Sexual Fulfillment Research Articles

Health Belief Model on Sexual Behavior Issues among Prisoners at Prison in Pekalongan, Central Java

Bacground : One of the basic human needs to be fulfilled is sexual need. Prisoners face problem in their sexual need fulfilment and freedom, due to the prison’s diciplinary system, including supervison, strict disciplinary mechanism, and enactment of spatial division between men and women. As a consequence, there often occur perverted sexual behaviors, including homosexuality. This study aimed to analyze the sexual behavior issues among prisoners at prison using Health Belief Model. Subjects and Method: This was a qualitative descriptive study with phenomenological approach. The main key informants in this study were prisoners having imprisoned for one year or more and officers at Class IIA prison, in Pekalongan, Central Java. The supporting informants included health personnel (doctors and nurses) at Class IIA prison clinic. Results: All informants reported that they were susceptible to engage in risky sexual behaviors in order to fulfil their sexual need, such as masturbation and homosexuality. The psychological adverse effects they had experienced included fear and feeling of embarrassment their perverted sexual behaviors were recognized by others. The informants reported that they did not have self-efficacy in coping with sexual need issues while in prison. Conclusion : The imprisonment system has an impact on the way inmates meet their sexual needs through masturbation. The role of prison officials is urgently needed to enable prisoners to address the problems of their biological needs through beneficial activities while in prison. Keywords: prisoners, sexual behaviors, Health Belief Model Correspondence: Liliana Dwi Pranita. Masters Program in Public Heath, Sebelas Maret University, Jl. Ir. Sutami 36 A, Surakarta 57126, Central Java. Email: lilin_quina@yahoo.com. Mobile: +6285647000303. Journal of Health Promotion and Behavior (2017), 2(3): 232-241 https://doi.org/10.26911/thejhpb.2017.02.03.04

Sexual Dysfunction and its Treatment through Herbal Aphodisiacs

Dear Editor, The main essence of marriage in humans is proliferation and sexual fulfillment of male with a female in sexual intercourse. Apart from non living matter, all living things reproduce to make more organisms like themselves. Not only the male and female reproductive organs are essential for reproduction but also for a normal sexual intercourse the factors relating to the erection of the copulatory organ must function normally. The repeated inability of the male or female to perform this function, is termed as sexual dysfunction (SD). Sexual dysfunction in male can be a result of physical or psychological disorder. Male sexual problems include decreased desire, orgasm disorder, erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory disorder and Detumescence failure. The remedies for male sexual dysfunction in modern medicine are limited. Allopathic drugs such as Sildenafil citrate, Tadalafil citrate, Vardenafil, Avanafil, Alprostadil, and Papaverin have been developed for the management of erectile dysfunction, but produce side effects like sudden hypotension, hypersensitivity reaction, abnormal vision, infertility, suicidal tendencies and mental disorders which limit their utility. Read more. . .

Nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward aged sexuality in Flemish nursing homes.

Admission to a nursing home does not necessarily diminish an older person's desire for sexual expression and fulfillment. Given that nursing staff directly and indirectly influence the range of acceptable sexual expressions of nursing home residents, their knowledge and attitudes toward aged sexuality can have far-reaching effects on both the quality of care they provide to residents and the self-image and well-being of these residents. To investigate nursing staff's knowledge and attitudes toward aged sexuality, to determine whether certain sociodemographic factors of the nursing staff relate to their knowledge and attitudes toward later-life sexuality, and to examine the relationship between knowledge and attitudes. Descriptive cross-sectional survey study. The administered questionnaire collected sociodemographic data and data from an adapted, Dutch version of the Aging Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Scale. Data were collected from November 2011 through April 2012. A total of 43 geographically dispersed nursing homes in Flanders, Belgium, participated. Out of a potential research sample of 2228 nursing staff respondents, 1166 participated. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of the KU Leuven. Nursing staff appeared to be moderately knowledgeable about aged sexuality and displayed a rather positive attitude toward sexuality in older people. Significant relationships between various variables were found both at univariable and multivariable levels. Knowledge and attitudes proved to be positively related, indicating that a higher level of knowledge of aged sexuality is associated with a more positive attitude toward sexuality in later life. Research findings are discussed within a broader international context. There is room for improvement for both nursing staff's knowledge and attitudes toward aged sexuality. This might be aided by appropriate educational interventions. Our results identified different target groups of nursing home staff for these interventions.

