Sexual Fantasizing Research Articles

High risk sexual fantasies and sexual offending: An overview of fundamentals and interventions

Although deviant sexual fantasizing has been found to be an etiological factor for sexual offending, not all deviant sexual fantasies increase risk equally. The aim of the present overview is to provide readers with an introduction to key terminology, a primer on central clinical theories, and a summary of the research literature on “high risk” sexual fantasies over the past 50 years. First, the important difference between “sexual fantasy” and “sexual fantasizing” is described. Second, the link between sexual fantasizing and sexual offending is discussed, with a focus on principle moderators such as physiological reaction, personality profile, and offense-supportive beliefs. Third, the different methods used to assess sexual fantasies are discussed. Fourth, the principles and techniques behind four evidence-based approaches to treating “high risk” sexual fantasies are discussed: (1) the behavioral approach, (2) the cognitive approach, (3) the imagination approach, and (4) the mindfulness-based approach. Finally, a call is issued for practice-based quantitative and qualitative research to further explore this clinical phenomenon. The findings of such investigations would advance the field’s understanding of assessment, management, and monitoring best practices for this important forensic population.

Changes in Sexual Fantasy and Solitary Sexual Practice During Social Lockdown Among Young Adults in the UK.

IntroductionPandemic-related social lockdown limited many sexual behaviors, but to date, no study has examined the perceived impact of social lockdown due to COVID-19 on sexual fantasy and solitary sexual behavior.AimsThe present study sought to examine the perceived impact of social lockdown on sexual fantasy and solitary sexual behavior among UK young adults in various living situations.MethodsA convenience sample of 565 adults aged 18–32 and living in the UK completed anonymous, web-based, study-specific questionnaires between May 14 and 18, 2020, 7 weeks after social lockdown was initiated. Mixed-method analyses were conducted.Main Outcome MeasuresThe study presents qualitative and quantitative data. Criterion variables were measured dichotomously as increases (vs no change) in sexual fantasy and increases (vs no change) in pornography consumption. Predictor variables were living arrangement, relationship status, and postlockdown changes in masturbation and pornography consumption.ResultsOf all, 34.3% engaged in more sexual fantasizing during lockdown; women were more likely than men to report this increase. Living context and relationship status were predictors of increased fantasizing. Of all, 30.44% reported an increase in at least one solitary sexual practice. This increase was associated with an increase in sexual fantasizing and also with increased pornography consumption. Nineteen percent of participants reported an increase in pornography use, with men being more likely than women to report this increase. Participants mostly attributed their increases to boredom, increased free time, and replacing partnered sex.ConclusionShifts in sexual fantasizing and solitary sexual practices were predicted by living arrangements, relationship status, and gender. The present findings suggest that the assessment of sexual fantasy and solitary sexual activities may benefit patients presenting with pandemic-related stress. Although mostly exploratory, significant changes in sexual fantasy and solitary sexual practices were observed. A cross-sectional design, convenience sampling, and study-specific measures are limitations. Cascalheira CJ, McCormack M, Portch E, et al. Changes in Sexual Fantasy and Solitary Sexual Practice During Social Lockdown Among Young Adults in the UK. J Sex Med 2021;9:100342.

Maintaining long-distance relationships: comparison to geographically close relationships

As more and more people are in long-distance relationships (LDRs), a growing body of literature has emerged investigating how these individuals maintain their relationships in the face of geographical separation. We extended this literature by comparing North American individuals in LDRs (n = 232) and in geographically close relationships (n = 236) in terms of eight relationship maintenance behaviors and nine sexual maintenance behaviors (all positive behaviors). A multivariate analysis of variance showed that individuals in LDRs reported more frequent behaviors to maintain a connection while separated, online sexual activity together, and sexual activity when together as well as less frequent sexual fantasizing about non-partners. Although we found gender differences in the maintenance behaviors consistent with traditional gender roles, these differences were not moderated by relationship type. These results suggest that an increase in introspective behaviors may be important to maintaining LDRs both romantically and sexually, but that sexual frequency is also important for maintaining LDRs and may not be easily replaced by online sexual activities.

What Fantasies Can Do to Your Relationship: The Effects of Sexual Fantasies on Couple Interactions.

Research addressing the underlying functions of sexual fantasies has mainly focused on variables associated with frequency and content of fantasies. Relatively less is known about how sexual fantasizing affects the relationship. Four studies examined the contribution of fantasizing about one's partner ("dyadic fantasies") to relationship outcomes. In Studies 1 and 2, participants fantasized either about their partner or about someone else and rated their desire to engage in sex and other nonsexual relationship-promoting activities with their partner. In Studies 3 and 4, romantic partners recorded their fantasies and relationship interactions each evening for a period of 21 and 42 days, respectively. In Study 4, partners also provided daily reports on relationship perceptions. Overall, dyadic fantasizing was associated with heightened desire and increased engagement in relationship-promoting behaviors. Relationship perceptions explained the link between dyadic fantasies and relationship-promoting behaviors, suggesting that such fantasies benefit the relationship by enhancing partner and relationship appeal.

