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Barlow’s Cognitive-Affective Model of Sexual Dysfunction

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Sexuality and Gender

Synonyms

Cognitive and affective factors; Model; Psychological causes of sexual dysfunction

Definition

Barlow’s cognitive-affective model of sexual dysfunction presents a detailed explication of causal factors in the onset and maintenance of sexual dysfunction focusing on anxiety, arousal, cognitive interference, and a sense of control, and how the psychological variables differ in individuals with and without sexual dysfunction.

Introduction

Over the last two decades of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century, David Barlow and his colleagues have developed a body of work on the study of factors underlying sexual dysfunction. This work on the role of cognitive-affective factors on sexual response could arguably be considered a precursor of the cognitive revolution in the field of sex research and clinical sexology.

The original model developed by Barlow (1986) marked a turning point in the conceptualization of sexual dysfunctions, constituting a rupture...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Pedro J. Nobre

  2. Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    David H. Barlow

Authors
  1. Pedro J. Nobre
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  2. David H. Barlow
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of New England Department of Psychology, Armidale, NSW, Australia

    Amy D. Lykins

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Nobre, P.J., Barlow, D.H. (2023). Barlow’s Cognitive-Affective Model of Sexual Dysfunction. In: Lykins, A.D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sexuality and Gender. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59531-3_115-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59531-3_115-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-59531-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-59531-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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