Women In Process Research Articles

Factor Analysis as a Tool for Optimizing the Training Process in Women's Handball

Factor Analysis as a Tool for Optimizing the Training Process in Women's Handball

Embodied Injustice: Comparing Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer and Heterosexual Women’s Accounts of Unwanted Sex

Lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women experience disproportionately high rates of unwanted sex, including sexual assault. The literature has noted LBQ women's elevated risk for sexual victimization compared to heterosexual women, but little research has compared LBQ women's processing of sexual violations to those of heterosexual women. To address this gap, this article examines accounts of unwanted sex among 20 LBQ and 38 heterosexual college women (57 cisgender; 1 transwoman). We use both studies of embodiment and queer theory to understand socially patterned differences between LBQ and heterosexual women’s accounts of unwanted sex. Our findings indicate that heterosexual women’s multiple experiences with men (violent and not) often lead to explanations of sexual violations focused on men’s individual characteristics, for example, certain men are better/worse than others. In contrast, LBQ women’s experiences with women/non-binary partners produce a broader critique of heterosexuality. We find suggestive evidence that this difference helps LBQ women move away from self-blame toward a position of naming injustice.

Homonormativity in Peripheral Spaces: LBT Women's Processes of Becoming Political Subjects

AbstractHomonormativity refers to the ratification and endorsement of heteronormative institutions and structures into lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) lives, culture and discourse. While homonormativity is commonly manifested in (relatively) privileged, White, able‐bodied gay men, this paper focuses on lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LBT) women's experiences in Israeli peripheral and rural spaces. As a concept, homonormativity has the potential of reducing lived experiences into a widely criticized category. Instead, we voice the geographical, temporal and gendered potential of homonormative processes to articulate varied ways for leading a queer life under capitalism. Based on 61 qualitative interviews with LBT women living in the Israeli peripheries, we argue that LBT women employ two major homonormative processes of becoming political subjects to negotiate their sexualities in a space fraught with LGBTphobia. These homonormative processes are comprised of assimilation and contestation, revealing a nuanced mode of political subjectivity, shaped by ongoing experiences of LGBTphobia.

A Qualitative Overview of the Infertility Process in Women: Infertility Psychological Counseling

It is important to examine women's experiences in the infertility process, as being a woman is perceived as a concept that overlaps with motherhood, and the woman herself is exposed to physical pain during the treatment. In this research, which was carried out with a phenomenological pattern, one of the qualitative methods, the experiences of married women diagnosed with infertility regarding the infertility process were examined, and it was tried to determine the themes that would help psychological counselors in the therapeutic process. The study group consists of 10 women selected by criterion sampling using purposeful sampling methods. The results of the research were discussed under seven headings: infertility experience, stress factors, acquired skills, social support resources, the role of the spouse, coping skills, and belief in the treatment. The theme of the infertility experience includes codes of negativeness, helplessness, frustration, and compelling; the theme of stress factors includes codes of expectations, pressure, uncertainty, the passage of treatment, personal conflicts, against his spouse’s liability, failure, and the search for a solution; the theme of acquired skills includes codes of coping with the challenges, obtaining medical information, hoping, common share, body recognition, gender awareness, healthy eating, the theme of social support resources includes codes of, contact, spouse, family, friend, and counselor; the theme of the role of spouse includes codes of support; the theme of coping skills includes codes of, religious beliefs, social activities, the sense of common humanity, work and psychological support; the theme of faith for treatment includes codes of hope and despair.

