Sexual Self-concepts Research Articles

"I Can't Get No Satisfaction"-Psychosocial Aspects and Awareness of Negative Impacts in Chemsex Users: Results from an Anonymous Online Survey.

Chemsex is the interplay of substance use by men who have sex with men (MSM) in sexual contexts. The minority stress model and the identity process theory are explanatory models. In this study, we investigated whether (i) differences in certain psychosocial aspects (i.e., shame, aspects of queer identity, and sexual self-concepts) exist between chemsex users and non-users, and (ii) which factors influence an awareness of negative impacts in chemsex users. We conducted an anonymous, cross-sectional, online survey, including sociodemography, sexual history, history of substance use, validated scales for shame-proneness, aspects of queer identity, and sexual self-concepts. Our analysis comprised descriptive statistics, t-tests, Spearman's correlations, and a multiple linear regression model. We recorded a total of 3257 datasets with 107 chemsex users. Chemsex users showed higher rates for risky sexual behavior. Values for shame proneness, more negative aspects of queer identity, and sexual self-concepts were elevated in chemsex users with an awareness of negative impacts. Sexual anxiety, intravenous substance use, and having had a difficult process coming out were significant predictors of feeling negative impacts. Aspects of shame, queer identity aspects, and sexual self-concepts play an important role in the field of chemsex. Different explanatory models seem to be relevant for different subgroups of chemsex users. Chemsex users with an awareness of a problem were particularly vulnerable and distressed but had the highest motivation for change. Prevention, counseling, and care might profit from the inclusion of these aspects. Further anti-stigma campaigns and a specialization of the healthcare system are needed. Registration: DRKS00022336, date: 29th of October, 2020.

"Finding My Worth as a Sexual Being": A Qualitative Gender Analysis of Sexual Self-Concept and Coping in Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse.

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is likely to have impacts on adult survivors' sexuality, particularly on their sexual self-concept. However, little is known about how survivors cope with CSA-related sexual impacts, including sexual self-concept impairments. Thus, this study aimed to examine the interplay between sexual self-concept and coping strategies in CSA survivors by (1) documenting the manifestations of their impaired sexual self-concepts; (2) identifying their strategies to cope with the sexual impacts of CSA; and (3) examining gender differences on sexual self-concept impairments and coping strategies. Content analysis was conducted on semi-structured interviews with 25 women and 26 men adult survivors of CSA recruited via social networks and victim support organizations. Analyses yielded three conceptual categories: (1) Developing an unconsolidated and unfavorable sexual self-concept following CSA; (2) Avoiding CSA-related sexual impacts and impaired sexual self-concept; (3) Approaching CSA-related sexual impacts with more authenticity. Men often managed their suffering and compensated for their impaired sexual self-concept by engaging in sexual dominance and over-investment, by accepting their sexual difficulties and relying on medication to overcome them. Women tended to restrict themselves and disconnect sexually to avoid suffering, complied with their partners' sexual demands out of a sense of duty, prioritized sexual intimacy over orgasm, and seek professional help. Interventions with survivors should promote the development of approach strategies to cope with sexual difficulties, including self-concept impairments, and foster sexual authenticity.

The Sexual Self as a Function of Relationship Status in an Emerging Adult Sample.

A sample of emerging adult university students completed a survey with the goal of investigating components of "the sexual self" and how these constructs were influenced by romantic relationship status. Three general aspects of the sexual self were considered: sexual self-concept, comfort with sexuality, and past sexual behavior. Sexual self-concept was defined as composed of constructs such as sexual self-schema, self-efficacy, consciousness, optimism, problem self-blame, power/other control, and motivation to avoid risky sex. Sexual comfort, conceptualized as a personality disposition of erotophobia-erotophilia, was assessed using three instruments. This included the Sexual Opinion Survey, the original individual difference measure of erotophobia-erotophilia. Past sexual behavior was assessed with the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory. Findings suggested that individuals in a relationship had more positive sexual self-concepts and were more erotophilic and comfortable with sexuality generally. These differences were modest, based on effect size statistics. Past sexual experience also differed, contingent on relationship status. Some sexual self-concept scales were predictive of sexual satisfaction, while comfort with sexuality was predictive of relational satisfaction. Romantic relationships may have important implications for sexual selfhood, but this is a tentative suggestion, as this was a correlational study and the relationships are likely bidirectional.

