The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Sexual Attitudes, Sexual Assertiveness, and Sexual Functioning in Men and Women

Abstract

Background: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) causes physical, sexual, or psychological harm. The association between psychosexual (sexual assertiveness, erotophilia, and attitude towards sexual fantasies) and sexual function (sexual desire, sexual excitation, erection, orgasm capacity, and sexual satisfaction), and the experience of physical and non-physical IPV was assessed. Methods: Data from 3394 (1766 women, 1628 men) heterosexual adults completed the Spanish version of the Index of Spouse Abuse, scales measuring psychosexual and sexual function, and demographic characteristics were collected. Results: For men, poorer sexual health was associated with an experience of physical abuse (F = 4.41, p < 0.001) and non-physical abuse (F = 4.35, p < 0.001). For women, poorer sexual health was associated with physical abuse (F = 13.38, p < 0.001) and non-physical abuse (F = 7.83, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The experience of physical or non-physical abuse has a negative association with psychosexual and sexual functioning in both men and women.

Association of Sexual Attitudes with Sexual Function: General vs. Specific Attitudes

“…As for taking a general attitude toward erotophilia, we observed that while women had no explanatory capacity for sexual function components, men played a secondary role in accounting for erection capacity and the ability to have an orgasm; that is, men with an erotophilic attitude would be associated with a better erection and orgasm capacity. These results supported the proposed hypothesis and, based on previous studies [ 2 , 23 , 26 ] of erotophilia and attitudes toward sexual fantasies and masturbation, took different weights to explain sexual function, with more importance attached to specific attitudes. These findings evidenced that specific sexual attitudes (particularly positive attitudes toward sexual fantasies) could be more sensitive variables compared to having a general attitude toward sexuality (i.e., erotophilia) to examine sexual health.…”

“…As far as we are aware, the scientific literature contains no studies that jointly examine the role of general and specific sexual attitudes to explain sexual function. Several research works focused instead on the relation between some attitudes and certain sexual response dimensions, such as desire [ 12 ] or orgasm [ 19 ], and very few have jointly examined the association of the two types of attitudes (general vs. specific) with other sexual health-related conducts [ 2 , 23 , 26 ]. For this reason, the objective of the present study was to analyze the capacity of both types of attitudes to explain each sexual function component in women and men.…”

“…Sexual attitudes can be displayed towards sexuality in general (e.g., erotophilia) or certain sexual conducts (e.g., attitude toward sexual fantasies or masturbation). Both types of sexual attitudes significantly determine the way in which people live and express their sexuality, and are associated with different indicators of sexual health, such as skills to prevent sexually transmitted diseases [ 1 ], sexual victimization [ 2 ] or sexual function [ 3 ].…”

“…Sierra et al [ 26 ] recently reported that a positive attitude toward sexual fantasies, unlike erotophilia, is capable of explaining sexual function in both men and women. More recently, Sierra et al [ 2 ] reported that attitudes toward sexual fantasies, unlike erotophilia, distinguished women who had suffered physical and non-physical abuse by a partner from those who had not endured such experiences.…”

“…Due to gender differences evidenced in both sexual attitudes [9,26,30] and sexual functions [7], this association was examined in men and women separately. We hypothesized that a general attitude toward sexuality (erotophilia), and specific attitudes toward sexual fantasies and masturbation, would have a different relevance in explaining sexual function, with more importance attached to attitudes toward specific sexual conducts (sexual fantasies and masturbation), as studies into other constructs have demonstrated [2,23,26].…”