"The Pleasure Is Better as I've Gotten Older": Sexual Health, Sexuality, and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Older Women Living With HIV.

There is limited research examining the sexual health and well-being of older women living with HIV (OWLH). Most studies focus on sexual dysfunction, leaving aside the richer context of sexuality and sexual health, including the effect of age-related psychosocial and interpersonal changes on sexual health behaviors. Guided by the integrative biopsychosocial model and the sexual health model, this study explored the importance of sex and sexuality among OWLH to identify their sexual health and HIV prevention needs for program planning. A purposive sample (n=50) of OWLH was selected from a parent study (n=2052). We conducted 8 focus groups and 41 in-depth interviews with 50 African American and Latina OWLH aged 50-69years old in three U.S. cities. The triangulation approach was used to synthesize the data. Six salient themes emerged: sexual pleasure changes due to age, sexual freedom as women age, the role of relationships in sexual pleasure, changes in sexual ability and sexual health needs, sexual risk behaviors, and ageist assumptions about older women's sexuality. We found that sexual pleasure and the need for intimacy continue to be important for OWLH, but that changing sexual abilities and sexual health needs, such as the reduction of sexual desire, as well as increased painful intercourse due to menopause-associated vaginal drying, were persistent barriers to sexual fulfillment and satisfaction. Particular interpersonal dynamics, including low perceptions of the risk of HIV transmission as related to gender, viral suppression, and habitual condomless sex with long-term partners without HIV transmission have resulted in abandoning safer sex practices with serodiscordant partners. These findings suggest that HIV prevention for OWLH should focus on how sexual function and satisfaction intersect with sexual risk. HIV prevention for OWLH should promote ways to maintain satisfying and safe sex lives among aging women.

The Asexual-Single and the Collective: Remaking Queer Bonds in (A)sexual, Bill Cunningham New York, and Year of the Dog

This article examines a series of recent films that seeks to represent the often conflated categories of asexuality and singlehood. The films (A)sexual (dir. Angela Tucker, US, 2011), Year of the Dog (dir. Mike White, US, 2007), and Bill Cunningham New York (dir. Richard Press, US, 2010) illustrate that the binding of the asexual to the single, though seemingly misguided, can open up fruitful pathways for reimagining queer relationality. Responding in part to scholarship on singlehood and asexuality while also attending to the film studies historiography of sexuality, this essay challenges both the representability and study of these emergent types that seem legible only through their apparent lack. In its call to disassociate coupled and sexualized desire from the practice of engaging films' gender and sexual politics, this article analyzes examples in independent cinema that seek to bring longings for collectivity, without an identitarian focus, to the foreground of political consciousness. These filmic examples thus struggle to find a space for the queer collective in place of more traditional modes of coupled romance and sex. They reexamine naturalized and commonplace narratives of sexual fulfillment that are taken for granted in most liberal and even in more radical queer politics. In the end, these films incisively critique definitions of romance and love by extending them beyond oversaturated normative connotations and into the less defined—potentially more public—terrains of collectivity, friendship, and even interspecies affinities, giving spectators glimpses into queer existential and political formations outside of a predominantly LGBT framework.

