Journal of Sex Research最新文献

The term "rough sex" is widely used, but it is not always clear what it means. Through exploring people's working definitions of "rough sex," we asked what they revealed about the underlying phenomenon it is applied to, and whether it is actually a thing. Our online survey of 567 New Zealand respondents (73.7% women, 21% men, 5.3% gender diverse; mean age, 35.6 years, SD = 10.8) identified various behaviors that many considered to be part of "rough sex" - including hair pulling, holding down someone forcefully, slapping and "choking." While this behavioral profile was similar to previous U.S. studies, our survey was designed with novel features that allowed us to look more closely at the variation in how people make sense of "rough sex." Embedded within a critical psychology approach, our descriptive analysis highlighted areas of ambiguity and difference, including points of contradiction across people's working definitions. Critical qualitative analysis of open-ended textual data further examined categorical misalignments and the difficulties in interpreting behavioral indicators as defining of "rough sex" - especially without more contextual information. Overall, we found considerable variability and some contradictions in people's definitions of "rough sex" and the meanings they ascribed to it. Our findings led us to argue that the term "rough sex" does not map onto a coherent phenomenon, and that use of the term can be misleading, with potentially problematic implications.

While the impact of social restrictions on sexual and romantic life early in the COVID-19 pandemic has been widely studied, little is known about impacts beyond the initial months. We analyzed responses from 2,098 British adults (aged 18-59) taking part in the Natsal-COVID study (Waves 1 and 2). Participants were recruited via a web panel and surveyed twice: four months and one year after the start of the UK's first national lockdown (July 2020 and March 2021). Changes in the prevalence and frequency of participants' physical and virtual sexual behaviors between the two surveys were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. Changes in the quality of intimate relationships were modeled using logistic regression for the 1,407 participants in steady relationships, adjusting for age, gender, and relationship status. The reported prevalence of any sexual activity amongst the full sample increased over the study period (from 88.1% to 91.5%, aOR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.23-1.84). Increases were observed for physical (aOR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.15-1.74) and virtual (aOR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.07-1.34) activities, particularly masturbation (aOR 1.53, 95% CI 1.37-1.72). Increases were larger for men than women. The proportion of participants in steady relationships whose relationship scored as "lower quality" increased (from 23.9% to 26.9%, aOR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.10-1.49). These findings have implications for understanding sexual health needs during disasters and planning sexual health service priorities following the pandemic.

Parenting style and differentiation of self (DoS), understood as an ability associated with emotional regulation, are two factors that may be linked with pornography use in adolescents. The main aim was to explore the association between parenting style (specifically warmth and demandingness), DoS (specifically emotional cutoff and emotional reactivity) and pornography use in a sample of 7161 hispanic adolescents aged 12 to 17. Frequency of pornography use, parenting style (using the shortened version of the Family Education Scale), DoS (through the Spanish Differentiation of Self for Adolescence) and different sociodemographic variables were evaluated. Higher levels of parental warmth were significantly linked to less pornography use (with a larger effect size in female adolescents). Conversely, higher levels of parental demandingness were significantly associated with less pornography use in male adolescents and in younger adolescents. In relation to DoS, greater differentiation in the Emotional Reactivity dimension was associated with less pornography use. Emotional Cutoff was not associated with pornography use. Adolescents who showed more difficulty regulating their own emotions and who perceived parents as less warm and demanding reported a higher frequency of pornography use. Pornography use may be used as a maladaptive strategy for emotional regulation. The causal relationship between these variables warrants direct examination.

Sexual compliance (i.e., consenting to sexual activity despite the lack of initial desire for it) is common in committed relationships. Previous research has shown that sexual compliance can have both positive and negative consequences for the well-being of the individual and the relationship. The aim of the present study was to develop a scale to measure the perceived consequences of sexual compliance, using exploratory factor analysis. The scale items were developed based on previous research and administered to a Finnish population-based sample of adults (N = 1,159). A two-factor model, explaining 40% of the total variance, was selected to create the Consequences of Sexual Compliance Scale (CSCS). The final scale included two subscales, with 10 items measuring perceived positive consequences and 10 items measuring perceived negative consequences of sexual compliance. The individuals in the current sample perceived significantly more positive than negative consequences of sexual compliance, suggesting that engaging in sex without initial sexual desire does not harm well-being for most people. Our scale can be used by researchers and clinicians who wish to further explore the perceived consequences of sexual compliance.

High-quality sexual relationships significantly contribute to the development and maintenance of romantic relationships, with effective sexual communication playing a crucial role. In particular, how partners communicate and feel about sexual consent is essential for sexual and relationship well-being. There is limited research on sexual consent within established romantic relationships, and existing findings are mixed. Our research addresses this gap through three studies using cross-sectional, dyadic, and dyadic daily diary methods conducted in China. In Study 1 (N = 392 adult individuals in romantic relationships), individuals who felt higher internal consent and used more explicit-verbal cues to consent to sex during their most recent sexual encounter experienced greater sexual and relationship satisfaction. These effects extended to individuals' partners in Study 2 (N = 235 mixed-gender adult couples). Internal and explicit-verbal consent were associated with higher sexual satisfaction for both partners, while implicit-nonverbal consent was only associated with an individual's own sexual satisfaction. Study 3 (N = 103 mixed-gender adult couples), a 21-day dyadic diary study, confirmed that daily internal and explicit-verbal consent were linked to both partners' daily sexual and relationship satisfaction. However, daily passive consent was associated with lower daily sexual satisfaction for both partners and was associated with increased daily sexual distress for the person who provided passive consent. Our research highlights the critical role of internal consent and explicit-verbal consent communication for promoting sexual and relationship well-being.