Examining the link between sexual self-concept and sexual communication among adolescents

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to move beyond a sexual risk framework to investigate the possible associations among three sex-positive constructs for adolescents: their sexual self-concept (i.e., their positive/negative feelings about themselves as sexual beings), their sexual communication with romantic/sexual partners, and their sexual communication self-efficacy. We also examined differences in these constructs by sexual intercourse experience and gender. Participants were 171 adolescents who had been in a dating or sexual relationship in the past year (M age = 16.32 years; 64.3% girls). Compared to girls, boys had more positive sexual self-concepts but less self-efficacy to communicate with their partners about sex. Adolescents who reported having had sexual intercourse had more positive sexual self-concepts as well as more frequent partner sexual communication compared to adolescents without sexual intercourse experience. Adolescents with a more positive sexual self-concept had higher sexual communication self-efficacy and reported more frequent sexual communication. In addition, sexual communication self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between sexual self-concept and sexual communication. Results highlight the connection between sexual self-concept and sexual communication and contribute to a growing body of work on the positive aspects of adolescent sexuality.

Eastern-Western Women’s Self-Concept

Abstract Although cross-cultural influences on human behavior have been the subject of many scholarly works, few studies have focused on the life experiences of women from hyphenated cultural identities and how these experiences inform a woman’s view of herself as a sexual being, in particular, the influence of cross-cultural experiences on women with combined Western and Eastern culture references. This study analyzes four interviews with first-generation Israeli-Iranian women, who describe how their sexual self-concepts evolved as a result of living between both cultures, in the “space of the hyphen.” I used the Listening Guide methodology to inform the interviews and the data analysis, which reveal the influence of family power, patriarchal social practices, and the women’s desire to distinguish themselves from cultural norms. It introduces multilayered views and processes associated with each woman’s outlook of her evolving sexual self-concept.

Sexual self-concepts among sexual minority men with childhood sexual abuse histories

Introduction Sexual self-concepts are people’s positive and negative perceptions as sexual beings. This study sought to further understand sexual self-concepts among young men who have sex with men with childhood sexual abuse histories. Method: Sixteen (N = 16) participants were interviewed utilizing a hermeneutical phenomenological conceptual framework and methodology. Salient themes were developed and analyzed with the assistance of NVivo. Result: Three themes were found: (1) body image concerns; (2) penile insecurities; and (3) desire for romantic attachment. Conclusion: Findings highlight several perceived factors related to sexual self-concepts that could benefit from additional exploration and consideration when providing mental health services. Nonparticipation was discussed as a limitation and a potential obstacle to service-seeking behavior among individuals that have experienced severe childhood trauma. Further awareness about the paradigm of body image and healthy relationship development could assist in improving mental health concerns among this group.

Sexy-Clothing Behavior of High School Girls: Sexual Self-Congruity and Parental and Popular Girls’ Influences

The present study focused on the sexy-clothing behavior of high school girls. Specifically, we examined whether high school girls wear sexy clothes to express their actual sexual self-concepts and achieve their ideal sexual self-concepts and whether parents and popular girls influence those behaviors. The results, obtained by applying structural equation modeling to analyze the data collected from 384 ninth-grade girls, imply that such girls wear sexy clothes to convey their actual sexual self-concepts and achieve their ideal sexual self-concepts. The girls’ perceptions of parents’ sexy-clothing approval and of popular girls’ sexy-clothing wearing behavior influence the high school girls’ sexy-clothing wearing behavior. Parents significantly influence high school girls’ tendencies to wear sexy clothes to express their actual sexual self-concepts. Popular girls’ sexy-clothing wearing behavior influences high school girls’ tendencies to wear sexy clothes to achieve their ideal sexual self-concepts. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Factors Associated With the Provision of Sexual Health Care by Nursing Students in Hospitals: An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study

This study examined the knowledge and experiences regarding the execution of sexual health care, as well as the sexual self-concepts, of nursing students and their effects on students' competency in providing sexual health care in general hospitals. This was a cross-sectional study in which data was collected from 428 nursing students attending nursing schools in Northern Taiwan. Data was gathered using a self-administered questionnaire which collected information on demographic characteristics, sexual self-concept, sexual health care knowledge, skills, and experiences. The results showed that an average of 81.2% of the items in the sexual health care knowledge and skills scale were answered correctly. Although the students' did not have sexual anxiety, they reported mild negative self-evaluations of their sexual consciousness, and uncertainty regarding sexual needs and activities. The variables of receiving sexual health care training, experiences of sexual harassment, sexual self-concept, knowledge of sexual health care, and experiences of the execution of sexual health care were able to effectively explain 66% of the variation in competency in providing sexual health care. Moreover, students’ previous experiences of the execution of sexual health care (β=.784, p<.0001) were found to have the strongest influence on their competency in providing sexual health care. This study showed that nursing students' competence in providing sexual health care in hospitals requires participation, engagement in, and the accumulation of practical care experience in order to develop sexual health care competencies and establish a positive caring attitude.

