Sexual desire

Last updated

Sexual desire is an emotion [1] [2] and motivational state characterized by an interest in sexual objects or activities, or by a drive to seek out sexual objects or to engage in sexual activities. [3] It is an aspect of sexuality, which varies significantly from one person to another and also fluctuates depending on circumstances.

Contents

It may be the single most common sexual event in human life. [3]

Sexual desire is a subjective feeling state that can be triggered by both internal and external cues, and that may or may not result in overt sexual behaviour. [4] Desire can be aroused through imagination and sexual fantasies, or by perceiving an individual whom one finds attractive. [5] It is also created and amplified through sexual tension, which is caused by sexual desire that has yet to be acted on. Physical manifestations of sexual desire in humans include licking, sucking, tongue protrusion, and puckering and touching the lips. [6]

Desire can be spontaneous or responsive, [7] positive or negative, and can vary in intensity along a spectrum.

Theoretical perspectives

Theorists and researchers employ two frameworks in their understanding of human sexual desire. The first is a biological framework, also known as sex drive (or libido), in which sexual desire comes from an innate motivational force like an instinct, drive, need, urge, wish, or want. [8] The second is a sociocultural theory in which desire is conceptualized as one factor in a much larger context (e.g., relationships nested within societies, nested within cultures). [9] [10]

Biological framework

The biological approach views sexual drives as similar to other physical drives, such as hunger. An individual will seek out food—or, in the case of desire, pleasure—in order to reduce or avoid pain. [8] Sex drive can be thought of as a biological need or craving that inspires individuals to seek out and become receptive to sexual experiences and sexual pleasure. [11] Incentive motivation theory exists under this framework and states that the strength of motivation toward sexual activity depends on the strength or immediacy of the stimuli. If satiety is achieved, the strength of the incentive will increase in the future. [5]

Sex drive is strongly tied to biological factors such as "chromosomal and hormonal status, nutritional status, age, and general health". [9] Sexual desire is the first of four phases of the human sexual response cycle, followed by arousal, orgasm, and resolution. [12] However, while it is part of the response cycle, desire is believed to be distinct from genital sexual arousal. [3] It has also been argued that desire is not a distinct phase in sexual response, but rather something that persists through arousal and orgasm or even longer. Although orgasm might make it difficult for a man to maintain his erection or a woman to continue with vaginal lubrication, sexual desire can persist nevertheless. [13]

Sociocultural framework

In the sociocultural framework, desire indicates a longing for sexual activity for its own sake and not for any other purpose other than enjoyment, satisfaction, or the release of sexual tension. [7] Sexual desire and activity may be produced to help achieve other means or to gain non-sexual rewards, such as increased closeness and attachment between partners. Under this framework, sexual desire is not an urge, implying that individuals have more conscious control over their desire.

Sociocultural influences may push males and females into gender-specific roles in which social scripts dictate the appropriate feelings and responses to desire. This may lead to frustration if an individual's wants remain unfulfilled due to anticipated social consequences.

Some theorists suggest that the experience of sexual desire may be socially constructed. Others argue that, although sociocultural factors greatly influence desire, they do not play a large role until after biological factors initiate it. [9] Another view is that sexual desire is neither a social construction [14] nor a biological drive. [15] According to James Giles, it is an existential need based on the sense of incompleteness that arises from the experience of being gendered. [13]

Many researchers believe that relying on a single approach to the study of human sexuality is counterproductive, [8] and that the integrations of and interactions among multiple approaches allow for the most comprehensive understanding. Sexual desire can manifest itself in more than one way; it is a "variety of different behaviours, cognitions, and emotions, taken together". [11]

Levine suggests that sexual desire has three components that link several theoretical perspectives together: [16]

Sex differences

In early life, usually before puberty, males are quite flexible regarding their preferred sexual incentive,[ clarification needed ] [17] but they later become inflexible. Females, on the other hand, remain flexible throughout their life cycle. This change in sexuality due to variations in situational, cultural, and social factors is called erotic plasticity. Beyond this, very little is known about sexual desire and sexual arousal in prepubescent children, or whether any feelings they may have are comparable to what they will experience as an adult. [9]