Sexual Objectification Theory posits that exposure to objectifying content, such as pornography, the purchase of sexual services, and adherence to traditional masculinity, can contribute to the acceptance of harmful beliefs about sexual violence. This study examined the relationship between rape myth acceptance and a range of attitudinal and personal factors using a sample of 1,603 internet users in Spain (51.6% women, M = 45.7 years old). The outcome variable was rape myth acceptance (α = .79), and the correlates included various forms of pornography consumption, purchasing sexual services, ambivalent sexism, comfort with sexuality, gender identification, and sociodemographic characteristics. The results indicate that rape myth acceptance was generally low (M = 2.03, range 1-5) and was associated with some sociodemographic characteristics, pornography consumption, ambivalent sexism, and comfort with sexuality. Ambivalent sexism, comfort with sexuality, and gender were the strongest predictors of rape myth acceptance, while pornography consumption had a limited impact on endorsing such beliefs. These findings provide insights into the factors influencing rape myth acceptance and offer guidance for developing policies to combat rape culture.

Teens commonly use the internet for seeking information about sex and sexual relationships, particularly in the absence of comprehensive sex education from offline sources. The social media platform, Reddit, has become a popular forum for teens seeking information about sex from peers, due to its culture of anonymity. To explore teens' use of Reddit for this purpose, we asked: What advice/information about sexual behaviors are teens seeking out on Reddit? We performed qualitative content analysis with secondary, publicly available social media posts (n = 180) from a large community on Reddit (r/teenrelationships) designed for teens to ask questions about relationships. Five primary, non-mutually exclusive categories of advice/information were identified, with 26 subcategories: 1) Sexual issues within their relationship (42%; e.g., differences in desire, past trauma); 2) Identifying/responding to "red flag" or abusive behaviors (41%; e.g., sexual coercion, harassment); 3) Responding to cheating or jealousy issues (27%; e.g., partners' past sexual behaviors; porn use); 4) Making decisions about having sex (19%; e.g., timing, anxiety over first time); and 5) General sex education (10%; e.g., concerns about being pregnant). These findings emphasize the importance of including information on socioemotional dynamics and healthy relationship building in comprehensive sex education for teens.

We studied the Amsterdam Sexual Pleasure Inventory's (1.0) psychometric properties. The ASPI, a revised self-report battery designed to measure domains of state and trait sexual pleasure in diverse gender, sex, and relationship populations, is based on a recently proposed conceptual framework of sexual pleasure. We collected quantitative (n = 1371) and qualitative data (n = 637) using a cross-sectional multi-method design targeting the general (German-speaking) population. After pre-processing, we conducted analyses on a sample of n = 706 participants. The theory-based 5-factor exploratory structural equation model and the principal component analyses of the two general exploratory index-scales showed good and acceptable structural validity evidence respectively. Measurement invariance was confirmed separately for male and female participants and for those with sexually functional-scoring and dysfunctional-scoring levels. Coefficient omega indicated that all scales, except those of one facet, showed acceptable to very good internal consistency. The ASPI's convergent and discriminant associations with sexological and psychological constructs demonstrated good overall construct validity. Participants understood the items as intended and felt that the ASPI covered relevant facets of sexual pleasure. The ASPI might help understand how individuals differ in experiencing sexual pleasure and how different contexts enable some people to experience pleasure while disadvantaging others.

This study investigated the relationship between sexual self-esteem and sexual functioning while exploring the moderating role of sexual motives, thereby contributing to a deeper comprehension of factors that affect sexual well-being. The study used a convenience sample of 781 Israeli adults with a mean age of 31.2. Participants completed the sexual self-esteem subscale of the Multidimensional Sexuality Questionnaire, Female Sexual Function Index (for women), International Index of Erectile Function (for men), and Sexual Motives Scale, which assesses motives of self-enhancement, intimacy, self-affirmation, coping, partner approval, and peer pressure. A moderation model examined the role of these sexual motives in the association between sexual self-esteem and sexual functioning. The analysis indicated that higher sexual self-esteem and motivation for intimacy and enhancement were associated with better sexual functioning. The study also revealed that participants' motivation for partner approval and peer pressure moderated the association between sexual self-esteem and sexual functioning. Participants with low motivation for partner approval showed an association between higher sexual self-esteem and greater sexual function, while participants with high motivation for partner approval did not show this association. For peer pressure, the association between higher sexual self-esteem and greater sexual function was strongest for participants who experienced high peer pressure as a sexual motive. Higher sexual self-esteem was associated with better sexual functioning, regardless of peer pressure level, but the association was stronger for participants experiencing high peer pressure. The study results shed light on the connection between sexual self-esteem, sexual motivations, and sexual functioning. Clinically, interventions for addressing sexual functioning should consider both self-esteem and sexual motivations.