A Dyadic Perspective on Sexual Subjectivity and Romantic Relationship Functioning.

Sexual subjectivity is a central feature of healthy sexuality that is believed to shape and be shaped by relationship experiences. However, no studies have examined sexual subjectivity within a dyadic context. The current study examined partner similarity in sexual subjectivity within 75 heterosexual couples and associations with sexual relationship functioning using actor-partner interdependence models. Within couples, partners' scores were significantly correlated on three of five elements of sexual subjectivity and showed similar mean levels on four of the five elements. Men's and women's sexual self-efficacy were positively associated with their own sexual communication. Other associations varied by gender. Men's sexual body esteem and entitlement to self-pleasure predicted their reports of sexual relationship functioning, and women's entitlement to pleasure from partners and sexual reflection predicted their reports of relationship functioning. Few partner effects were observed. Findings suggest that partners' sexual subjectivity is relevant for dyadic functioning in emerging adulthood. Longitudinal research is needed to examine how experiences within and across relationships contribute to the development of sexual self-concepts and sexual functioning.

Sexual Self-Concept through a Cross-Cultural Lens: Qualitative Case Studies of Iranian-American Women

Abstract Recently scholars have examined more closely the topic of female sexual self-concept as an aspect of sexual well-being. Few studies have focused on migrated women’s life experiences cross-culturally, and how that informs a woman’s view of herself as a sexual being. This is particularly true about most middle-eastern cultures, including Iranian-American women. Four case studies draw on qualitative data from interviews with first generation Iranian-American women in the USA to describe the sexual self-concepts evolving as a result of life in both cultures. Applying narrative methodology and feminist theoretical perspectives two themes were revealed. These are i) the influence of family power, and ii) patriarchal social practices. The analysis introduces a multidimensional aspect and process associated with each woman’s view of her sexual self-concept, which takes into account their behaviours, cognitions, and emotions developed in each life stage, and inform her sexual subjectivity (view of herself as a sexual being). Implications of these findings for clinicians and policy makers involved in sexual health care for women are briefly discussed. Keywords: sexual self-concept, cross-cultural, Iranian-American women, sexuality, power relations

I Want Your Sex: The Role of Sexual Exploration in Fostering Positive Sexual Self-Concepts for Heterosexual and Sexual Minority Women.

Openness and self-exploration have been associated with myriad benefits. Within the realm of sexuality, sexual exploration may be 1 facet of openness and self-exploration that yields benefits. Prior literature suggests that such exploration may have benefits for sexual orientation minority persons, though limited research has investigated the benefits of sexual exploration for heterosexuals. The present study used data from 346 adult women (185 exclusively heterosexual, 161 not exclusively heterosexual) to investigate the role of sexual exploration as a mediator between sexual orientation status and positivity toward sex. Results of a structural equation modeling analysis supported mediation of the relationship between sexual orientation and sexual positivity via sexual exploration. Implications for future research and clinical interventions are presented.

Self-esteem, general and sexual self-concepts in blind people.

Background:People with visual disability have lower self-esteem and social skills than sighted people. This study was designed to describe self-esteem and general and sexual self-concepts in blind people.Materials and Methods:This was a cross-sectional study, conducted in the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2013-2014. In this study, 138 visually impaired people participated from Isfahan Province Welfare Organization and were interviewed for measuring of self-esteem and self-concept using Eysenck self-esteem and Rogers’ self-concept questionnaires. The correlation between above two variables was measured using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software by Pearson correlation test.Results:Mean [± standard deviation (SD)] age of patients was 30.9 ± 8 years. The mean (±SD) of general self-concept score was 11 ± 5.83. The mean (±SD) of self-esteem score was 16.62 ± 2.85. Pearson correlation results showed a significant positive correlation between self-esteem and general self-concept (r = 0.19, P = 0.025). The mean of sexual self-concept scores in five subscales (sexual anxiety, sexual self-efficacy, sexual self-esteem, sexual fear, and sexual depression) were correspondingly 11 ± 4.41, 19.53 ± 4.53, 12.96 ± 4.19, 13.48 ± 1.76, and 5.38 ± 2.36. Self-esteem and self-concept had significant positive correlation with sexual anxiety (r = 0.49; P < 0.001) (r = –.23; P < 0.001) and sexual fear (r = 0.25; P = 0.003) (r = 0.18; P = 0.02) and negative correlation with sexual self-efficacy (r = –0.26; P = 0.002) (r = –0.28; P = 0.001) and sexual-esteem (r = –0.34; P < 0.001) (r = –0.34; P < 0.001).Conclusion:Self-esteem and self-concept had significant correlation with sexual anxiety and sexual fear; and negative correlation with sexual self-efficacy and sexual-esteem.