Boys typically experience and commence sexual interest and activity before girls do. [11] Men, on average, also have higher sex drives and desire for sexual activity than women do; this is correlated with the finding that men report more lifetime sexual partners, [18] although mathematicians say it is logically impossible for heterosexual men to have more partners on average than heterosexual women. [19] Sex drive is also related to sociosexuality scores: The higher the sex drive, the less restricted the sociosexual orientation (i.e., the willingness to have sex outside of a committed relationship). [17] This is especially the case for women.

Lippa used data from a BBC internet survey to examine cross-cultural patterns in sex differences for three traits: sex drive, sociosexuality, and height. These traits all showed consistent sex differences across nations, although women were found to be more variable than men in their sex drive. [20] On average, male sexual desire is stronger and more frequent than women's, and lasts longer into the life cycle. [3] Though women do not experience sexual desire as often as men, when they do, the intensity of the experience is equal to that of men. [9] Societal perceptions of men and women—in addition to perceptions about acceptable sexual behaviour (e.g., men are expected to be more sexual and sometimes insatiable, while women are expected to be more reserved)—may contribute to expressed levels of sexual desire and satisfaction. [3]

DeLamater and Sill found that affect and feelings concerning the importance of sexual activity can affect levels of desire. In their study, women who said that sexual activity was important to the quality of their lives and relationships demonstrated low desire, while women who placed less emphasis on sexual activity in their lives demonstrated high desire. Men presented similar results. [8] These findings were corroborated by Conaglen and Evans, who assessed whether levels of sexual desire influenced emotional responses and cognitive processing of sexual pictorial stimuli. They found that women with lower sexual desire responded to sexual stimuli more quickly in the picture recognition task, but rated the sexual images as less arousing and less pleasant than women with higher sexual desire. [21]

When presented with explicit sexual imagery and stimuli, women can become physically aroused without experiencing psychological desire or arousal. [22] In one study, 97% of women reported having had sexual intercourse without experiencing sexual desire, while only 60% of men reported the same thing. [4] Also, women may form a more significant association between sexual desire and attachment than men. [23]

Women may be more prone to fluctuations in desire due to the many phases and biological changes the female body experiences, such as menstrual cycles, pregnancy, lactation, and menopause. [16] Though these changes are usually very small, women seem to have increased levels of sexual desire during ovulation and decreased levels during menstruation. [15] An abrupt decline in androgen production can cause cessation of sexual thoughts and failure to respond to sexual cues and triggers that would previously have elicited desire. [7] This is seen especially in postmenopausal women who have low levels of testosterone. Doses of testosterone administered transdermally have been found to improve sexual desire and sexual functioning. [11]

Older individuals are less likely to describe themselves as being at the extremes of the sexual desire spectrum. [24] [ failed verification ] By the time individuals reach middle and old age, there is a natural decline in sexual desire, sexual capacity, and the frequency of sexual behaviour. [3] DeLamater and Sill found that the majority of men and women do not officially report themselves as having low levels of sexual desire until they are 76 years old. [8] Many attribute this decline to partner familiarity, alienation, or preoccupation with nonsexual matters such as social, relational, and health concerns. [16]

Measuring and assessing

Defining sexual desire is a challenge because it can be conceptualized in many ways. Researchers consider the definition used in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV-TR (DSM-IV-TR), as well as what men and women understand their own desire to be. [25] The lack of agreed-upon parameters for normal versus abnormal levels of sexual desire [4] creates challenges in the measurement of desire and the diagnosis of sexual desire disorders.

