amostras da população portuguesa / Evidence for the validity of the Global Measure of Relationship Satisfaction (GMREL) in three Portuguese samples

A satisfação relacional representa um construto de pertinência reconhecida para a avaliação rela-cional e em estreita conexão com diversas valências da saúde. A Global Measure of Relationship Satisfaction (GMREL) é formada por cinco itens e pretende avaliar a satisfação global com o companheiro/a no contexto de uma relação íntima. Foram estudadas as evidências de validade de construto e precisão dos escores desta escala em três amostras da população portuguesa, nomeadamente uma amostra clínica de pessoas com problemas relacionais (N = 56), uma amostra comunitária de pessoas sem estes problemas (N = 95) e uma amostra da comunidade de ambos os géneros (N= 669). A Escala de Avaliação da Satisfação em Áreas da Vida Conjugal foi empregue para investigar a validade convergente do instrumento, a Body Appearance Cognitive Distraction Scale para a validade divergente e, por fim, o estudo da Roc Curve com a amostra clínica e da comunidade para a validade discriminante. Os resultados indicam que a escala apresenta boas qualidades psicométricas para utilização em contexto clínico e de investigação.(AU)

Relationship satisfaction represents a well-known, pertinent construct for relationship assessment with strong connection to several health ranges. The Global Measure of Relationship Satisfaction (GMREL) is composed of five items and aims to evaluate the global satisfaction with the partner in an intimate relationship context. The purpose of this study was to observe the psychometric qualities of this scale in three Portuguese samples, namely a clinical sample of individuals with marital problems (N = 56), a normative sample of individuals without these problems (N = 95) and a community sample of both genders (N = 669). The Marital Life Areas Satisfaction Evaluation Scale was used to investigate the instrument's convergent validity; the Body Appearance Cognitive Distraction Scale for the divergent validity, and the Roc Curve study of clinical and community samples was used to assess the discriminant validity. The results show that the instrument presents good psychometric qualities for clinical and investigation purposes.(AU)

Evidências de validade da Global Measure of Relationship Satisfaction (GMREL) em três amostras da população portuguesa / Evidence for the validity of the Global Measure of Relationship Satisfaction (GMREL) in three Portuguese samples

A satisfação relacional representa um construto de pertinência reconhecida para a avaliação rela-cional e em estreita conexão com diversas valências da saúde. A Global Measure of Relationship Satisfaction (GMREL) é formada por cinco itens e pretende avaliar a satisfação global com o companheiro/a no contexto de uma relação íntima. Foram estudadas as evidências de validade de construto e precisão dos escores desta escala em três amostras da população portuguesa, nomeadamente uma amostra clínica de pessoas com problemas relacionais (N = 56), uma amostra comunitária de pessoas sem estes problemas (N = 95) e uma amostra da comunidade de ambos os géneros (N= 669). A Escala de Avaliação da Satisfação em Áreas da Vida Conjugal foi empregue para investigar a validade convergente do instrumento, a Body Appearance Cognitive Distraction Scale para a validade divergente e, por fim, o estudo da Roc Curve com a amostra clínica e da comunidade para a validade discriminante. Os resultados indicam que a escala apresenta boas qualidades psicométricas para utilização em contexto clínico e de investigação.

Relationship satisfaction represents a well-known, pertinent construct for relationship assessment with strong connection to several health ranges. The Global Measure of Relationship Satisfaction (GMREL) is composed of five items and aims to evaluate the global satisfaction with the partner in an intimate relationship context. The purpose of this study was to observe the psychometric qualities of this scale in three Portuguese samples, namely a clinical sample of individuals with marital problems (N = 56), a normative sample of individuals without these problems (N = 95) and a community sample of both genders (N = 669). The Marital Life Areas Satisfaction Evaluation Scale was used to investigate the instrument's convergent validity; the Body Appearance Cognitive Distraction Scale for the divergent validity, and the Roc Curve study of clinical and community samples was used to assess the discriminant validity. The results show that the instrument presents good psychometric qualities for clinical and investigation purposes.