Black Female Sexual Identity: The Self Defined

The findings of a questionnaire survey distributed to 153 female university students in Barbados and Jamaica in 2008 reveal the attitudes to diverse female sexualities in the Caribbean. The participants in the survey discussed changing beliefs about sexuality in Caribbean society. The findings show that slowly, as a consequence of globalization and the mass media, people are increasingly open-minded about sex. Women are confidently expressing and increasingly asserting themselves as equal partners. There is greater debate in Caribbean society about female same-sex relationships, and deeper awareness of sexual harassment is evident. Nevertheless, for some respondents, the same degrading notions of women as sex objects and promiscuous beings continue to exist. Through the survey, the respondents appear to have created independent sexual self-concepts that counteract racist, sexist, heterosexist, and elitist myths. They describe the ways that Western stereotypes of Black Caribbean women as being promiscuous influence how Caribbean women perceive themselves, make sense of and give meanings to their own sexual identities, practices, and relationships. Participants maintain that they defy attempts to regulate their sexuality.

The Sexual Domain of Identity: Sexual Statuses of Identity in Relation to Psychosocial Sexual Health

Sexual identity has been substantially underinvestigated relative to other aspects of identity. The purpose of this study was to document the relationship between sexual psychosocial maturity, positive sexual self-concepts, and effective sexual decision-making/coping styles with the identity processes that college students choose to use in defining their sexual self. Participants in the study were 275 undergraduate male and female students between the ages of 18 and 24 who were attending a liberal arts college in New Jersey. A sexual domain of the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (EOM-EIS) recently developed was used in this study to investigate sexual self-definitional processes. It was found that sexual identity achievement was most strongly endorsed and sexual identity diffusion was least endorsed, across age and gender, suggesting that this is an important domain of self-definition for college students. As hypothesized, sexual identity achievement had the strongest, positive relations to healthy sexual psychosocial stage resolve, healthy sexual self-concepts, and adaptive sexual decision-making/coping skills relative to sexual moratorium, foreclosure, and identity diffusion statuses.

The Development of the Sexual Self-Concept Inventory for Early Adolescent Girls

The Sexual Self-Concept Inventory (SSCI) was developed to assess sexual self-concept in an ethnically diverse sample of urban early adolescent girls. Three scales (Sexual Arousability, Sexual Agency, and Negative Sexual Affect) were shown to be distinct and reliable dimensions of girls' sexual self-concepts. Validity was established through comparisons with established instruments. Sexual Arousability and Sexual Agency were associated with positive sexual self-esteem, positive future orientation toward sex, intentions to engage in intercourse, and lower levels of sexual experience. Negative Sexual Affect was associated with stronger abstinence attitudes and lack of intentions or orientation toward sex in the near future. The results indicate that the SSCI constitutes a valid means of assessing early adolescent girls' views of their sexuality and sexual behavior and may be of use in studies of health and risk-related decision making.

Measuring the Dimensions of Women's Sexuality: The Women's Sexual Self-Concept Scale

The sexual self-concept is an important component of the self-concept that researchers have rarely examined. The Women's Sexual Self-Concept Scale (WSSCS) is a 39-item measure designed to assess women's sexual self-concept. Women rate the extent to which various behaviors, cognitions, emotions, and adjectives describe their sexuality. In a study with 262 women, the measure was found to be both reliable and valid. Three factors were identified through exploratory Principal Components Analysis. Women rated themselves highest on the Reserved Approach subscale, followed by the Agentic Sexuality subscale, and the Negative Associations subscale. Compared to a stereotype of women's sexuality (obtained with a mixed-gender group of 444 participants), the women in the present study rated themselves higher on the Reserved Approach subscale and lower on the Negative Associations subscale. Group differences in women's sexual self-concepts were identified by past xinvolvement in romantic or sexual relationships, and current sexual involvement.

Mental Health and Sexual Self-Concept Discrepancies in a Sample of Young Black Women

This study addresses the mental health consequences of sexual self-concept discrepancies in a sample of Black women (N = 106) age 18 to 25. Participants completed a survey that contained demographic information, mental health indices, and measures assessing how women think and feel about the differences between their actual, ideal, and “ought” sexual selves. Results indicated that sexual self-concept discrepancies, as measured by the Sexual Selves Questionnaire, did not predict the mental health outcomes as expected. However, proxy measures capturing the affective dimension of the discrepancies yielded significant findings. Women who were bothered by the difference between who they actually were and who they ideally wanted to be sexually were more likely to report dejection. Also, women who believed that they were more sexual than they felt they ought to be reported less dejection, less agitation, and fewer somatic complaints. Results underscore the importance of investigating sexual self-concepts in therapeutic contexts.