Sex during Pregnancy: Opinions, Attitudes and Practices among Pregnant Women

Background: Sexuality during pregnancy varies from culture to another. No study on this issue has been carried yet out in the Mossi plateau in Burkina Faso. Aim: To examine the opinions, attitudes and sexual practices among pregnant women in the city of Ouagadougou city. Methods: we conducted a descriptive cross-sectional survey in 10 health centers. The pregnant women attending the obstetric health facilities for a routine prenatal consultation were interviewed. Data was collected prospectively from 1st July to 31st August 2014 in 10 health centers selected at random. Results: Among the 412 pregnant women who participated in the survey, 31.3% said that sex was a taboo subject and 94.2% of them averred that it was possible to have sex during pregnancy. There are 121 (29.4%) pregnant women who believed that sexual intercourse has a negative impact on pregnancy. Those who thought that sex does not have negative consequences on pregnancy accounted for 60.4% of cases. The proportion of respondents who reported having had sex during pregnancy was 90%. The average weekly sexual intercourse during pregnancy was 1.1 ± 0.4 as opposed to 2.4 ± 0.5 before pregnancy. Decreased sexual desire was reported by 75.1% of women in the 1st trimester of pregnancy. This proportion was 3.4% in the 2nd trimester and 66.7% in the 3rd trimester. In the 1st trimester, 76.3% of pregnant women reported a decrease in the frequency of orgasm. This rate was 67.7% in the 3rd trimester. Conclusion: The fluctuations in sexual interest during pregnancy have been observed. For a better sexual fulfilment during pregnancy, health providers must ensure a good counseling about sexuality during the antenatal cares.

Should we question early feminizing genitoplasty for patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia and XX karyotype?

BackgroundThere is a wide difference of opinion between the medical–surgical community and advocacy group regarding Disorders of Sexual Development (DSD) secondary to congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) being ranked in the intersex category. This rupture is even more evident when the issue of genitoplasty is brought up. For physicians it is obvious and unequivocal that a person with CAH and an XX karyotype has a female gender identity, whereas associations tend to rank persons with CAH in the intersex category and advocate holding-off on surgical management. Material/MethodsA retrospective case study vs. control group, spanning over 40years, included 21 patients who were treated in 3 different centers. Each patient and their parents were contacted independently and interviewed regarding interpersonal relationships, psychological impact of genitoplasty, gender identity and opinion on optimal care management for this disorder. Three couples controls (parent–child) per CAH patients were used and matched according to age, sex assigned at birth and ethnic origin. ResultsSex assigned at birth seemed to concord with the gender identity perceived by the patients in 85.7% of cases. In fact, 89.7% of patients and 100% of parents felt that feminizing genitoplasty should be performed within the first year of life. There is however a significant difference compared to controls who felt that surgical management should occur later on in life. No difference was highlighted during childhood regarding parents–child relationships or social integration. However, during adolescence, the parents–child relationship tended to be significantly more painful for the CAH group. Integrating their parenting role was significantly harder for patients in the CAH-DSD group. In the population of CAH-DSD patients who had genitoplasty the level of sexual fulfillment was not lower to the one reported by the control group. ConclusionFemale sex assignment seems legitimate according to this study and the development of gender identity in these patients matches the sex assigned at birth. Resolving early on the adequacy of the genital anatomy with the sex assigned is promoted by patients as well as their parents. Proper psychomotor development and sexual satisfaction underline the absence of complications related to the surgical technique and the relevance of early surgical management.

„Eine Elementarfrau in einer Anderswelt.” Non-konformes Begehren in Jürgen Lodemanns „Salamander”

Since the 1980s sexual diversity has become an object of interest for both sexology and gender studies. There is general agreement that we are witnessing disintegration of traditional sexual practice combined with enhanced pluralism of sex life. The question that remains challenging is whether – or to what extent – it is possible to diversify forms of sexual activity in a society with predominantly heteronormative attitudes. The object of analysis is Salamander – a novel by Jürgen Lodemann from 2011. The author, acting as an advocate of non-normative sexuality, tells a story of Alexa Undine Brandes – an intersexual protagonist entangled in a love triangle. With her anatomically unique body, she is capable of fluent transitions in her erotic activity. The author reflects upon fluid, non-normative sexuality seen as a duality that brings sexual fulfilment and satisfaction. At the same time, however, it can also be classified as destructive passion which – posing a challenge to heteronormative social conventions – may have tragic circumstances, as described by the author.

Body-relatedness in severe somatoform disorder: Evaluation of the Dresden Body Image Questionnaire

Background: A core feature of somatoform disorder is the troubled relation of patients with their body. Patients generally have difficulty to acknowledge and understand bodily signals and to adapt their behavior accordingly. Assessment of this complex relation to the body could be of great use in research and clinical practice. The Dresden Body Image Questionnaire (DBIQ) targets a broad range of body related aspects and measures body acceptance, vitality, physical contact, sexual fulfillment and self-aggrandizement.