RF01 | PMON43 Melanocortin-4 Receptor Agonism Enhances Sexual Brain Processing in Women with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

Abstract Introduction Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) is characterized by a persistent deficiency of sexual fantasies and desire for sexual activity, causing marked distress or interpersonal difficulty. It is the most prevalent female sexual health problem worldwide, affecting approximately 1 in 10 women, but has limited treatment options despite its substantial health, social, and economic burden. Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) agonists have emerged as a promising therapy for women with HSDD, although, to date, their mechanism of action is unknown. This study aims to use functional MRI to delineate the reproductive neuroendocrine pathways involved and elucidate how MC4R agonists treat HSDD in women. Methods We conducted a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover clinical study, using psychometric, functional neuroimaging and hormonal analyses, to assess the effects of MC4R agonism on sexual brain processing in 31 premenopausal women with HSDD. Participants attended on two occasions, receiving either a subcutaneous injection of an MC4R agonist (Bremelanotide 1.75 mg), or placebo, at each study visit, thereby acting as their own controls. Results 31 randomized women were included (mean age 32 years, mean duration of HSDD 41 months). MC4R agonism significantly increased self-reported sexual desire for up to 24-hours post administration, compared to placebo (P=0.007). During functional neuroimaging, MC4R agonism enhanced cerebellar and supplementary motor area activity, as well as deactivating the secondary somatosensory cortex, specifically in response to visual erotic videos, compared to placebo (Z=2.3, P<0.05). In addition, MC4R agonism enhanced functional connectivity between the amygdala-insula and amygdala-thalamus during prolonged visual erotic stimuli, compared to placebo (P=0.025). MC4R agonism resulted in a mean increase in LH of 1.1 iU/L (F [1,58] = 13.38, P=0.0005), and FSH of 0.35 iU/L (F [1,60] = 10.97, P=0.0016) across the 300-minute duration of the study, with no effect observed on circulating estradiol or progesterone levels. Interpretation of results and conclusions:We demonstrate that MC4R agonism deactivates the secondary somatosensory cortex which can reduce the detrimental self-monitoring process often observed in HSDD, thereby increasing sexual desire. Furthermore, cerebellar and supplementary motor area activation by MC4R agonism are associated with increased sexual arousal and sexual motor imagery respectively. Finally, MC4R agonism enhanced functional connectivity between key limbic structures which can be disrupted in HSDD. In summary, these data identify the previously undescribed neural substrates and connections through which MC4R agonism modulates sexual brain processing to increase sexual desire. These findings provide mechanistic insight for the action of MC4R agonism in sexual behaviour and are relevant to ongoing therapeutic development for HSDD and for MC4R agonist development more widely. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04179734.Funding: Investigator-sponsored study funded by AMAG Pharmaceuticals Inc, MRC and NIHR. Presentation: Saturday, June 11, 2022 1:00 p.m. - 1:05 p.m., Monday, June 13, 2022 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

PMON214 Kisspeptin Restores Sexual and Attraction Brain Processing in Women with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

Abstract Introduction Sexual desire is a key component of the sexual response model. Absence or deficiency of sexual desire can lead to marked distress or interpersonal difficulty, termed 'hypoactive sexual desire disorder' (HSDD). HSDD is the most common female sexual health complaint worldwide, affecting 10% of women. Despite its detrimental impact on psychological well-being and quality of life, treatment options are currently limited. The hormone kisspeptin is a key endogenous activator of the reproductive endocrine axis, with emerging roles in sexual and emotional behaviour, and thus could serve as a novel treatment option in women with HSDD. Hypothesis Kisspeptin restores sexual brain processing in women with HSDD. Methods To test our hypothesis, we performed a randomized, double-blind, two-way crossover, placebo-controlled study in 32 (mean age ± SEM 29.2±1.2 years; BMI 23.1±0.5 kg/m2) premenopausal women with HSDD using psychometric assessments, functional neuroimaging, and hormonal assessments to investigate the effects of kisspeptin administration on brain activity, in response to erotic stimuli (erotic videos) and facial attraction (face images of varying attractiveness). Study visits were undertaken in the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Results Kisspeptin administration resulted in an increase in self-reported ratings of feeling 'sexy', compared to placebo, measured using the Sexual Arousal and Desire Inventory (t [32] =2.27, P=0.03). On functional MRI, kisspeptin administration deactivated the left inferior frontal gyrus and activated the postcentral and supramarginal gyrus in response to erotic videos (Z=2.3, P< 0.05). Kisspeptin administration deactivated the secondary somatosensory cortex (Z=2.3, P<0.05) and enhanced activation in the posterior cingulate cortex on viewing male faces, which correlated with a reduction in self-reported sexual aversion (r=0.476, P=0.005). Kisspeptin resulted in a mean increase in LH of 2.75 iU/L (F(1, 62) = 6.084, P=0.02) and FSH of 0.37 iU/L (F(1, 62) = 4.030, P=0.05) across the 75-minute duration of the study, with no effect observed on downstream circulating estradiol, progesterone or testosterone levels. Interpretation of results and conclusionsDeactivation of the left inferior frontal gyrus by kisspeptin administration likely serves to reduce the internal monologue and response inhibition. Furthermore, kisspeptin's deactivation of the secondary somatosensory cortex can reduce a woman's focus on herself, her body image, and related negative thoughts, thus augmenting her judgement of male facial attractiveness. Finally, kisspeptin's actions in the posterior cingulate cortex can serve to increase feelings of romantic love and reward processing, thereby reducing sexual aversion and increasing sexual desire. Collectively these brain changes provide mechanistic insights for the observed increase in sexual desire and attraction during kisspeptin administration in women with HSDD. These behavioural and mechanistic findings in women with HSDD lay the foundations for clinical applications for kisspeptin in psychosexual disorders. Presentation: Monday, June 13, 2022 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Gut Microbiota and Fear Processing in Women Affected by Obesity: An Exploratory Pilot Study.