Many researchers seek to assess sexual desire by examining self-reported data and observing the frequency of participants' sexual behaviour. [26] This method can pose a problem because it emphasizes only the behavioural aspects of sexual desire and does not account for cognitive or biological influences that motivate people to seek out and become receptive to sexual opportunities. [26]

Several scales have been developed to measure the factors influencing the development and expression of sexual desire. One is the Sexual Desire Inventory (SDI), a self-administered questionnaire that defines sexual desire as "interest in or wish for sexual activity". [26] The SDI measures thoughts and experiences. Fourteen questions assess the strength, frequency, and importance of an individual's desire for sexual activity with others and by themselves. The scale proposes that desire can be split into two categories: dyadic and solitary desire. Dyadic desire refers to an "interest in or a wish to engage in sexual activity with another person and desire for sharing and intimacy with another", while solitary desire refers to "an interest in engaging in sexual behaviour by oneself, and may involve a wish to refrain from intimacy and sharing with others". [26]

The Sexual Interest and Desire Inventory-Female (SIDI-F) was the first validated instrument developed to specifically assess the severity of hypoactive sexual desire disorder and responses to treatment for the disorder in females. [27] [28] The SIDI-F consists of thirteen items that assess a woman's satisfaction with her relationship; her recent sexual experiences, both with her partner and alone; her enthusiasm for, desire for, and receptivity to sexual behaviour; distress over her level of desire; and arousal. The scale has a maximum score of 51, with higher scores representing increased levels of sexual functioning. [28]

Factors affecting

Levels of sexual desire may fluctuate over time due to internal and external factors.

Social and relationship influences

One's social situation can refer to the social circumstances of life, their present stage of life, or the state of their romantic relationship. It may also refer to their non-relationship status. Whether people think that their experience of desire or lack of experience is problematic depends on social circumstances such as the presence or absence of a partner. [8] [16] As social beings, many people seek lifetime partners and wish to experience that connection and intimacy. People often consider sexual desire essential to romantic attraction and relationship development. [3] The experience of desire can ebb and flow with time, increasing familiarity with one's partner, and changes in relationship dynamics and priorities.

Disorders

Two sexual desire disorders are listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV-TR (DSM-5-TR):

Both HSDD and SAD have been found to be more prevalent in females than males; this is especially the case with SAD. [33]

Hypersexual disorder is associated with sexual addiction and sexual compulsivity. [16] [29] According to a proposed revision to the DSM, which would include it in future publications, hypersexual disorder is defined as recurrent and intense sexual fantasies, sexual urges, and sexual behavior where the individual is consumed with excessive sexual desire and repeatedly engages in sexual behaviour in response to dysphoric mood states and stressful life events. [34]

Health

A serious or chronic illness can have an enormous effect on sexual desire. [16] An individual in poor health may be able to experience desire but not have the motivation or strength to have sex. [16] Chronic disorders like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, enlarged prostate (in men), Parkinson's disease, cancer, and high blood pressure can negatively affect sexual desire, sexual functioning, and sexual response. [3] [8]

There have been conflicting findings on the effect of diabetes on sexual desire, especially in men. Some studies have found that diabetic men show lower levels of desire than healthy, age-matched counterparts, [35] while others have found no difference. [8]

Medications

Certain medications can cause changes in the level of sexual desire through nonspecific effects on well-being, energy, and mood. [8] Declining sexual desire has been linked to the use of anti-hypertension medication and many psychiatric medications, including antipsychotics, tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine-oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), and sedatives. [8] The psychiatric medications that most severely decrease sexual desire are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). [8] Higher dosages of these medications are also correlated with a lowering of sexual desire. [36]

In women, anticoagulants, cardiovascular medications, statins, and anti-hypertension drugs contribute to low levels of desire. However, in men, only anticoagulants and anti-hypertension medications have been found to be related. [8] Oral contraceptives can also lower sexual desire in as many as one in four women who use them. [37] They are known to increase levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in the body, and high SHBG levels are in turn associated with a decline in desire. [37]

Methamphetamine and other amphetamines have a strong positive effect on many aspects of sexual behaviour, including desire. [5]

Hormones

Sexual desire is said to be influenced by androgens in men and by both androgens and estrogens in women. [8]

Many studies associate the sex hormone testosterone with sexual desire. [3] Another hormone thought to influence sexual desire is oxytocin. Exogenous administration of moderate amounts of oxytocin has been found to stimulate females to desire and seek out sexual activity. [9] In women, oxytocin levels are at their highest during sexual activity.

