035 Variations in the Agreement between Subjective and Physiological Sexual Arousal among Women With and Without Sexual Dysfunction: The Moderating Role of Interoception

Abstract

The present study examined the agreement (i.e., concordance) between subjective and physiological sexual arousal in women and explored how this varies as a function of sexual function and interoception. Sexually healthy women (n = 34) and women with sexual arousal concerns (n = 33) participated in this study. In a laboratory setting, women’s physiological and subjective sexual arousal were continuously measured in response to an erotic film. Physiological arousal was measured with a vaginal photoplethysmograph, and subjective sexual arousal was measured with an arousometer. Facets of interoception were assessed with the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (Mehling et al., 2011). Moderated growth curve modelling was used to assess the interrelatedness of these variables. A significant relationship between physiological and subjective sexual arousal that was somewhat stronger for sexually healthy women emerged, in addition to tremendous between-person variability for both groups. Several aspects of interoception moderated concordance rates, and this pattern varied across groups. High scores on the noticing subscale were linked with weaker concordance for women with sexual arousal concerns (β = -0.05, t = -3.35, p = 0.0008), yet no effect was seen for sexually healthy women. A negative effect of the not distracting (β =-0.14, t = -10.56, p < 0.001) and not worrying (β = -0.33, t = -12.36, p < 0.001) subscales on concordance emerged for sexually healthy women, but positive effects were found for women with sexual arousal concerns (β = 0.037, t =2.85, p = 0.004, and β = 0.10, t = 4.60, p < 0.001, respectively). Conversely, the emotional awareness (β = 0.06, t = 3.85, p < 0.001) and self-regulation (β = 0.07, t = 4.78, p < 0.001) subscales were positively related to concordance in sexually healthy women, whereas emotional awareness (β = -0.03, t = -2.09, p = 0.036) was negatively indicated in women with sexual arousal concerns.