The microbiota–gut–brain axis extends beyond visceral perception, influencing higher-order brain structures, and ultimately psychological functions, such as fear processing. In this exploratory pilot study, we attempted to provide novel experimental evidence of a relationship between gut microbiota composition and diversity, and fear-processing in obesity, through a behavioral approach. Women affected by obesity were enrolled and profiled for gut microbiota, through 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Moreover, we tested their ability to recognize facial fearful expressions through an implicit-facial-emotion-recognition task. Finally, a traditional self-report questionnaire was used to assess their temperamental traits. The participants exhibited an unbalanced gut microbiota profile, along with impaired recognition of fearful expressions. Interestingly, dysbiosis was more severe in those participants with altered behavioral performance, with a decrease in typically health-associated microbes, and an increase in the potential pathobiont, Collinsella. Moreover, Collinsella was related to a lower expression of the persistence temperamental trait, while a higher expression of the harm-avoidance temperament, related to fear-driven anxiety symptoms, was linked to Lactobacillus. Once confirmed, our findings could pave the way for the design of innovative microbiome-based strategies for the treatment of psychological and emotional difficulties by mitigating obesity-related consequences and behaviors.

Vaginal States: Detection of Conversion Processes in Women Using Contraception and Characterization of Vaginal Lactobacillus Species.

The vaginal microenvironment, regulated by an immune system, can be protected or altered by many factors, including contraceptive methods. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of contraceptive methods on the basic vaginal states (BVSs) and to identify culturable vaginal Lactobacillus species. This is a prospective, consecutive, longitudinal, and descriptive study. The vaginal contents of 208 women were sampled prior to initiating contraception and six months later. The BVSs were established using the balance of vaginal content (BAVACO) methodology that evaluates microbiota and vaginal inflammatory reaction (VIR). Lactobacillus species were characterized by biochemical tests and mass spectrometry. The following contraceptive methods were evaluated: combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), condom (CON) and rhythm method (RHYT). McNemar's test was used. Of the 208 women, 171 attended both examinations. In the COCP group (n=127), 83 vaginal contents maintained a normal microbiota, 1 sample became dysbiotic, and 37/43 dysbiotic microbiota samples reverted to normal (p<0.0001). A conversion to BVS with VIR was detected in the CON group (n=31) (p=0.001). The RHYT group (n=13) maintained its initial BVSs. The predominant Lactobacillus species found were L. crispatus and L. gasseri, with a trend toward a positive association between L. crispatus and COCP (OR=2.82; p=0.058). Hormone administration corrected the dysbiosis and preserved a normal BVS. The CON increased the VIR. The protection of the microbiota observed in the rhythm method probably responds to a systemic hormonal influence. The trend toward a positive association between COCP and L. crispatus, with its protective properties, evidenced an effective hormonal relationship.