Sexual fantasies: review of major scientific studies

This publication aims at analyzing major classic and current research on sexual fantasies. A new perspective on this phenomenon that understands sexual fantasies as an integral part of a human’s sexual life, that includes various mental visions and impressions which are perceived by a person as sexual and evoke arousal, is introduced. Main perceptions regarding their development patterns, including a psychoanalytic framework, development of fantasies as a result of learning, a correlation between the frequency of sexual fantasies and sex hormones levels are presented. It was established that sexual fantasies constitute a part of cognitive processes that take a direct part in a cycle of a sexual reaction formation. New functions of sexual fantasies were outlined; they include reinforcement of sexual arousal, stress reduction, escape from reality, forecasting, self-esteem boost and others. Key contextual aspects, such as fantasies of a romantic nature, sexual experimenting fantasies, fantasies with a concept of submission or dominance, sadomasochist fantasies, voyeurism, promiscuity, group sex themed fantasies or ideas of a permanent partner change, are revealed. The difference between a female and a male type of fantasizing is also described. Main problems associated with sexual fantasizing are revealed: the presence of obsessive fantasies, deviant fantasies, peculiarities of fantasizing among persons with traumatic experience, a specific correlation between nature of sexual fantasies and personal features. Fundamental psychotherapeutic methods of dealing with sexual fantasies are briefly examined: aversion psychotherapy, positive reinforcement of the desired experience, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, psychoanalytic interpretation of a content of fantasies, emotion extraction method.

Online Forums Allow Pedophiles to Redeem Their Sins: A Qualitative Evaluation of Pedophilic Traits Among Internet Users

Objective: In the era of widely accessible internet, individuals with pedophilic traits discover digital modes of engaging in sexual fantasizing about children. This study evaluates activities of pedophilic communities on the internet. Design and Method: Responses of self-identified pedofiles on internet forums were qualitatively evaluated. Relevant forums, specializing in mental health, were identified through having threads on “sexuality”, “paraphilias”, and “pedophilia”. Chat spaces with minimum 200 replies were included in data sets. Responses of registered users were tracked and evaluated to see whether these individuals consistently engaged in discussions relevant to pedophilic context. To confirm selfreported pedophilic traits of participants, descriptions were cross-referenced with DSM-5 criteria for pedophilia. Results: Common points of discussion between self-identified pedophiles included: ineffectiveness of psychotherapeutic treatment, crowdsourcing information about what makes it illegal to possess child pornography, chats about what amount of clothing makes a child less sexually appealing, and fears of relapsing due to access to online child pornography. Conclusions: Streamlined access to internet allows sharing of various materials - including pornography - and correlates with rise in paraphilic perversion online. Pedophiles are building small online communities, where they share fantasies and experiences with each other. This study offers unique glimpse into a typical conversation between self-identified pedophiles and highlights the need to restructure rehabilitation approach for pedophiles. In particular, therapy sessions should implement monitoring of online browsing activities of pedophiles undergoing treatment as part of conduct management.

Are Sex Drive and Hypersexuality Associated with Pedophilic Interest and Child Sexual Abuse in a Male Community Sample?

Although much is currently known about hypersexuality (in the form of excessive sexual behavior) among sexual offenders, the degree to which hypersexual behavior is linked to paraphilic and especially pedophilic interests in non-forensic populations has not been established. The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the associations between total sexual outlets (TSO) and other sex drive indicators, antisocial behavior, pedophilic interests, and sexual offending behavior in a large population-based community sample of males. The sample included 8,718 German men who participated in an online study. Hypersexual behavior as measured by self-reported TSO, self-reported sex drive, criminal history, and pedophilic interests were assessed. In moderated hierarchical logistic regression analyses self-reported contact sexual offending against children was linked to sexual fantasizing about children and antisociality. There was no association between aggregated sex drive, and sexual abusive behaviour in the multivariate analyses. In contrast, self-reported child pornography consumption was associated with sex drive, sexual fantasies involving children, and antisociality. Nevertheless, in clinical practice an assessment of criminal history and pedophilic interests in hypersexual individuals and vice versa hypersexuality in antisocial or pedophilic men should be considered as particularly antisociality and pedophilic interest are important predictors of sexual offending against prepubescent children.

Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Sexual Behaviors of Chinese University Students: Gender Differences in Prevalence and Correlates

The main aim of the present study was to investigate gender differences among university students in contemporary China regarding (1) the prevalence of various types of intrapersonal and interpersonal sexual behaviors and (2) their sociodemographic and psychosocial predictors. A total of 1,397 university students (Mage = 20.3 years) completed related questionnaires. Intrapersonal behaviors (i.e., sexual fantasizing, solitary masturbation, and viewing pornography) were generally reported more frequently than interpersonal behaviors (i.e., petting, oral sex, and intercourse). Gender differences were most evident for intrapersonal sexual behaviors, all of which were reported more frequently by men. Men reported significantly more heterosexual intercourse than women but not petting or oral sex. Several correlates (i.e., age, educational aspiration, family income, urbanity, relationship experience, and Internet use) were significant predictors of various intrapersonal and interpersonal sexual behaviors. Gender significantly moderated these correlations in three cases: Family income was a stronger negative predictor of intercourse for women, romantic relationship history was a stronger positive predictor of intercourse for men, and Internet use was a stronger positive predictor of sexual fantasizing for men. We discuss the implications of these findings for sexuality education and sexual health policies and practices in contemporary China.

Direct and Indirect Measures of Sexual Maturity Preferences Differentiate Subtypes of Child Sexual Abusers

To aid risk assessment, management, and treatment planning it is essential to assess child sexual abusers' deviant sexual interests (DSI) and preferences (DSP) for sex with children. However, measurement of DSI/DSP is fraught with psychometric problems. In consequence, research interest has shifted to latency-based indirect measures as a measurement approach to complement self-report and physiological assessment. Utilizing the Explicit and Implicit Sexual Interest Profile (EISIP)-a multimethod approach consisting of self-report, viewing time, and Implicit Association Test (IAT) DSI/DSP measures-we replicated phallometric DSI/DSP differences between child sexual abuser subgroups in a sample of intrafamilial, extrafamilial, and child pornography offenders. DSI/DSP was associated with recidivism risk, offense-behavioral measures of pedophilic interest, and sexual fantasizing. It also negatively correlated with antisociality. Distinguishing between child sexual abuser subtypes and being related to recidivism risk, the EISIP is a useful tool for sexual offender assessments.

Women, Sex and Modern Society: The Sex Lives of Readers of a Dutch Women's Magazine

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency to which heterosexual women engage in a range of sexual activities, such as sexual fantasizing and engaging in cybersex, and to examine women's level of satisfaction with their sex lives. In addition, we explored the role of age in women's sexual activities and satisfaction levels. A total of 4,470 heterosexual Dutch women participated in this study, ranging in age from 18 to 82. Results indicated that, on average, women were quite satisfied with their sex lives and engaged, on a regular basis, in several sexual activities. A minority of women engaged in extradyadic sex and cybersex. With age, women were especially less likely to have sex with a partner and, when having sex, to engage in oral sex. Older women also felt less satisfied with the quality of their sex lives. Results and their implications are discussed.

Beyond the borders of reality: Attachment orientations and sexual fantasies

AbstractTwo studies examined the associations between attachment orientations and sexual fantasies. In Study 1, 176 participants completed a sexual fantasy checklist. The findings indicated that attachment anxiety was associated with frequent sexual fantasizing (e.g., submission themes). More anxiously attached women were particularly likely to report extrapair fantasies, whereas more anxiously attached men were especially likely to report romantic fantasies. Attachment avoidance was negatively associated with romantic themes, primarily among men. In Study 2, 115 participants described a sexual fantasy in narrative form. Findings paralleled those of Study 1, with the exception that the avoidant effects were more pronounced in women’s sexual fantasies than in men’s. Implications for understanding the interplay of the attachment and sexual behavior systems are discussed.

A multivariate analysis of the sexual fantasy themes of college men

Understanding sexual fantasies is important to the scientafic study of human sexuality. A sexual fantasy refers to a private or covert experience in which the imagination of desirable sexual activity with a partner is sexually arousing to the individual. Prior sexual experiences of an individual appear to increase the incidence of sexual fantasies, as well as the variety of sexual themes in a fantasy, which permit a greater elaboration of the fantasy theme when compared to less sexually experienced individuals. The present study was an investigation of the factors or sexual themes that emerge in a college male population, as well as a comparison of college menwith human samples obtained in other studies: a sample of men and women and a sample of sexuallyvariant men. In this study, 116 male students, all of whom identified themselves as heterosexual, completed the Wilson Sex Fantasy Questionnaire (WSFQ Results indicated that the present sample had significantly more exploratory, intimate, impersonal, and total sexual fantasies than sexual fantasies reported by female respondents in another study using the WSFQ and significantly more intimate, impersonal, and total sexual fantasizing when compared with a male sample in anotherstudy. The men in this study also evidenced less deviant areas of sexual fantasizing when compared with a group of sexually variant men in another study. A principal components analysis extracted four factors, which accounted for 45% of the total variance. Thefour sexual fantasy topic areas for the most part replicated prior findings by Wilson (1988) but are also more heterogeneous, indicating that male college students engage in a variety of sexual fantasies but seem to favor more intimate, less deviant or exploratory sexual themes that are in line with nonclinical samples and dafferent from several clinical samples of sexually variant men.

