Veteran men have high rates of adherence to traditional masculinity ideology, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and romantic relationship dissatisfaction. However, there is a paucity of studies investigating how these constructs relate to one another in veteran men. We examined the relation between masculinity ideology and relationship satisfaction and the extent to which this relation was mediated by PTSD symptoms. Next, we tested this mediating effect with traditional male role norms hypothesized to inhibit cognitive-emotional processing of traumatic events (i.e., self-reliance, toughness, dominance, restrictive emotionality) and male role norms with no hypothesized relation with cognitiveemotional processing (i.e., avoidance of femininity, importance of sex, negativity toward sexual minorities). Participants were veteran men with a history of military-related trauma who were in a romantic relationship at the time of study participation (N ϭ 76). Veterans completed measures of traditional masculinity ideology endorsement, PTSD symptoms, and relationship satisfaction. Findings indicated that PTSD partially mediated the association between endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology and relationship functioning in veterans. These findings can be used to inform PTSD interventions with veteran men and their romantic partners.
Previous research has found lower serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) or its sulfated form, DHEA-S, in women diagnosed with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD). Given that DHEA and DHEA-S have multiple direct actions on the brain as well as anti-glucocorticoid properties, it is possible that lower levels of DHEA directly impact women's sexual functioning. To date, the significance of the lower DHEA levels remains unclear. To our knowledge, there has been no empirical study of stress hormones as markers of HPA dysregulation in women with HSDD. To attend to this gap, the present study utilized several measures of HPA axis functionmorning and evening cortisol and DHEA, the cortisol awakening response (CAR), diurnal cortisol slope, and cortisol:DHEA ratioand examined their relationship with sexual functioning in N = 275 women with (n = 137) and without (n = 138) HSDD. Results demonstrated multiple hormonal markers of HPA dysregulation in women diagnosed with HSDD compared to control participants, specifically, lower AM cortisol and DHEA levels, a flatter diurnal cortisol slope, and a lower CAR. Overall, results of the present study indicate that persistently low sexual desire in women is associated with HPA axis dysregulation, with both cortisol and DHEA alterations potentially detrimental to sexual desire.
Research suggests that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with sexual dysfunction; however, there is a paucity of research examining the relations among trauma exposure, PTSD, and low sexual desire, specifically. Thus, the goal of the present study was to investigate whether women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD; n = 132) were more likely to meet criteria for a diagnosis of current or lifetime PTSD relative to women with no sexual desire concerns (n = 137). We also sought to compare the type, frequency, and intensity of PTSD symptoms between the two groups. Finally, we examined whether women in the two groups were exposed to more, or different types of, potentially traumatic events. Compared to women with no sexual health concerns, women with HSDD were more likely to meet criteria for current PTSD, odds ratio (OR) = 5.50, 95% CI [1.18, 25.61]; and lifetime PTSD, OR = 2.78, 95% CI [1.56, 4.94]. Women in the HSDD group also had higher odds of meeting criteria for avoidance (5.10 times) and hyperarousal symptoms (4.48 times) and scored higher on measures of past‐month PTSD symptom frequency, d = 0.62, and intensity, d = 0.57. No group differences were observed regarding reexperiencing symptoms, the associated features of PTSD, or type or frequency of exposure to potentially traumatic events. The findings indicate PTSD symptomatology may be a predisposing or perpetuating contributor to low sexual desire, and low sexual desire and PTSD may be related through an alteration in stress adaptability.
Distress disclosure has been linked with reduced psychological distress, increased wellbeing, and successful psychotherapeutic outcome. Because of the importance of distress disclosure, researchers have worked to develop and improve theoretical models of disclosure to facilitate counseling practices that reduce impediments to disclosure. Presently, we conducted a 2-part study to investigate distress disclosure's associations with attachment avoidance, gender, and alexithymia-3 constructs frequently linked with disclosure. In Part 1, we examined the extent to which attachment avoidance, alexithymia, and gender predicted general disclosure tendencies. In Part 2, we examined the extent to which attachment avoidance, alexithymia, and gender predicted event-specific disclosure. Participants were recruited from a crowdsourcing website (N = 178 in Part 1; N = 108 in Part 2). In Part 1, alexithymia partially mediated the association between attachment avoidance and disclosure tendencies, and the link between attachment avoidance and alexithymia was stronger for men than women. In Part 2, the association between distress intensity and event-specific disclosure was weaker for people with high levels of alexithymia. Implications for counseling theory and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.