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Self-transcendence is related to higher female sexual desire

Publication . Costa, Rui Miguel; Oliveira, Tânia Sofia Ferreira de; Pestana, José Antonio Melo; Costa, David

One facet of self-transcendence is creative self-forgetfulness (CSF; tendency to be attentionally absorbed in mindaltering experiences). Proneness to mind-altering attentional absorption and other aspects of self-transcendence were previously related to vaginal intercourse frequency, sexual arousability, and female coital orgasm. Given that sexual responsiveness is enhanced by focused attention, itwas testedwhether CSF correlates with sexual responsiveness, and if maladaptive defenses, openness to experience, and testosterone explain the hypothesized relationships. One hundred thirty-nine Portuguese (98 women) provided saliva samples for testosterone determination by luminescence immunoassays before and after a romantic movie scene and reported how intensely they felt sexual desire and arousal during the movie. CSF was measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory– Revised, maladaptive defenses by the immature defenses subscale of the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40), male and female past month desire by the desire dimensions of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), and Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Female desire and arousal during themoviewere independently predicted by CSF, openness to experience and testosterone, but not by immature defenses. Female past month desire was independently predicted by CSF, testosterone, and less immature defenses. Possible psychobiological processes linking self-transcendence and sexual responsiveness are discussed.

2016Journal article

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Altered states of consciousness are related to higher sexual responsiveness

Publication . Costa, Rui Miguel; Pestana, José Antonio Melo; Costa, David; Wittmann, Marc

Altered states of consciousness lead to profound changes in the sense of self, time and space. We assessed how these changes were related to sexual responsiveness during sex. 116 subjects reported (a) intensity of awareness concerning body, space and time, and (b) satisfaction, desire, arousal, and orgasm occurrence. We differentiated vaginal intercourse orgasm from noncoital orgasm. Female vaginal intercourse orgasm was further differentiated as with or without concurrent clitoral masturbation. Overall, sexual responsiveness was related to greater body awareness and lesser time and space awareness. Satisfaction, desire, and arousal were especially associated with less time awareness in women. Female orgasms during vaginal intercourse were related to greater body awareness and lesser time awareness, but noncoital orgasms were unrelated. Our findings provide empirical support for the hypotheses that altered states of consciousness with attentional absorption are strongly related to sexual responsiveness in women, and to a lesser extent in men.

2016Journal article

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Maladaptive defense mechanisms are associated with decoupling of testosterone from sexual desire in women of reproductive age

Publication . Costa, Rui Miguel; Oliveira, Rui Filipe

Neuropsychoanalytic theories view maladaptive defense mechanisms as disturbances of brain regions or networks implicated in emotional awareness, which is consistent with maladaptive defenses being automatic processes to cope with stressors by avoiding the awareness of disturbing emotions. Freud proposed that defenses against sexual drives were used in varying degrees with negative consequences on sex life, which is congruent with maladaptive defenses being related to lower desire for vaginal intercourse. The present study examined the relationships between low desire, maladaptive defenses, and decoupling of testosterone (T; a hormonal index of sexual desire) from reported desire. Sixty-eight Portuguese women provided a saliva sample before and 15 minutes after an induction of sexual fantasy, and reported how much sexual desire they felt while fantasizing. Maladaptive defenses were measured by the immature defenses subscale of the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40). Past month desire was assessed by the desire domain of the Female Sexual Function Index. Luminescence immunoassays were used for determining salivary T. Decoupling of T from desire was calculated by the absolute value of the subtraction of the standardized scores of both measures. In partial correlations controlling for social desirability and oral contraception, maladaptive defenses correlated with discordance between basal T and fantasy-induced desire, discordance between basal T and past month desire, and complaints of low desire. In a backward multiple regression, discordance between T and past month desire explained the association between maladaptive defenses and complaints of low desire. Implications for future neuropsychoanalytic studies of defense mechanisms and libido are discussed.

2015Journal article

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Poorer subjective sleep quality is related to higher fantasy-induced sexual arousal in women of reproductive age

Publication . Costa, Rui Miguel; Oliveira, Tânia Sofia Ferreira de

Lack of sleep enhances erections and lubrication the next day. This raises the possibility that poorer subjective sleep quality is related to sexual arousal. To test this hypothesis, sexual arousal was elicited in 70 Portuguese women of reproductive age by means of fantasy. The level of salivary testosterone before and shortly after fantasy was determined by luminescence immunoassays. Participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), reported their sexual arousal before and during fantasy, and how anxious they were after the fantasy. The hypothesis was confirmed. Anxiety did not explain the association, but testosterone response (poststimulus minus baseline) had a slight explanatory effect.

2015Journal article

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Women’s finger pressure sensitivity at rest and recalled body awareness during partnered sexual activity

Publication . Costa, Rui Miguel; Pestana, José Antonio Melo; Costa, David; Wittmann, Marc

Greater vibrotactile sensitivity has been related to better erectile function in men, and vibrotactile and pressure tactile sensitivity have been related to better sexual function in women. Our previous study found that, for both sexes, greater recalled body awareness during last sexual relation correlated with greater recalled desire and arousal. Using the same sample of that study (68 women and 48 men, recruited in the Lisbon area, Portugal), we tested if greater recalled body awareness during last sexual relation correlates with tactile pressure sensitivity, as assessed by von Frey microfilaments. In simple and partial correlations controlling for social desirability and smoking before last sex, the hypothesis was confirmed for women, but not for men. Greater tactile sensitivity might enhance sexual arousal through greater awareness of the body during sex, and/or more frequent and pleasant body sensations during sex might lead to greater tactile sensitivity in nonsexual situations. Pressure sensitivity might be more closely linked to sexual arousal in women than in men.

2017Journal article

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