Abstract
This study sought to replicate and extend investigations of current models of sexual dysfunction (Barlow, 2002; Janssen, Everaerd, Spiering, & Janssen, 2000) which implicate factors such as spectatoring, failure to use ameliorative strategies, and information processing biases in the development and persistence of sexual difficulties. A sample of 165 (n = 71 men) undergraduates completed measures of sexual dysfunction and relationship satisfaction, and reported on the content and frequency of non-erotic thoughts during sex with a partner (i.e., spectatoring), the emotional impact of non-erotic thoughts, and the strategies used to manage them. They also reported on their main sexual functioning difficulties and the strategies they used to manage those difficulties. Finally, participants were presented with a series of hypothetical sexual scenarios and were asked to report their immediate interpretation of events in the scenario. The content of non-erotic thoughts was similar to previous work (Purdon & Holdaway, 2006), although gender differences in thought content were less pronounced. As in previous research, greater frequency of, and anxiety evoked by, non-erotic thoughts was associated with poorer sexual functioning, but we found that this was over and above relationship satisfaction. Participants both high and low in sexual functioning reported using a variety of strategies to manage their non-erotic thoughts, thought suppression being the least effective, and also used a variety of strategies to manage sexual difficulties. Poorer sexual functioning was associated with more negative interpretations of ambiguous sexual scenarios, but this was mediated by relationship satisfaction. However, positive interpretations were predicted by sexual functioning. Results were discussed in terms of their theoretical and clinical implications.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
All results reported in this section were the same when gender was included as an independent variable or covariate.
References
Barlow, D. H. (1986). Causes of sexual dysfunction: The role of anxiety and cognitive interference. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 140–148.
Barlow, D. H. (2002). Anxiety and its disorders (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
Bartlik, B., & Goldberg, J. (2000). Female sexual arousal disorder. In S. R. Leiblum & R. C. Rosen (Eds.), Principles and practice of sex therapy (3rd ed., pp. 85–117). New York: Guilford.
Byers, E. S. (2005). Relationship satisfaction: A longitudinal study of individuals in long-term relationships. Journal of Sex Research, 42, 113–118.
Cranston-Cuebas, M. A., Barlow, D. H., Mitchell, W., & Athanasiou, R. (1993). Differential effects of a misattribution manipulation on sexually functional and dysfunctional men. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 525–533.
Davey, G. C. L., Hampton, J., Farrell, J., & Davidson, S. (1992). Some characteristics of worrying: Evidence for worrying and anxiety as separate constructs. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 133–147.
Dove, N. L., & Wiederman, M. W. (2000). Cognitive distraction and women’s sexual functioning. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 26, 67–78.
Faith, M. S., & Schare, M. L. (1993). The role of body image in sexually avoidant behavior. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 22, 345–356.
Grenier, G., & Byers, E. S. (1997). The relationships among ejaculatory control, ejaculatory latency, and attempts to prolong heterosexual intercourse. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 26, 27–47.
Haberman, S. J. (1973). The analysis of residuals in cross-classified tables. Biometrics, 29, 205–220.
Heiman, J. R. (2002). Sexual dysfunction: Overview of prevalence, etiological factors and treatments. Journal of Sex Research, 39, 73–78.
Heiman, J. R., & Rowland, D. L. (1983). Affective and physiological sexual response patterns: The effects of instructions on sexually functional and dysfunctional men. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 27, 105–116.
Janssen, E., Everaerd, W., Spiering, M., & Janssen, J. (2000). Automatic processes and the appraisal of sexual stimuli: Toward an information processing model of sexual arousal. Journal of Sex Research, 37, 8–23.
Laumann, E. O., Gagnon, J. H., Michael, R. T., & Michaels, S. (1994). The social organization of sexuality: Sexual practices in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Laumann, E. O., Paik, A., & Rosen, R. C. (1999). Sexual dysfunction in the United States. Journal of the American Medical Association, 281, 537–544.
Lawrance, K., & Byers, E. S. (1998). The Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire. In C. M. Davis, W. L. Yaber, R. Baureman, G. Schreer, & S. L. Davis (Eds.), Sexuality related measures: A compendium (2nd ed., pp. 514–519). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Lin, Y. J., & Wicker, F. W. (2007). A comparison of the effects of thought suppression, distraction and concentration. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 2924–2937.