Young women with a disorder of sex development: learning to share information with health professionals, friends and intimate partners about bodily differences and infertility

AimTo understand the experiences of young women with a disorder of sex development when sharing information about their body with healthcare professionals, friends and intimate partners.BackgroundDisorders of sex development are lifelong conditions that create bodily difference such as absence of reproductive organs which can impact on young women’s fertility and sexual experiences.DesignInterpretive phenomenological analysis with thirteen young women (14-19 years old) with a disorder of sex development.MethodsThe young women chose to participate in either a face-to-face semi-structured interview or to complete a paper diary between 2011–2012.ResultsA superordinate theme focusing on the meaning bodily differences held for these young women is presented through three themes: self-awareness and communicating this to others; actualizing intimacy; and expressing meaning of altered fertility to self or professionals or partners. During early adolescence, the young women were guarded and reticent about sharing personal information about their disorder of sex development but as they moved towards adulthood, some of the young women learnt to engage in conversations with more confidence. Frustrations about their bodily differences and the limitations of their bodies were talked about as factors which limited physical spontaneity, impacted on their perceived sexual fulfilment and challenged the development or sustainability of close friendships or intimate partnerships. The young women wanted empathic, sensitive support from knowledgeable health professionals to help them understand their bodies.ConclusionAttachment and a ‘sense of being’ were the concepts that were closely linked to the young women’s development of a secure identity.

Sexual satisfaction in Tunisian obese subjects

Summary The objectives of our study was to appreciate the impact of weight overload on the sexuality of a population of obese subjects compared to a control group, and to identify, in obese subjects, factors linked to sexual dissatisfaction. Subjects and methods The study involved subjects whose body mass index (BMI) was greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2, recruited from the outpatient consultation of Endocrinology at the University Hospital Hedi Chaker Sfax in Tunisia. The control group, matched for age, sex and level of education, was recruited at the same consultation among the companions of consultants, whatever the diagnoses. Results The average BMI of obese patients was 33.48 kg/m2; that of controls was 23.27 kg/m2. The dissatisfaction with the body image was more frequent in the obese group than in control group (50% versus 27.5%, P = 0.039). In the population of obese subjects: sexual satisfaction was correlated with positive perception of an attracting body (P = 0.015); sexual desire was correlated to satisfaction with body image (P = 0.019); sexual pleasure was correlated with perception of an attracting body (P = 0.016); avoidance of sexual intercourses was significantly related to dissatisfaction with body image (P = 0.025). Conclusion Our study showed a clear link between obesity and sexual dissatisfaction, and between satisfaction with body image and sexual fulfillment. Therefore, sexual satisfaction should be systematically appreciated in obese patients. Sexological approach, if needed, would allow to improve the management of such patients.

“Mighty through thy Meats and Drinks Am I”: The Gendered Politics of Feast and Fast in Tennyson’s Idylls of the King