Interventions

Medical interventions are available for individuals who feel sexually bored, experience performance anxiety, or are unable to orgasm.

For everyday life, a 2013 fact sheet from the Association for Reproductive Health Professionals recommends erotic literature and recalling instances when one felt sexy and sexual. [38]

Social and religious views

Views on sexual desire and how it should be expressed vary significantly among societies and religions. Ideologies range from sexual repression to hedonism.

Laws concerning specific forms of sexual activity, such as homosexual acts and sex outside marriage, vary by geography. In some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, [39] Afghanistan, [40] [41] Iran, [41] Kuwait, [42] Maldives, [43] Morocco, [44] Oman, [45] Mauritania, [46] United Arab Emirates, [47] [48] Sudan, [49] and Yemen, [50] any form of sexual activity outside marriage is illegal.

Some societies have a double standard regarding male and female expressions of desire. [51] Female genital mutilation is practiced in some regions in an attempt to prevent women from acting on their sexual desires. [52]

Related Research Articles

In psychology, libido is psychic drive or energy, usually conceived as sexual in nature, but sometimes conceived as including other forms of desire. The term libido was originally used by the neurologist and pioneering psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud who began by employing it simply to denote sexual desire. Over time it came to signify the psychic energy of the sexual drive, and became a vital concept in psychoanalytic theory. Freud's later conception was broadened to include the fundamental energy of all expressions of love, pleasure, and self-preservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voyeurism</span> Sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors

Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual fetishism</span> Sexual arousal a person receives from an object or situation

Sexual fetishism or erotic fetishism is a sexual fixation on a nonliving object or nongenital body part. The object of interest is called the fetish; the person who has a fetish for that object is a fetishist. A sexual fetish may be regarded as a non-pathological aid to sexual excitement, or as a mental disorder if it causes significant psychosocial distress for the person or has detrimental effects on important areas of their life. Sexual arousal from a particular body part can be further classified as partialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual attraction</span> Attraction on the basis of sexual desire

Sexual attraction is attraction on the basis of sexual desire or the quality of arousing such interest. Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal is an individual's ability to attract other people sexually, and is a factor in sexual selection or mate choice. The attraction can be to the physical or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context where they appear. The attraction may be to a person's aesthetics, movements, voice, or smell, among other things. The attraction may be enhanced by a person's adornments, clothing, perfume or hair style. It can be influenced by individual genetic, psychological, or cultural factors, or to other, more amorphous qualities. Sexual attraction is also a response to another person that depends on a combination of the person possessing the traits and on the criteria of the person who is attracted.

Hypersexuality is a term used for a presumed mental disorder which causes unwanted or excessive sexual arousal, causing people to engage in or think about sexual activity to a point of distress or impairment. It is controversial whether it should be included as a clinical diagnosis used by mental healthcare professionals. Nymphomania and satyriasis were terms previously used for the condition in women and men, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual fantasy</span> Class of mental image or pattern of thought

A sexual fantasy or erotic fantasy is an autoerotic mental image or pattern of thought that stirs a person's sexuality and can create or enhance sexual arousal. A sexual fantasy can be created by the person's imagination or memory, and may be triggered autonomously or by external stimulation such as erotic literature or pornography, a physical object, or sexual attraction to another person. Anything that may give rise to a sexual arousal may also produce a sexual fantasy, and sexual arousal may in turn give rise to fantasies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual stimulation</span> Stimulus that causes and maintains sexual arousal

Sexual stimulation is any stimulus that leads to, enhances and maintains sexual arousal, and may lead to orgasm. Although sexual arousal may arise without physical stimulation, achieving orgasm usually requires it.

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), hyposexuality or inhibited sexual desire (ISD) is sometimes considered a sexual dysfunction, and is characterized as a lack or absence of sexual fantasies and desire for sexual activity, as judged by a clinician. For this to be regarded as a disorder, it must cause marked distress or interpersonal difficulties and not be better accounted for by another mental disorder, a drug, or some other medical condition. A person with ISD will not start, or respond to their partner's desire for, sexual activity. HSDD affects approximately 10% of all pre-menopausal women in the United States, or about 6 million women.