The influence of time resources on mate selection: The moderating role of mating strategies and gender

This study aims to extend the content of resources to time and explore the influence of time resources on mate selection decision, in addition, clarify the role of gender and mate selection strategy in it. In this study, 24 college students and 32 pairs of romantic partners were recruited for two experiments that used the interview method and the information board paradigm, and preferences for mate selection cues under different time resources and mating strategies were investigated. The results showed that (1) in mate selection, the “3G traits” of women's preferences were health, regular facial features, height, kindness, filial piety, a sense of responsibility, the ability to work, a desire to advance, and career prospects, while men's mating preferences were for health, regular facial features, being neat and easy, kindness, sincerity, tolerance, positivity, a desire to advance, and women having their own pursuits. (2) Time resources had an impact on both men's and women's processing of mate selection cues. When time resources were sufficient, individuals focused on more diverse traits. (3) Mating strategies and gender moderated the influence of time resources on mate selection.

Emotional Infant Face Processing in Women With Major Depression and Expecting Parents With Depressive Symptoms.

Processing of emotional facial expressions is of great importance in interpersonal relationships. Aberrant engagement with facial expressions, particularly an engagement with sad faces, loss of engagement with happy faces, and enhanced memory of sadness has been found in depression. Since most studies used adult faces, we here examined if such biases also occur in processing of infant faces in those with depression or depressive symptoms. In study 1, we recruited 25 inpatient women with major depression and 25 matched controls. In study 2, we extracted a sample of expecting parents from the NorBaby study, where 29 reported elevated levels of depressive symptoms, and 29 were matched controls. In both studies, we assessed attentional bias with a dot-probe task using happy, sad and neutral infant faces, and facial memory bias with a recognition task using happy, sad, angry, afraid, surprised, disgusted and neutral infant and adult faces. Participants also completed the Ruminative Responses Scale and Becks Depression Inventory-II. In study 1, we found no group difference in either attention to or memory accuracy for emotional infant faces. Neither attention nor recognition was associated with rumination. In study 2, we found that the group with depressive symptoms disengaged more slowly than healthy controls from sad infant faces, and this was related to rumination. The results place emphasis on the importance of emotional self-relevant material when examining cognitive processing in depression. Together, these studies demonstrate that a mood-congruent attentional bias to infant faces is present in expecting parents with depressive symptoms, but not in inpatients with Major Depression Disorder who do not have younger children.

Peran World Health Organization dalam Menangani Isu Female Genital Mutilation di Sierra Leone

Penelitian ini menjelaskan tentang peran WHO dalam menangani isu Female Genital Mutilation di Sierra Leone. Dalam penelitian ini peneliti berfokus pada implementasi peran WHO melalui CEDAW dan Maputo Protocol yang telah diratifikasi oleh Sierra Leone dalam penghapusan praktek FGM yang merupakan budaya dari masyarakat Sierra Leone untuk proses wanita menuju dewasa serta gerakan dari aktivisi internasional dan organisasi internasional yang berfokus pada penghapusan praktik FGM. Budaya FGM sendiri merupakan salah satu bentuk diskriminasi terhadap perempuan. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif, dengan pendekatan deskriptif analitik, dimana data-data yang dikumpulkan dengan menggunakan studi pustaka. Dalam menjelaskan penelitian ini Peneliti memperoleh data melalui Jurnal, Buku, Tesis, Laporan Ilmiah, internet dan laporan pemerintah serta respon organisasi internasional yang berfokus pada FGM di Sierra Leone. Teori yang digunakan adalah HAM, Organisasi Internasional dan Peran. Data-data yang diperoleh kemudian diklasifikasikan untuk kemudian dianalsis dengan menggunakan teori yang digunakan untuk menarik kesimpulan. Dari hasil analisi, peneliti mengambil kesimpulan bahwa implementasi CEDAW oleh pemerintah Sierra Leone dalam masalah penghapusan Female Genital Mutilation tidak diterapkan secara baik oleh pemerintah Sierra Leone dikarenakan pemerintah tidak memasukan undang-undang kedalam hukum nasionalnya mengenai penghapusan praktik tradisional berbahaya yaitu FGM. Alasan pemerintah adalah dikhwatirkan mengancam kepentingan nasionalnya.