Case study

Abstract Paul, a 47-year-old, was referred to me for follow-up care after inpatient treatment for his sexual addiction and depression. He was married and had a stepdaughter and stepson. This, his only marriage, was of eight years duration. The hospitalization occurred as a result of fears of acting on his sexual fantasies about his 16-year-old stepdaughter. Paul had a long history of compulsive sexual fantasizing and masturbation. Within the past two years, he had begun to fantasize about his stepdaughter. His fantasies did not include other teenage girls. He also had a history of compulsive overeating and had been chronically overweight. He was a recovering alcoholic of 20 years. Paul was isolated, he had few friends, and his marriage was strained. He was sexually dysfunctional, having never been orgasmic during intercourse. His sexual activity in the past two years was exclusively autoerotic. During inpatient treatment, Paul had a memory of being sexually abused as a child.

Fantasies and Exposure to Sexually Explicit Magazines

We assessed whether a relationship exists between the degree of men's exposure to Playboy and Penthouse magazines and the frequency of their sexual and hostile-aggressive fantasies. No significant relationships were found between frequency of readership of Playboy and either sexual or aggressive fantasies. This finding supported the contention by Playboy's publisher that consumers are not attracted to the magazine primarily for sexual fantasizing. Penthouse readership was best predicted by the interaction of sexual and hostile fantasies: For those with low-hostile fantasies, there was not a significant relationship between sexual fantasies and Penthouse exposure, whereas for those with high-hostile fantasies, there was a strong association between exposure to this magazine and sexual fantasizing (r = .51, p <.0001). These results did not change when statistical controls were used for possible confounding with other media and fantasies. Although these findings were largely predicted on the basis of an expressive model, which asserts that consumers' exposure to sexual media is an expression of their conscious fantasies, some of the data may also be explained by other models. The need for better theoretical models to guide further research is emphasized.

Sexual Fantasy Patterns as Related to Sexual Attitude, Experience, Guilt and Sex

AbstractThe present study examined the relationship between sexual attitude, experience, sex, and college students' sexual fantasies and then evaluated the relative contribution of attitudes, experience, and guilt to explicitness, fantasy length, emotionality, and frequency of sexual fantasizing. A total of 79 male and 81 female undergraduate college students volunteered for participation. Subjects completed a demographic data sheet and Sexual History Questionnaire, the Valois Attitude Checklist for self and parents, and the Mosher Forced Choice Guilt Inventory, and then wrote three of their commonly occurring fantasies. As predicted, liberal attitudes were associated with longer, more explicit fantasies, and more extensive sexual experience was associated with longer, more explicit, and more emotional fantasies. Stepwise multiple regressions suggested that sexual experience is the best overall predictor of aspects of sexual fantasies.

Sexual fantasies and sexual satisfaction: An empirical analysis of erotic thought

This empirical investigation explored the meaning and/or function of sexual fantasizing for married women and whether any differences exist between married women who are: satisfied, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, or dissatisfied with their current sex life. From a structural‐functionalism perspective, a questionnaire was developed and pretested for this exploratory study of sexual fantasies. The questionnaire was subsequently administered to 212 married undergraduate and graduate female volunteers at a midwestern commuter university. Although many professionals have argued that engaging in sexual fantasies may be undesirable, our findings do not support that view. No statistically significant relationships were found between ever having experienced a sexual fantasy and satisfaction with current sex life nor between frequency of sexual fantasizing and satisfaction with current sex life. These results also strongly indicate that sexual fantasies help many married women to achieve sexual arousal and/or ...

Sexual fantasizing in males and females

Sexual fantasizing during intercourse, masturbation, and nonsexual activity was examined in 30 males and 30 females, American students at Tel-Aviv University. Each subject responded individually to questionnaires involving general background information, sexual activity, daydreaming frequency and attitudes toward daydreaming, and a sexual fantasy scale. The results indicated that virtually no man or woman denied having sexual fantasies. Any observable sex differences were in kind rather than amount of fantasy. Women had more submission fantasies, whereas men reported more performance fantasies. This difference was interpreted as reflecting social sexual stereotypes. In support of a cognitive skill model, it was found that sexual fantasizing proliferates along with increases in both sexual and daydreaming experience. Sexual passivity was related to a greater degree of fantasizing during sex. On the whole, the findings suggest that sexual fantasizing is a universal occurrence which in itself is not necessarily related to psychopathology.