Sexual dysfunction is difficulty experienced by an individual or partners during any stage of normal sexual activity, including physical pleasure, desire, preference, arousal, or orgasm. The World Health Organization defines sexual dysfunction as a "person's inability to participate in a sexual relationship as they would wish". This definition is broad and is subject to many interpretations. A diagnosis of sexual dysfunction under the DSM-5 requires a person to feel extreme distress and interpersonal strain for a minimum of six months. Sexual dysfunction can have a profound impact on an individual's perceived quality of sexual life. The term sexual disorder may not only refer to physical sexual dysfunction, but to paraphilias as well; this is sometimes termed disorder of sexual preference.

Sociosexuality, sometimes called sociosexual orientation, is the individual difference in the willingness to engage in sexual activity outside of a committed relationship. Individuals who are more restricted sociosexually are less willing to engage in casual sex; they prefer greater love, commitment and emotional closeness before having sex with romantic partners. Individuals who are more unrestricted sociosexually are more willing to have casual sex and are more comfortable engaging in sex without love, commitment or closeness.

The human sexual response cycle is a four-stage model of physiological responses to sexual stimulation, which, in order of their occurrence, are the excitement, plateau, orgasmic, and resolution phases. This physiological response model was first formulated by William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson, in their 1966 book Human Sexual Response. Since that time, other models regarding human sexual response have been formulated by several scholars who have criticized certain inaccuracies in the human sexual response cycle model.

Sexual arousal disorder is characterized by a lack or absence of sexual fantasies and desire for sexual activity in a situation that would normally produce sexual arousal, or the inability to attain or maintain typical responses to sexual arousal. The disorder is found in the DSM-IV. The condition should not be confused with a sexual desire disorder.

Sexual medicine or psychosexual medicine as defined by Masters and Johnsons in their classic Textbook of Sexual Medicine, is "that branch of medicine that focuses on the evaluation and treatment of sexual disorders, which have a high prevalence rate." Examples of disorders treated with sexual medicine are erectile dysfunction, hypogonadism, and prostate cancer. Sexual medicine often uses a multidisciplinary approach involving physicians, mental health professionals, social workers, and sex therapists. Sexual medicine physicians often approach treatment with medicine and surgery, while sex therapists often focus on behavioral treatments.

Female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD) is a disorder characterized by a persistent or recurrent inability to attain sexual arousal or to maintain arousal until the completion of a sexual activity. The diagnosis can also refer to an inadequate lubrication-swelling response normally present during arousal and sexual activity. The condition should be distinguished from a general loss of interest in sexual activity and from other sexual dysfunctions, such as the orgasmic disorder (anorgasmia) and hypoactive sexual desire disorder, which is characterized as a lack or absence of sexual fantasies and desire for sexual activity for some period of time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transgender sexuality</span> Sexuality of transgender people

Sexuality in transgender individuals encompasses all the issues of sexuality of other groups, including establishing a sexual identity, learning to deal with one's sexual needs, and finding a partner, but may be complicated by issues of gender dysphoria, side effects of surgery, physiological and emotional effects of hormone replacement therapy, psychological aspects of expressing sexuality after medical transition, or social aspects of expressing their gender.

Pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty at age 10 or 11, and boys at age 11 or 12, psychiatric diagnostic criteria for pedophilia extend the cut-off point for prepubescence to age 13. People with the disorder are often referred to as pedophiles.

