Communication problems are among the most common complaints brought to couples' counseling and are believed to play a central role in the development and maintenance of many sexual dysfunctions. The present study examined self-reported communication patterns within heterosexual couples where the wife is experiencing anorgasmia and within two groups of control couples. As hypothesized, couples with an anorgasmic female partner reported more problematic communication regarding issues of sexuality than did control couples. In particular, the anorgasmic women and their male partners reported significantly more discomfort than did controls in discussing sexual activities associated with direct clitoral stimulation. The etiologic and treatment implications of these differences are discussed.

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Communication problems are believed to play a central role in many sexual dysfunctions. The present study behaviorally assessed communication patterns within heterosexual couples in which the woman was experiencing female orgasmic disorder and within two groups of control couples. The sexually dysfunctional couples evidenced significantly poorer communication than controls, primarily but not exclusively when discussing sexual topics. Specifically, women with orgasmic disorder or their male partners demonstrated more blame and less receptivity. We discuss the etiologic and treatment implications of these findings.

This study examined the independent and interactive effects of sexual explicitness and degrading themes toward women on mens' attitudes following exposure to video presentations of male-female interactions. Subjects were 83 male college students who viewed video vignettes under one of four stimulus conditions: (a) sexually explicit/degrading, (b) sexually explicit/nondegrading, (c) nonexplicit/degrading, and (d) nonexplicit/nondegrading. Results revealed that men exposed to degrading material, regardless of explicitness, were significantly more likely to express attitudes supportive of rape, while explicitness had no significant main or interactive effect on these attitudes. Further, the interaction of explicitness with degradation was found to impact scores on a measure of sexual callousness. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.