Hunting to Feel Human, the Process of Women’s Help-Seeking for Suicidality After Intimate Partner Violence: A Feminist Grounded Theory and Photovoice Study

Women reach out to health care providers for a multitude of health problems in the aftermath of intimate partner violence, including suicidality; however, little is known about how they seek help. The purpose of this study was to explore how women seek help for suicidality after intimate partner violence using a feminist grounded theory and photovoice multiple qualitative research design. Interviews were conducted with 32 women from New Brunswick, Canada, and seven from this sample also participated in five photovoice meetings where they critically reflected on self-generated photos of their help-seeking experiences. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative analysis of grounded theory. Hunting to Feel Human involves fighting for a sense of belonging and personal value by perceiving validation from health care providers. Women battled System Entrapment, a feeling of being dehumanized, by Gauging for Validation and Taking the Path of Least Entrapment. Implications for health care providers include prioritizing validating interactions and adopting a relational approach to practice.

Milk donation after losing one's baby: Adopting a donor identity as a means of coping with loss

This is a study of bereaved mothers' donation of human milk to nonprofit human milk banks following their baby's death. Whereas much has been written about the biological and medical aspects of milk donations in times of loss, much less attention has been given to the psychosocial aspects of this phenomenon. I build on research of motivations for philanthropic giving in times of crisis and loss, and focus on the role of donor identity for explaining bereaved mothers' milk donations. Through a content analysis of 80 bereaved donors' personal testimonials, I demonstrate the role of a donor identity as a transformative identity in these women's process of coping with their loss. Taking on a temporary milk donor identity helped the women in this study reconstruct their shattered identities as mothers and healthy females and served to enfranchise them as bereaved mothers.

Diagnostics and Treatment of Hyperplastic Endometrial Processes in Women in the Menopausal Transition

His article discusses the problems of diagnosis of diffuse hyperplastic processes of the endometrium in women in the menopausal transition. Endometrial hyperplasia is a heterogeneous set of pathological processes, ranging from benign proliferation to monoclonal tissue proliferation. During the study, the most optimal criteria for the diagnosis of endometrial hyperplasia in women during the transition to menopause based on the use of a modern diagnostic complex (immunohistochemical and endoscopic technologies) were selected and formed. Endometrium is a hormone–sensitive, cyclically renewed tissue that reacts to the slightest changes in the hormonal status. In this connection, an attempt was made to analyze the prospects and feasibility of using immunohistochemical technologies in gynecological practice. The authors found that the study and analysis of the hormone — receptor status in individuals with endometrial hyperplasia in gynecological practice, consists of two points, first, the hormone-receptor status in endometrial hyperplasia is individual, and the degree of expression of highly productive or low-productive receptor complexes speaks the mechanism of development of receptor desynchronosis, and secondly, the hormone-receptor status determines the sensitivity of endometrial hyperplasia to hormonal therapy.