“Mighty through thy Meats and Drinks Am I”:The Gendered Politics of Feast and Fast in Tennyson’s Idylls of the King Charlotte Boyce (bio) In the penultimate book of Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, a novice at the convent to which Guinevere has flown following the discovery of her adultery recalls the festivities that accompanied the founding of Arthur’s court: And in the hall itself was such a feastAs never man had dreamed; for every knightHad whatsoever meat he longed for servedBy hands unseen; and …Down in the cellars merry bloated thingsShouldered the spigot, straddling on the buttsWhile the wine ran: so glad were spirits and men.1 This evocation of fantastic plenitude is countered, four hundred lines later, by Guinevere’s pledge to confine herself within Almesbury convent’s “narrowing nunnery-walls” and “fast with [the] fasts” of its inhabitants in penance for her sins (ll. 665, 672). Whereas Arthur’s knights celebrated the founding of the Round Table with copious food and drink and unbridled displays of appetite, Guinevere, following the dissolution of this brotherhood, severely restricts her diet in order to signal Christian submission and the renunciation of her secular, bodily desires. Such contrasting patterns of consumption emerge repeatedly in Idylls and indicate one of the contemporary ideological concerns running through Tennyson’s Arthurian epic: in its representations of male feasting and female food refusal, the poem appears to reproduce the gendered ordering of appetite implicit in Victorian culture. The act of eating has, of course, long been imbued with specific gender values but, as Joan Jacobs Brumberg points out, in the nineteenth century, in [End Page 225] particular, “food and femininity were linked in such a way as to promote restrictive eating.”2 The idealized Victorian woman was dainty, slender-waisted and self-disciplined, capable of controlling her somatic cravings. Given this cultural context, it is perhaps unsurprising to find that several of the female figures in Idylls display abstemious eating behaviors for, as Ingrid Ranum notes, Tennyson approached his poem “with concern for its relevance to modern society,” reflecting within it many of the values and anxieties of his age.3 Yet, while the body and its appetites are undoubtedly leitmotifs in Idylls, surprisingly little critical attention has been paid, to date, to the literal acts of consumption and abstention represented in the poem, with scholarly focus instead tending to concentrate on the metaphorical themes of sexual hunger and fulfilment. Two exceptions to this rule can be found in James R. Bennett’s essay on “Tennyson’s Theistic Skepticism” and Anna Krugovoy Silver’s Victorian Literature and the Anorexic Body, both of which offer readings of Perciviale’s sister’s pious fast in “The Holy Grail.” While Bennett reads the nun’s ascetic behavior in relation to the medieval phenomenon of “holy anorexia,” Silver uses it to highlight the slippage between secular and sacred fasting in nineteenth-century culture, arguing that “Tennyson’s representation of the saintly religious woman … shares traits with the representation of the virtuous secular women.”4 Silver also suggests that while Tennyson “genders the activity of fasting as female, … he indicates that it can be honorably undertaken by … men,” citing the spiritual fasts of Percivale and Galahad in support of her claim (p. 146). Tennyson’s own reading of Idylls appears to validate the association of virtuous or chivalrous conduct with the denial of bodily appetites. In the closing dedication to Queen Victoria, he describes his poem as “shadowing Sense at war with Soul,” his combative image pitting the corporeal, the worldly, and the sensual against the spiritual, the ethereal, and the ascetic, and implicitly endorsing the latter states (“To the Queen,” l. 37).5 Interestingly, though, the poem is not unequivocal in its censure of appetite and advocacy of abstemiousness. As this essay will show, fasting is enveloped in discursive uncertainty in Idylls, its ambiguous representation pointing toward the anxious debates that surrounded food refusal in the Victorian period. How was the abstentious body to be read? As the vehicle of a healthy Christian asceticism? Or as the visible signifier of an underlying psychopathology? In Tennyson’s poem, I argue, both interpretations...

Perceptions of sugar mommy practices in South Africa

The study sought to explore sugar mommy practices regarding their occurrence, acceptability as well as perceived reasons why older women and younger men enter into sugar mommy relationships. An exploratory qualitative study involving 135 participants from 11 diverse focus groups in terms of age, gender (females=27%) and geotype throughout the nine South African provinces was conducted. Data on the participants’ views, opinions and experiences of sugar mommy practices were collected using focus group interviews. The data were thematically analyzed. The study found that sugar mommy practices were prevalent in South Africa. The perceived reasons for acceptability were: love, survival, and correctness. Perceived reasons why older women have sexual relationships with younger men included: sexual fulfilment, domination, reduction of stress, physical attraction, procreation, lack of self-control, youthful feeling, migrancy, difficulty in finding partners of compatible age and young men being seen as not demanding. Perceived reasons why younger men have sexual relationships with older women included: material gain, reduction of stress, being enticed, rejection by women of compatible age, peer influence and belief that older women are purer. Given the increase in sugar mommy practices, which may have significant implications for the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, it is necessary to understand the underlying perceptions of these practices, in order to develop culturally relevant and socially acceptable intervention programmes.

