Maladaptive defense mechanisms are associated with decoupling of testosterone from sexual desire in women of reproductive age

Abstract

Neuropsychoanalytic theories view maladaptive defense mechanisms as disturbances of brain regions or networks implicated in emotional awareness, which is consistent with maladaptive defenses being automatic processes to cope with stressors by avoiding the awareness of disturbing emotions. Freud proposed that defenses against sexual drives were used in varying degrees with negative consequences on sex life, which is congruent with maladaptive defenses being related to lower desire for vaginal intercourse. The present study examined the relationships between low desire, maladaptive defenses, and decoupling of testosterone (T; a hormonal index of sexual desire) from reported desire. Sixty-eight Portuguese women provided a saliva sample before and 15 minutes after an induction of sexual fantasy, and reported how much sexual desire they felt while fantasizing. Maladaptive defenses were measured by the immature defenses subscale of the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40). Past month desire was assessed by the desire domain of the Female Sexual Function Index. Luminescence immunoassays were used for determining salivary T. Decoupling of T from desire was calculated by the absolute value of the subtraction of the standardized scores of both measures. In partial correlations controlling for social desirability and oral contraception, maladaptive defenses correlated with discordance between basal T and fantasy-induced desire, discordance between basal T and past month desire, and complaints of low desire. In a backward multiple regression, discordance between T and past month desire explained the association between maladaptive defenses and complaints of low desire. Implications for future neuropsychoanalytic studies of defense mechanisms and libido are discussed.