0086 Targeted Memory Reactivation during Slow-Wave Sleep Modulates the Neural Correlates of Emotional Memory and Arousal Processing in Women

0086 Targeted Memory Reactivation during Slow-Wave Sleep Modulates the Neural Correlates of Emotional Memory and Arousal Processing in Women

Indices’ Dynamics of Microcirculatory Processes in Women with Habitual Miscarriage of Pregnancy Daily Wearing Prophylactic Trousers in the Course of the Third Pregnancy Term

It is acknowledged at present that habitual miscarriage of pregnancy is accompanied by disturbances of hemo-circulation process in vessels of little caliber. In our research we applied the author’s variant of medicinal-prophylactic trousers’ daily wearing in the course of the third term in women with habitual miscarriage of pregnancy who received traditional saving pregnancy therapy. In our research we applied instrumental, laboratory and statistical methods of investigation. The women wearing medicinal-prophylactic trousers were noted to have the improvement of microcirculation indices in lower extremities. It became possible in the result of the increase of linear systolic bloodstream speed by more than 16.4%, linear average bloodstream speed by more than 50.0%, and average volumetric bloodstream speed by more than 78.0% and level decrease of systolic bloodstream speed by more than 38.0%. The plasma of women with habitual miscarriage of pregnancy wearing medicinal-prophylactic trousers in the course of the third term, was reached to have leveling of existing imbalance of arachidonic acid metabolites on behalf of level decrease of thromboxane B2 and level rise of 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α till the values of the norm. It was accompanied by the rise of nitric oxide summary metabolites nearly till the control level in plasma of the examined women by the end of observation. Daily wearing of medicinal-prophylactic trousers was accompanied by content rise of erythrocytes-discocytes in blood of patients till 85.5 ± 0.18% at the decrease of erythrocytes’ reversibly and irreversibly modified forms till 10.9 ± 0.07% and 3.6 ± 0.04%, respectively. At the same time the group of observation reached normalization of erythrocyte aggregation on behalf of erythrocytes’ sum decrease in aggregates by 30.8% and quantity of these aggregates-by 29.2% at number increase of non-aggregated erythrocytes by 20.4%. So, at wearing of medicinal-prophylactic trousers in the third term the women with habitual miscarriage of pregnancy reach potentiation of the conducted therapy with normalization of microcirculation indices and erythrocytes’ rheological properties. Given alterations can optimize the processes of microhemodynamics and activate trophism in the field of small pelvis promoting successful carrying a baby to full term.

Supplemental Material for Is All Nonhomeostatic Eating the Same? Examining the Latent Structure of Nonhomeostatic Eating Processes in Women and Men

Supplemental Material for Is All Nonhomeostatic Eating the Same? Examining the Latent Structure of Nonhomeostatic Eating Processes in Women and Men

Exploring the use of think aloud within Women’s artistic gymnastics judging education

Gymnastics is a judgement-based sport whereby the decision-making processes of judges are expected to lead to valid and reliable outcome scores. The concurrent Think Aloud method has been used to study decision-making amongst coaches and athletes in previous sport-related studies but never in judging-based studies. Hence, this project has two aims: 1) to explore decision-making underpinning the judging process in Women’s Artistic Gymnastic (WAG) by using a concurrent verbal report, Think Aloud (TA) and: 2) to examine the utilisation of TA as a means to facilitate judging education with Malaysian WAG judges. 10 qualified judges were required to verbalise (TA) their thought processes whilst judging a balance beam routine. Follow-up interviews investigated the prospective utilisation of TA within judging education. During the judging process participants verbally reported most frequently as to lack of balance, bending of arms and knees, pointing of feet, confidence, rhythm and tempo, and personal style as focal points for scoring. Overall TA was reported prospectively as an appropriate tool for use within judging education, however, some participants reported performance in the primary task of judging was affected by TA. Study outcomes reported the potential utility of TA to study the decision-making process amongst judges to enable deduction scores to be applied objectively. This study will inform future research to investigate the decision-making processes of both expert and novice judging extending to that of all four WAG apparatus.

O37. Altered Aversive Interoceptive Anticipation and Processing in Women Remitted From Bulimia Nervosa: Time-Course and Connectivity Findings

O37. Altered Aversive Interoceptive Anticipation and Processing in Women Remitted From Bulimia Nervosa: Time-Course and Connectivity Findings

Nutritional Intervention and Its Impact on the Inflammatory Process in Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Nutritional Intervention and Its Impact on the Inflammatory Process in Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome