Archives of Sexual Behavior最新文献

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.

A University of York review of research supporting gender affirming care (GAC) of gender dysphoric children and adolescents suggested that the research was of such poor quality that it could endanger the health of these patients. Cass used that finding to argue for restrictions on access to GAC. Without commenting on the University of York's review or the quality of research underlying GAC, I analyze Cass' recommendations for the quality of the research supporting restrictions on GAC and whether those restrictions endanger the health of children and adolescents. The current Commentary will show that Cass' recommendations are not supported by research and it is her recommendations that may present a danger to the health of gender dysphoric children and adolescents. Further analysis will show that such restrictions are ethically problematic and could worsen both the short- and long-term outcomes for gender dysphoric children, adolescents, and adults.

Albeit a positive association between pornography use frequency (PUF) and body dissatisfaction has been identified, studies examining the link between PUF and disordered eating behavior (DEB) have been highly limited in scope (e.g., only focused on men) and have several limitations (e.g., lack of a longitudinal study design and small sample size). The present study aimed to address one of these gaps by examining the longitudinal associations between PUF and DEB, while considering the mediating role of body dissatisfaction over a 1-year period in a sample of young adults. We performed an autoregressive cross-lagged analysis with a multi-group approach among 3764 adults (M_age = 23.00, SD _age = 4.74, 48.24% men and 51.75% women). Our findings showed that higher levels of PUF were cross-sectionally associated with higher levels of DEB among men and women at T1. However, at T2, higher levels of PUF were associated with lower levels of DEB among men and women. Longitudinally, baseline PUF was positively associated with DEB among men and women. However, the reverse association was not observed. Furthermore, the results indicated that body dissatisfaction partially mediated the associations of PUF at baseline (T1) with DEB at the 1-year follow-up (T2) both for men (b_indirect = .047, 95% CI [.012, .078], p = .011) and women (b_indirect = .033, 95% CI [.001, .059], p = .044). Body dissatisfaction seems to play a significant mediating role in the relationship between PUF and DEB. Clinicians treating clients with DEB may consider PUF as a potential contributing factor to the development of eating disturbances via body dissatisfaction.

The diagnosis of bodies with variations in sex characteristics (VSC) is a powerful social act that affects the social realities of patients, doctors, and families. This process includes an imagined connection between various biological characteristics and sociocultural norms of gender and fertility. We studied how Israeli medical professionals approach VSC in fertility and prenatal settings. Our research considered two contrasting trends: the growing recognition of VSC individuals’ rights to make decisions about their bodies and the increasing use of genetic testing to prevent VSC conditions. We conducted in-depth interviews with 27 biomedical professionals from different hospitals in Israel and collected data on preimplantation genetic testing cycles at three central hospitals in the country to identify VSC genetic conditions. The findings show how tensions and gaps regarding perceptions of fertility and bodies with diverse sex development exist among various specialists and their patients across different clinical interactions. We describe these gaps and their physical and social outcomes through three themes: “controlling the diagnostic emergency of VSC,” “secrets and concealment in the genetic diagnostic process,” and “imagining and preventing the existence of fertile bodies.”

We examined the association between sexual orientation at age 15.5 years and depressive symptoms at age 17 years and whether this association was explained by a path involving earlier pubertal timing leading to worse inhibitory control at age 15.5 years using the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. A total number of 5,125 adolescents were included (46.65% adolescent males and 87.38% White). Age at peak height velocity was derived from multiple height assessments annually from childhood to adolescence and used as an objective measure of pubertal timing. We found that adolescents who were unsure of their sexual orientation did not differ statistically significantly from their heterosexual counterparts in either pubertal timing or depressive symptoms. Sexual minority adolescents reported both earlier pubertal timing and more depressive symptoms than heterosexual adolescents. Sexual orientation disparities in depressive symptoms could potentially be explained by earlier pubertal timing reported by sexual minority adolescents than heterosexual adolescents, but not by the indirect path through earlier pubertal timing leading to worse inhibitory control. The results were consistent across both sexes, suggesting that pubertal timing makes a small contribution to sexual orientation disparities in depressive symptoms.

The transition to parenthood involves relational, sexual, and identity changes for individuals and couples. Although prior research suggests that new mothers may experience tension between their roles as parents and sexual partners, this “parent-lover” role conflict remains underexplored in non-bearing partners, especially at the daily level. This study examined how daily feelings of parent-lover role conflict in new parents relate to both partners’ sexual well-being (satisfaction, desire, enjoyment, frequency) at four months postpartum, and whether these associations vary by feeding habits (exclusive breastfeeding vs. mixed-feeding/formula exclusively). A sample of 196 first-time parent couples (bearing mothers and non-bearing partners) completed online daily diaries for 14 days. Multilevel analyses provided evidence that, overall, higher role conflict was related to more negative sexual outcomes for both parents. Associations between mothers’ higher role conflict and both parents’ poorer outcomes were more consistent across the 14 days, whereas associations with partners’ role conflict were more apparent at the daily level. Partners’ higher role conflict was related to lower couple sexual frequency, both daily and over the 14-day period. Breastfeeding was related to higher role conflict and lower sexual satisfaction and moderated two associations between role conflict and sexual well-being. These results highlight that role conflict is not unique to mothers but may be a shared experience among new parents and a potential risk factor for both partners’ sexual well-being during the early postpartum. They also suggest that feeding habits may shape how this conflict is experienced and how it relates to sexual well-being.