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Exploring Variations in Individuals’ Relationships to Sexual Fantasies: A Latent Class Analysis

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Abstract

Sexual fantasies represent a vast and highly personal dimension of human sexuality that remains understudied empirically. This article used a person-oriented approach to examine the reactions of arousal and discomfort that individuals experienced in response to four proposed fantasy scenarios depicting themes of romance, power dynamics (i.e., submission and domination), pain (i.e., sadism and masochism), and sexual violence. Using an online sample of 566 adult participants (250 men and 291 women) from the general population of Canada and the U.S., four classes were identified based on reactions of arousal and discomfort toward the proposed scenarios: Indifferent (relatively low arousal and discomfort to all scenarios, 37%), Romantic (high arousal solely for the romance scenario, high discomfort toward other scenarios, 22%), Enthusiastic (high arousal and low discomfort in response to all scenarios, 26%), and Dissonant (relatively high arousal and discomfort toward all scenarios, 15%). These classes were then compared to examine differences in terms of the following psychosexual characteristics: gender, experiences of childhood sexual abuse, sexual compulsion, and romantic attachment. Findings illustrated distinct patterns of reactions toward fantasies and confirmed the presence of links between reactions toward sexual fantasies, psychosexual characteristics, and traumatic life experiences. This suggests that the relationship between individuals and their sexual fantasies may be indicative of their overall relationship with sexuality.

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Data Availability

Data are not publicly available due to confidentiality reasons in accordance with ethics approval given by the ethics board from the participating university. Interested investigators may submit inquiries to the corresponding author (N.G.).

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all who participated in this study. Our thanks are extended to the research team, collaborating researchers, coordinators, and all research assistants involved. Special thanks to Michael Fusco, M.A., and Laurence Dion, M.A.

Funding

No funding was received for this project.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departement of Sexology, Université du Québec À Montréal, Downtown Station, PO Box 8888, Montreal, QC, H3T 1C5, Canada

    Cloé Canivet, Roxanne Bolduc & Natacha Godbout

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Quebec in Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Cloé Canivet, Roxanne Bolduc & Natacha Godbout

Authors
  1. Cloé Canivet
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  2. Roxanne Bolduc
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  3. Natacha Godbout
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Contributions

Cloé Canivet, M.A.: Was the leading author for this project and was in charge regarding project conceptualization, literature review, data Collection, analyses & writing. Roxanne Bolduc, M.A.: Was the main collaborator on this project and assisted with project conceptualization ad well as analyses & writing. Natacha Godbout, Ph.D.: Had the role of project supervisor and guided the other authors regarding project conceptualization, data collection and analyses and writing.

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Correspondence to Cloé Canivet.

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Appendices

Appendix

Romance Vignette

Skyler gently stroked Jesse's face, as they gazed into the depths of each other’s eyes. Skyler’s thumb ran slowly over Jesse's quivering lips, preparing them for the passionate kiss that was going to follow. Jesse’s arms were wrapped around Skyler’s shoulders, delighted by the soft warmth of Skyler's skin. Jesse reveled in the tender comfort of holding Skyler close. Skyler's lips left Jesse's, and started tracing kisses down Jesse's neck, to naked and swollen nipples. Skyler’s tongue was teasing them. Jesse sighed in pleasure. Skyler's hands explored further down Jesse's waist, buttocks and entire body, caressing every inch, slowly, lightly…

Submission/Masochism Vignette

Avery tensed while Sam tightened the rope around Avery’s wrists. Avery quivered with anticipation. Sam leaned over with a piece of cloth in hand, whispering firmly "look at me". Avery obeyed, excited at the thought of getting blindfolded. Sam tied the cloth around Avery's eyes. A rush of adrenalin cursed through Avery's body as excitement rose, waiting, unable to see or move, defenseless. Avery felt Sam moving closer, Sam's hands ran along Avery’s body. A sharp pain startled Avery as Sam pinched both nipples. Avery moaned in response to the stinging sensations as Sam pinched harder.

Domination/Sadism Vignette

Drew smiled wickedly at the sight of Jamie kneeling on the floor. Jamie was staring at Drew’s feet. "Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Drew. Jamie nodded. Drew feeling increasingly excited, tugged on the leash around Jamie’s neck, pulling towards the bed. "Now climb up!" Drew ordered sharply, smiling as Jamie executed the command. Drew moved behind Jamie, stroking the slave's buttocks, taking a moment to drink in the sight of Jamie waiting obediently… Then Drew struck, hard with the back of the hand. Jamie jerked forward but was held in place by Drew tugging back on the leash. Drew struck again, excited by the sound of Jamie's soft groans.

Sexual Violence Vignette

Chris shoved Taylor forcefully as Taylor tried to walk away, trapped between Chris and the wall. Panic-stricken, Taylor screamed "Let go of me Chris!", while trying to escape Chris’s grasp. Chris took a moment to watch Taylor's frantic movements, excited by Taylor's resistance. “Stop struggling!" Chris finally yelled, holding Taylor's hands back. "Stop struggling or I'll really hurt you!", Chris slapped Taylor across the face, hard. Taylor stopped moving reluctantly. Chris took the opportunity and grabbed Taylor’s waist, holding it still with one hand. The other hand started roughly groping Taylor’s body.

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Canivet, C., Bolduc, R. & Godbout, N. Exploring Variations in Individuals’ Relationships to Sexual Fantasies: A Latent Class Analysis. Arch Sex Behav 51, 589–600 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02136-z

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