Sexual Motivation in Couples Coping with Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder: A Comparison with Control Couples

Abstract

A lack of interest in sex is a common sexual issue, especially among women, and can be associated with lower relationship satisfaction and greater psychological distress. Research on sexual motivation has demonstrated that, in both community and clinical samples, people higher in sexual communal strength (motivated to meet their partner’s sexual needs) and approach sexual goals (motivated to engage in sex to pursue positive outcomes) report higher desire and relationship satisfaction; whereas people higher in avoidance sexual goals (motivated to engage in sex to avert negative outcomes) tend to report lower desire and satisfaction. In the current study, we compared the sexual motivation of women diagnosed with female sexual interest/arousal disorder (FSIAD), who report chronic low desire and arousal accompanied by distress, and their partners (N = 97 couples) with couples without a sexual dysfunction (N = 108 couples). Women with FSIAD reported lower sexual communal strength and approach goals and higher avoidance sexual goals compared with control women and their own partners. However, the partners of women with FSIAD did not report differences in sexual motivation compared with control partners. Sexual motivation may be a target for future intervention studies with couples coping with low desire and arousal.