Sexual desire discrepancy (SDD) is the difference between one's desired frequency of sexual intercourse and the actual frequency of sexual intercourse within a relationship. Among couples seeking sex therapy, problems of sexual desire are the most commonly reported dysfunctions, yet have historically been the most difficult to treat successfully. Sexual satisfaction in a relationship has a direct relationship with overall relationship satisfaction and relationship well-being. Sexual desire and sexual frequency do not stem from the same domains, sexual desire characterizes an underlying aspect of sexual motivation and is associated with romantic feelings while actual sexual activity and intercourse is associated with the development and advancement of a given relationship. Thus together, sexual desire and sexual frequency can successfully predict the stability of a relationship. While higher individual sexual desire discrepancies among married individuals may undermine overall relationship well-being, higher SDD scores for females may be beneficial for romantic relationships, because those females have high levels of passionate love and attachment to their partner. Studies suggest that women with higher levels of desire relative to that of their partners' may experience fewer relationship adjustment problems than women with lower levels of desire relative to their partners'. Empirical evidence has shown that sexual desire is a factor that heavily influences couple satisfaction and relationship continuity which has been one of the main reasons for the interest in this research domain of human sexuality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual arousal</span> Physiological and psychological changes in preparation for sexual intercourse

Sexual arousal describes the physiological and psychological responses in preparation for sexual intercourse or when exposed to sexual stimuli. A number of physiological responses occur in the body and mind as preparation for sexual intercourse, and continue during intercourse. Male arousal will lead to an erection, and in female arousal, the body's response is engorged sexual tissues such as nipples, clitoris, vaginal walls, and vaginal lubrication.

Sexual motivation is influenced by hormones such as testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, oxytocin, and vasopressin. In most mammalian species, sex hormones control the ability and motivation to engage in sexual behaviours.

Erotic plasticity is the degree to which one's sex drive can be changed by cultural or social factors. Someone has "high erotic plasticity" when their sex drives can be affected by situational, social and cultural influences, whereas someone with "low erotic plasticity" has a sex drive that is relatively rigid and unsusceptible to change. Since social psychologist Roy Baumeister coined the term in 2000, only two studies directly assessing erotic plasticity have been completed as of 2010.