Attractiveness and Spousal Infidelity as Predictors of Sexual Fulfillment Without the Marriage Partner in Couples From Five Cultures

This paper explores the cross-cultural prevalence and predictors of extramarital sexual fulfillment and in doing so tests some predictions derived from evolutionary considerations. Although most adults, across cultures, believe that infidelity, particularly by the female, is ‘wrong’ and infidelity is often the cause of divorce and violence, the behavior is widespread. Evolutionists have noted various fitness advantages to be gained from sexual infidelity. With such a strong theoretical base for specific predictions about infidelity, it is surprising that few conclusions can be drawn about the predictors of the behavior in married couples. Our study of married couples from China, Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US) revealed that love of the spouse, frequency of finding non-partners attractive, and self- reported extramarital sexual fulfillment of the spouse predicted frequency of sexual fulfillment outside of marriage. Cultural similarities and differences are discussed.

Breast augmentation and breast implants evolution

Female breast is a universal symbol of sexuality, motherhood and femininity today, dating back even to the time of ancient cave paintings. Historically, women have long sought breast enlargement to improve physical proportions, to foster a more feminine appearance, or to enhance self-image. When compared to the aesthetic norm, inadequate breast volume may lead to a negative body image, feelings of inadequacy, and low self-esteem. These disturbances may adversely affect a patient`s interpersonal relationships, sexual fulfillment, and quality of life. Since its introduction in 1962, modern breast augmentation with implants has become one of the most common aesthetic procedures, receiving more media attention than any other. It remains an increasingly popular surgical intervention today where the idealized female physique has morphed from the curvaceous Rubens type to one increasingly thin and androgynous, but with prominent breasts. The popularity of the procedure is thought to be based on the satisfaction of the patients` results. Breast enlargement and reshaping with breast implants nowadays is a safe, well-accepted technique, which can be undertaken with ever-less frequent complications thanks to continued advances in both surgical technique and implant design. The purpose of the present article is to make a brief review of the history of breast augmentation as a surgical procedure and the evolution of breast implants.

Aspekte der Sexualität bei Adoleszenten mit einer Spina bifida

In the last few decades, the life expectancy of patients with meningomyelocele has increased through improved medical care. Problems associated with adulthood like sexuality, friendship, and fertility are now more important for these young persons. Physical and cognitive impairment can alter the complex process of sexual maturation, but nevertheless patients of today are well-informed and show a strong interest in sexual fulfillment.

Management of ejaculatory dysfunction

Ejaculatory dysfunction is a common complaint and is often associated with a reduced quality of life for sufferer and partner. The spectrum of ejaculatory dysfunction extends from premature ejaculation (PE) to delayed ejaculation (DE) and anejaculation. Over the past 20-30 years, the PE treatment paradigm, previously limited to behavioural psychotherapy, has expanded to include drug treatment. Multiple well-controlled, evidence-based studies have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors in delaying ejaculation, confirming their role as first-line agents for the treatment of lifelong and acquired PE. More recently, there has been increased attention to the psychosocial consequences of PE, its epidemiology, its aetiology and its pathophysiology by both clinicians and the pharmaceutical industry. DE and anejaculation are probably the least common, least studied and least understood of the male sexual dysfunctions. However, their impact is significant as they may result in a lack of sexual fulfilment for both the man and his partner, an effect further compounded when procreation is among the couple's goals of sexual intercourse. The causes of DE, anejaculation and anorgasmia are manifold. Numerous psychotherapeutic treatments are described for the management of delayed or anejaculation. Although some appear to be effective, none has been properly evaluated in large-scale samples. Treatment of DE or anejaculation with pharmacotherapy has met with limited success. No drugs have been approved by regulatory agencies for this purpose, and most drugs that have been identified for potential use have limited efficacy, impart significant side-effects or are yet considered experimental in nature.

Unequal to the Task

Item 1: A recent New York Times article highlighted a study of 24,000 students over five years that revealed differences between men’s and women’s attainment of sexual fulfillment in the hookup culture. Despite the best efforts of feminism to enforce parity between the sexes in all areas of life—abetted by government, academia, popular culture, the media, as well as the ever-threatening presence of political correctness—it seems that an outstanding “inequality,” as it was termed, still persists. Women do not achieve orgasm in casual sex at nearly the rate that men do—only “about 40 percent of women had an orgasm during their last hookup involving intercourse, while 80 percent of men did.” As one professor observed, “The notion of sexual liberation, where men and women both had equal access to casual sex, assumed a comparable likelihood of that sex being pleasurable.” But, he concluded rather solemnly, “that part of the playing field is not level.” The study also revealed that “roughly three quarters of women in the survey said they had an orgasm the last time they had sex in a committed relationship.” The idea that God and/or Nature may have designed things that way for good reasons cut no ice in the discussion of this particular “inequality.” Acad. Quest. (2014) 27:12–17 DOI 10.1007/s12129-014-9413-8

