Archives of Sexual Behavior最新文献

The intentional alteration of the labia minora, known as labiaplasty, has shown increased prevalence across various populations in recent decades. While aesthetic, sexual, and psychological factors predominantly drive the desire for labiaplasty, there remain numerous unknown elements which influence a woman’s decision-making processes regarding this procedure. This study was undertaken to understand why Iranian women choose labiaplasty, examining the various motivations, influences, and considerations shaping their decision-making process. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were completed with 14 Iranian women who were seeking labiaplasty. The women were asked about their familiarity with labiaplasty, the motivations for undergoing the surgery, the sociocultural factors influencing their decisions, the process of seeking surgical intervention, their discussions with medical practitioners about concerns regarding their labia, and the reactions from their social circle about their decision to undergo surgery. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a content analysis. Three overarching clusters were derived from the analyses: (1) “Motivations” which included aesthetic concerns, physical or sexual discomfort; (2) “Influences”—a theme emerging from women’s narratives, encompassing factors such as facilitating beliefs, alongside the reported impact of health professionals, media, and social circle on their decision-making processes; and (3) “Navigating Stigma” which highlighted the stigma and sexual taboos which women identified as being linked to their experiences with choosing labiaplasty. The convergence of diverse personal and social dynamics plays a crucial role in shaping women’s decisions, leading them to seek labiaplasty. Consequently, preoperative psychological counseling appears to align more closely with the implementation of ethical principles, ensuring women make informed choices about their surgical options.

The causal relationships between pornography use, masturbation, moral incongruence, and mental health are poorly understood. While the link between problematic pornography use (PPU) and depression is well documented, the temporal dynamics associated with pornography use and masturbation have not yet been quantified. Utilizing an exploratory ecological momentary assessment (EMA) design, we measured the temporal dynamics of cognitive and affective state variables collected from 22 participants before, during, and after pornography use and masturbation, and examined the moderating role of moral incongruence in these relationships. Participants completed an initial survey followed by a four-week EMA, capturing data on sexual activities and cognitive and affective state variables. Bayesian hierarchical mixed-effects models were employed to analyze temporal dynamics. Findings suggest that pornography use and masturbation were linked to changes in affective and cognitive states that spiked both before and after sexual episodes. These states were generally more pronounced and sustained in participants with high moral incongruence, who experienced transient increases in shame, guilt, difficulty thinking, relationship disconnectedness, craving for sexual intercourse, and mood deterioration after pornography use and masturbation. These shifts typically persisted for several hours before decaying to baseline levels. High-incongruence participants also experienced strong spikes in craving prior to sexual episodes, while low-incongruence participants experienced craving spikes after pornography use and masturbation, indicating possible sensitization effects. Our findings also signalled potential evidence for “brain fog” following pornography use in both low and high-incongruence participants. Further, we discovered opponent process dynamics in the mood of high-incongruence participants, providing a possible causal mechanism that may explain how PPU can lead to depression.