References

  1. Mobbs, Anthony (2020-01-04). "An Atlas of Personality, Emotion and Behaviour". PLOS ONE. 15 (1): e0227877. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4792323.v1. PMC   6974095 . PMID   31961895.
  2. Mobbs, Anthony E. D. (2020-01-21). "An atlas of personality, emotion and behaviour". PLOS ONE. 15 (1): e0227877. Bibcode:2020PLoSO..1527877M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227877 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   6974095 . PMID   31961895.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Regan, P.C.; Atkins, L. (2006). "Sex Differences and Similarities in Frequency and Intensity of Sexual Desire". Social Behavior & Personality. 34 (1): 95–101. doi:10.2224/sbp.2006.34.1.95. S2CID   29944899.
  4. 1 2 3 Beck, J.G.; Bozman, A.W.; Qualtrough, T. (1991). "The Experience of Sexual Desire: Psychological Correlates in a College Sample". The Journal of Sex Research. 28 (3): 443–456. doi:10.1080/00224499109551618.
  5. 1 2 3 Toates, F. (2009). "An Integrative Theoretical Framework for Understanding Sexual Motivation, Arousal, and Behavior". Journal of Sex Research. 46 (2–3): 168–193. doi:10.1080/00224490902747768. PMID   19308842. S2CID   24622934.
  6. Gonzaga, G. C.; Turner, R. A.; Keltner, D.; Campos, B.; Altemus, M. (2006). "Romantic Love and Sexual Desire in Close Relationships". Emotion. 6 (2): 163–179. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.116.1812 . doi:10.1037/1528-3542.6.2.163. PMID   16768550.
  7. 1 2 3 Basson, R. (2000). "The Female Sexual Response: A Different Model". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 26 (1): 51–65. doi: 10.1080/009262300278641 . PMID   10693116.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 DeLamater, J.D.; Sill, M. (2005). "Sexual Desire in Later Life". The Journal of Sex Research. 42 (2): 138–149. doi:10.1080/00224490509552267. PMID   16123844. S2CID   15894788.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tolman, D.L.; Diamond, L.M. (2001). "Desegregating Sexuality Research: Cultural and Biological Perspectives on Gender and Desire". Annual Review of Sex Research. 12 (33): 33–75. PMID   12666736.
  10. Gagnon, John H (2004). An Interpretation of Desire. Chicago: University of Chicago.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Baumeister, R. F.; Catanese, K. R.; Vohs, K. D. (2001). "Is There a Gender Difference in Strength of Sex Drive? Theoretical Views, Conceptual Distinctions, and a Review of Relevant Evidence". Personality and Social Psychology Review. 5 (3): 242. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.186.5369 . doi:10.1207/S15327957PSPR0503_5. S2CID   13336463.
  12. Masters, W.; Johnson, V.E. (2010). Human Sexual Response. Ishi Press International. p. 386. ISBN   9780923891213.
  13. 1 2 Giles, James (2008). The Nature of Sexual Desire. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America. ISBN   9780761840411.
  14. Giles, J. (2006). "Social Constructionism and Sexual Desire". Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour. 36 (3): 225–238. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5914.2006.00305.x.
  15. 1 2 Giles, J. (2008). "Sex Hormones and Sexual Desire". Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour. 38: 45–66. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5914.2008.00356.x.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Levine, S. B. (2003). "The nature of sexual desire: A clinician's perspective". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 32 (3): 279–285. doi:10.1023/A:1023421819465. PMID   12807300. S2CID   45519422.
  17. 1 2 Baumeister, R. F. (2004). "Gender and erotic plasticity: Sociocultural influences on the sex drive". Sexual and Relationship Therapy. 19 (2): 133–139. doi:10.1080/14681990410001691343. S2CID   145630252.
  18. Ostovich, J. M.; Sabini, J. (2004). "How are Sociosexuality, Sex Drive, and Lifetime Number of Sexual Partners Related?". Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 30 (10): 1255–1266. doi:10.1177/0146167204264754. PMID   15466599. S2CID   31956575.
  19. Kolata, Gina (12 August 2007). "The Myth, the Math, the Sex". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  20. Lippa, R. A. (2007). "Sex Differences in Sex Drive, Sociosexuality, and Height across 53 Nations: Testing Evolutionary and Social Structural Theories". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 38 (5): 631–651. doi:10.1007/s10508-007-9242-8. PMID   17975724. S2CID   15349303.
  21. Conaglen, H. M.; Evans, I. M. (2006). "Pictorial Cues and Sexual Desire: An Experimental Approach". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 35 (2): 201–16. doi:10.1007/s10508-005-9000-8. PMID   16752122. S2CID   32162926.
  22. Basson, R. (2002). "A Model of Women's Sexual Arousal". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 28 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1080/009262302317250963. PMID   11928174. S2CID   39859538.
  23. Diamond, L. M. (2003). "What does sexual orientation orient? A biobehavioral model distinguishing romantic love and sexual desire". Psychological Review. 110 (1): 173–192. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.110.1.173. PMID   12529061.