Associations between health and sexual lifestyles in Britain: findings from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3)

SummaryBackgroundPhysical and mental health could greatly affect sexual activity and fulfilment, but the nature of associations at a population level is poorly understood. We used data from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3) to explore associations between health and sexual lifestyles in Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales).MethodsMen and women aged 16–74 years who were resident in households in Britain were interviewed between Sept 6, 2010, and Aug 31, 2012. Participants completed the survey in their own homes through computer-assisted face-to-face interviews and self-interview. We analysed data for self-reported health status, chronic conditions, and sexual lifestyles, weighted to account for unequal selection probabilities and non-response to correct for differences in sex, age group, and region according to 2011 Census figures.FindingsInterviews were done with 15 162 participants (6293 men, 8869 women). The proportion reporting recent sexual activity (one or more occasion of vaginal, oral, or anal sex with a partner of the opposite sex, or oral or anal sex or genital contact with a partner of the same sex in the past 4 weeks) decreased with age after the age of 45 years in men and after the age of 35 years in women, while the proportion in poorer health categories increased with age. Recent sexual activity was less common in participants reporting bad or very bad health than in those reporting very good health (men: 35·7% [95% CI 28·6–43·5] vs 74·8% [72·7–76·7]; women: 34·0% [28·6–39·9] vs 67·4% [65·4–69·3]), and this association remained after adjusting for age and relationship status (men: adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0·29 [95% CI 0·19–0·44]; women: 0·43 [0·31–0·61]). Sexual satisfaction generally decreased with age, and was significantly lower in those reporting bad or very bad health than in those reporting very good health (men: 45·4% [38·4–52·7] vs 69·5% [67·3–71·6], AOR 0·51 [0·36–0·72]; women: 48·6% [42·9–54·3] vs 65·6% [63·6–67·4], AOR 0·69 [0·53–0·91]). In both sexes, reduced sexual activity and reduced satisfaction were associated with limiting disability and depressive symptoms, and reduced sexual activity was associated with chronic airways disease and difficulty walking up the stairs because of a health problem. 16·6% (95% CI 15·4–17·7) of men and 17·2% (16·3–18·2) of women reported that their health had affected their sex life in the past year, increasing to about 60% in those reporting bad or very bad health. 23·5% (20·3–26·9) of men and 18·4% (16·0–20·9) of women who reported that their health affected their sex life reported that they had sought clinical help (>80% from general practitioners; <10% from specialist services).InterpretationPoor health is independently associated with decreased sexual activity and satisfaction at all ages in Britain. Many people in poor health report an effect on their sex life, but few seek clinical help. Sexual lifestyle advice should be a component of holistic health care for patients with chronic ill health.FundingGrants from the UK Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust, with support from the Economic and Social Research Council and Department of Health.

Der Dresdner Körperbildfragebogen (DKB-35): Validierung auf der Basis einer klinischen Stichprobe

The Dresden Body Image Questionnaire (DKB-35) measures 5 dimensions of body image: vitality, self-acceptance, self-aggrandisement, physical closeness, and sexual fulfilment. This article presents data on the reliability and validity of the DKB-35. The sample consisted of 560 pa-tients with psychosomatic disorders. To analyse the factor structure, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. To examine the convergent validity, correlations between the DKB-35 scales and the Frankfurt Body Concept Scales (FKKS, [1]), the Narcissism Personality Inventory (NPI, [2]) and the self-esteem subscale of the Frankfurt Self-Concept Scales (FSKN, [3]) were computed. The 5 scales of the DKB-35 showed excellent reliability. Between the 5 DKB-35 scales and the corresponding scales of the FKKS, the NPI, and the FSKN, moderate correlations were found. The results confirm the reliability and validity of the DKB-35. Possible fields of applications and further developments are discussed.