MacKinnon, D. P., Lockwood, C. M., Hoffman, J. M., West, S. G., & Sheets, V. (2002). A comparison of methods to test mediation and other intervening variable effects. Psychological Methods, 7, 83–104.
Masters, W. H., & Johnson, V. E. (1966). Human sexual response. Boston, MA: Little Brown and Company.
Masters, W. H., & Johnson, V. E. (1970). Human sexual inadequacy. Boston, MA: Little Brown and Company.
Meana, M., & Nunnink, S. E. (2006). Gender differences in the content of cognitive distraction during sex. Journal of Sex Research, 43, 59–67.
Miller, R. W., & Johnson, J. A. (1998). Early sexual experiences checklist. In C. M. Davis, W. L. Yarber, R. Bauserman, G. Schreer, & S. L. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of sexuality-related measures (pp. 23–24). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Nelson, A., & Purdon, C. (2011). Non-erotic thoughts, attentional focus, and sexual problems in a community sample. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 395–406.
Nobre, P. J., & Pinto-Gouveia, J. (2003). Sexual modes questionnaire: Measure to assess the interaction among cognitions, emotions, and sexual response. Journal of Sex Research, 40, 368–382.
Nobre, P. J., & Pinto-Gouveia, J. (2006). Emotions during sexual activity: Differences between sexually functional and dysfunctional men and women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35, 491–499.
Nobre, P. J., & Pinto-Gouveia, J. (2008a). Cognitions, emotions, and sexual response: Analysis of the relationship among automatic thoughts, emotional responses, and sexual arousal. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37, 652–661.
Nobre, P. J., & Pinto-Gouveia, J. (2008b). Differences in automatic thoughts presented during sexual activity between sexually functional and dysfunctional men and women. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32, 37–49.
Ouiment, A. J., Gawronsky, B., & Dozois, D. (2009). Cognitive vulnerability to anxiety: A review and integrative model. Clinical Psychology Review, 29, 459–470.
Pridal, C. G., & LoPiccolo, J. (2000). Multielement treatment of desire disorders: Integration of cognitive, behavioral, and systemic therapy. In S. R. Leiblum & R. C. Rosen (Eds.), Principles and practice of sex therapy (3rd ed., pp. 57–81). New York: Guilford Press.
Purdon, C., & Holdaway, L. (2006). Non-erotic thoughts: Content and relation to sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction. Journal of Sex Research, 43, 154–162.
Purdon, C., Rowa, K., & Antony, M. M. (2005). Thought suppression and its effects on thought frequency, appraisal and mood state in individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43, 93–108.
Rust, J., & Golombok, S. (1986). The GRISS: A psychometric instrument for the assessment of sexual dysfunction. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 15, 157–165.
Sbrocco, T., & Barlow, D. H. (1996). Conceptualizing the cognitive component of sexual arousal: Implications for sexuality research and treatment. In P. Salkovskis (Ed.), Frontiers of cognitive therapy (pp. 419–449). New York: Guilford Press.
Seal, B. N., Bradford, A., & Meston, C. M. (2009). The association between body esteem and sexual desire among college women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38, 866–872.
Trapnell, P. D., Meston, C. M., & Gorzalka, B. B. (1997). Spectatoring and the relationship between body image and sexual experience: Self-focus or self-valence? Journal of Sex Research, 34, 267–278.
van den Hout, M., & Barlow, D. (2000). Attention, arousal and expectancies in anxiety and sexual disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders, 61, 241–256.
Wells, B. E., & Twenge, J. M. (2005). Changes in young people’s sexual behavior and attitudes, 1943–1999: A cross-temporal meta-analysis. Review of General Psychology, 9, 249–261.
Wiegel, M., Scepkowski, L. A., & Barlow, D. H. (2007). Cognitive-affective processes in sexual arousal and sexual dysfunction. In E. Janssen (Ed.), The psychophysiology of sex (pp. 143–165). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Acknowledgment
This research was supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Grant awarded to Christine Purdon.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Purdon, C., Watson, C. Non-Erotic Thoughts and Sexual Functioning. Arch Sex Behav 40, 891–902 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-011-9755-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-011-9755-z