  24. "Senior Sex - Sex and Aging Survey Finds Sexual Desire and Activity Important to Seniors". Archived from the original on 2012-11-19. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
  25. 1 2 Brotto, L. A. (2009). "The DSM Diagnostic Criteria for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder in Women". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 39 (2): 221–239. doi:10.1007/s10508-009-9543-1. PMID   19777334. S2CID   207089661.
  26. 1 2 3 4 Spector, I. P.; Carey, M. P.; Steinberg, L. (1996). "The sexual desire inventory: Development, factor structure, and evidence of reliability". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 22 (3): 175–90. doi:10.1080/00926239608414655. PMID   8880651. S2CID   38310393.
  27. Sills, T.; Wunderlich, G.; Pyke, R.; Segraves, R. T.; Leiblum, S.; Clayton, A.; Cotton, D.; Evans, K. (2005). "The Sexual Interest and Desire Inventory-Female (SIDI-F): Item Response Analyses of Data from Women Diagnosed with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder". The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2 (6): 801–818. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2005.00146.x. PMID   16422805.
  28. 1 2 Clayton, A. H.; Segraves, R. T.; Leiblum, S.; Basson, R.; Pyke, R.; Cotton, D.; Lewis-d'Agostino, D.; Evans, K. R.; Sills, T. L.; Wunderlich, G. R. (2006). "Reliability and Validity of the Sexual Interest and Desire Inventory–Female (SIDI-F), a Scale Designed to Measure Severity of Female Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 32 (2): 115–35. doi:10.1080/00926230500442300. PMID   16418104. S2CID   44617645.
  29. 1 2 3 American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing. ISBN   978-0890420256.
  30. Brotto, L. A.; Petkau, A. J.; Labrie, F.; Basson, R. (2011). "Predictors of Sexual Desire Disorders in Women". The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 8 (3): 742–753. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.02146.x. PMID   21143419.
  31. Basson, R.; Leiblum, S.; Brotto, L.; Derogatis, L.; Fourcroy, J.; Fugl-Meyer, K.; Graziottin, A.; Heiman, J. R.; Laan, E.; Meston, C.; Schover, L.; Van Lankveld, J.; Schultz, W. W. (2003). "Definitions of women's sexual dysfunction reconsidered: Advocating expansion and revision". Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology. 24 (4): 221–9. doi:10.3109/01674820309074686. PMID   14702882. S2CID   4780569.
  32. Brotto, L. A. (2009). "The DSM Diagnostic Criteria for Sexual Aversion Disorder". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 39 (2): 271–277. doi:10.1007/s10508-009-9534-2. PMID   19784769. S2CID   16735098.
  33. Montgomery, K.A. (2008). "Sexual Desire Disorders". Psychiatry (Edgmont). 5 (6): 50–55. PMC   2695750 . PMID   19727285.
  34. "DSM-5 Website". dsm5.org. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  35. Schiavi, R. C.; Stimmel, B. B.; Mandeli, J.; Rayfield, E. J. (1993). "Diabetes, sleep disorders, and male sexual function". Biological Psychiatry. 34 (3): 171–177. doi:10.1016/0006-3223(93)90388-T. PMID   8399810. S2CID   33909218.
  36. Delamater, J. (2012). "Sexual Expression in Later Life: A Review and Synthesis". Journal of Sex Research. 49 (2–3): 125–141. doi:10.1080/00224499.2011.603168. PMID   22380585. S2CID   13919053.
  37. 1 2 Samuels, N. (2010). "The Irony of Oral Contraceptives". The Womens Health Activist. 35 (4): 8–9.
  38. "Clinical Fact Sheet: Sex Therapy for Non-Sex Therapists". www.arhp.org. 29 August 2022.
  39. "Human Rights Voices – Pakistan, August 21, 2008". Eyeontheun.org. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013.
  40. "Home". AIDSPortal. Archived from the original on 2008-10-26.
  41. 1 2 "Iran". Travel.state.gov. Archived from the original on 2013-08-01.
  42. "United Nations Human Rights Website – Treaty Bodies Database – Document – Summary Record – Kuwait". Unhchr.ch.
  43. "Culture of Maldives – history, people, clothing, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social". Everyculture.com.
  44. Fakim, Nora (9 August 2012). "BBC News – Morocco: Should pre-marital sex be legal?". BBC.
  45. "Legislation of Interpol member states on sexual offences against children – Oman" (PDF). Interpol. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2016.
  46. "2010 Human Rights Report: Mauritania". State.gov. 8 April 2011.
  47. Dubai FAQs. "Education in Dubai". Dubaifaqs.com.
  48. Judd, Terri (10 July 2008). "Briton faces jail for sex on Dubai beach – Middle East – World". The Independent. London.
  49. "Sudan must rewrite rape laws to protect victims". Reuters. 28 June 2007. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012.
  50. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "Refworld | Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa – Yemen". UNHCR.
  51. Crawford, Mary; Popp, Danielle (2003). "Sexual double standards: A review and methodological critique of two decades of research". Journal of Sex Research. 40 (1): 13–26. doi: 10.1080/00224490309552163 . PMID   12806528. S2CID   19425939.
  52. "Female genital mutilation". World Health Organization. Retrieved 10 April 2018.