Introduction
Female sexual interest/arousal disorder (FSIAD), formerly referred to as hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), is the most prevalent sexual concern among women. Although a common presenting concern for clients seeking couple and sex therapy, it is among the most difficult sexual problems to treat given the complexity of factors that can influence a person’s experience of sexual desire/arousal. Loss of sexual interest or arousal can be a result of numerous health problems, medication side effects, and comorbid conditions such as depression, anxiety and other individual, relational, and sexual problems.
During the past decade, there has been a significant increase in research on low or absent desire in women. The research findings that have emerged brought into question the diagnostic criteria for HSDD due to its emphasis on the absence of sexual desire, thoughts, and fantasies as criteria for diagnosis. Many healthy, sexually satisfied women do not experience sexual...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Basson, R. (2002). Rethinking low sexual desire in women. International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 109, 357–363.
Brotto, L. A. (2010). The DSM diagnostic criteria for hypoactive sexual desire disorder in women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39(2), 221–239.
Kaplan, H. S. (1977). Hypoactive sexual desire disorder. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 3(1), 3–9.
Johnson, J. (2008). Hold me tight. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
Kleinplatz, P. J. (2010). Lessons from great lovers. In S. B. Levine, C. B. Risen, & S. E. Althof (Eds.), Handbook of clinical sexuality for mental health professionals (pp. 57–72). New York: Taylor and Francis Group.
Laumann, E. O., Nicolosi, A., Glasser, D. B., Paik, A., Gingell, C., Moreira, E., et al. (2005). Sexual problems among women and men aged 40–80 year: Prevalence and correlates identified by the global study of sexual attitudes and behaviors. International Journal of Impotence Research, 17, 39–57.
Laumann, E. O., Glasser, D. B., Neves, R. C. S., & Moreira, E. D. (2009). A population-based survey of sexual activity, sexual problems and associated help-seeking behavior patterns in mature adults in the United States of America. International Journal of Impotence Research, 21(3), 171–178.
Masters, W. H., & Johnson, V. E. (1966). Human sexual response. New York: Bantam Books.
Nagoski, E. (2015). Come as you are. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
McComb, J. (2019). Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_459
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_459
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-49423-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-49425-8
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences