Archives of Sexual Behavior最新文献

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.

The relative length of the 2nd (index) and 4th (ring) finger, i.e., digit ratio (or 2D:4D) is known to be different in males and females. Few radiologically assessed data on 2D:4D for children and adolescents are available. The aim of this study was to create a local database (MuC-2020) for the radiologically assessed sex-specific left-hand 2D:4D, and to compare this data to historical cohorts from three radiographic atlases of skeletal development of the hand and wrist. Therefore, left-hand X-ray images of 169 female and 199 male children and adolescents (age: 8–18 years) who presented at our endocrine unit in 2019 and 2020 mostly for reasons of predicting final height were analyzed. The 2D:4D ratio was calculated and compared with ratios determined from X-ray images of patients > 8 years of the atlases Greulich and Pyle (G&P, data from USA, 1936–1942), Gilsanz and Ratib (G&R, data from USA, 1980–2000), and Thiemann and Nitz (T&N, data from German Democratic Republic, 1977). Female individuals showed a higher 2D:4D ratio with a mean of 0.936 compared to males (0.919, p < 0.001). When comparing to historical data, the MuC-2020 2D:4D ratio significantly differed (females, G&P, p = 0.029; males, G&P p < 0.001, G&R, p = 0.018), with an overall increasing 2D:4D trend over time. The results of this analysis underpin the binarity of sex-specific left-hand 2D:4D in children and adolescents, and show differences to previously published cohorts suggesting an increasing 2D:4D ratio trend over the last decades. The underlying reasons are unknown, but environmental factors may be a reason (e.g., endocrine disrupting substances).

This brief report responds to the call for commentaries in the Archives of Sexual Behavior (Zucker, 2025), in response to one of President Donald Trump’s Executive Orders, inferring "sex" solely as an absolute binary biological categorization assigned at birth. According to the Order, acceptable terms of use are sex (which does not include the concept of "gender identity"), woman/women/girl(s), men/man/boy(s), female (as determined at conception), and male (as determined at conception). Our report traces the historical change in terminology related to sex and gender, in one specific area of research—the exchange of sexual services for money, material goods, or other services among consenting adults. We conducted a Web of Science search from 1900 to the current period, enumerating scholarly literature referencing terms related to “prostitution” or “sex work.” Our findings show that the language has become less stigmatizing and more diverse over time. This is reflected in a growing scholarship on the diversity of genders who sell sexual services and the application of intersectional perspectives to sex work research. Importantly, our findings show that the terminology used by scholars to describe this profession has been neither uniform nor static, instead aligning with several historical milestones, including social justice movements, dedicated focus on women’s health, and our expanded understanding of the sociology of sex work. At this juncture in time, we argue restricting scholarship on sex, and sexuality topics, including those related to sex work, will limit our ability to respond to intersecting social structures that prevent workers from accessing their rights to occupational health and safety.

Despite significant improvements in access to sexual and reproductive health services worldwide, many people with disabilities, particularly in low-income settings, remain vulnerable to risky sexual behaviors, predisposing them to sexual and reproductive health problems. This study examined the spatial patterns and performed a decomposition analysis of the educational status disparity in factors associated with risky sexual behavior among women with disabilities in 10 African countries. We utilized the latest secondary dataset with a disability module from demographic health surveys conducted in these countries between 2010 and 2022, including a sample size of 16,517 women with disabilities. Spatial analysis was employed to reveal the patterns of risky sexual behavior, while multivariable Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition regression analysis examined the disparity between educational status and risky sexual behavior. The analysis accounted for the complex survey design and results were presented using percentages and adjusted coefficients. The spatial pattern of risky sexual behavior among women with disabilities varied widely across the 10 African countries studied, with proportion ranging from 20 to 80%. Kenya leads with the highest prevalence at 94%, followed by Mali at 90%, while Mauritania reported no occurrence at 0%. Most of the disparity (81.93%) in risky sexual behavior related to educational status among women with disabilities was due to differences in coefficients, with the remaining 18.07% attributed to differences in characteristics. The findings indicate that women with disabilities, whether with formal or informal education, are highly exposed to risky sexual behavior in Africa. Therefore, targeted interventions are needed to minimize risky sexual behavior among women with disabilities in these countries.

Orgasm difficulty—reduced frequency, intensity, delay of, and/or absence of orgasm—is the second most common sexual difficulty among women, though little is known about its links to other facets of women’s and their partners’ sexual outcomes. Sexual difficulties are associated with poorer sexual, relationship, and psychological well-being among both members of affected couples, and there has been growing interest in interpersonal factors that might buffer against these consequences. In a pre-registered study (N = 102 couples), we examined associations between women’s orgasm difficulty and sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, and sexual distress, and whether perceived partner responsiveness moderated these associations. Community couples containing a cisgender woman (M age, 31.11 years) partnered with a cisgender man (M age, 32.69 years) completed measures of orgasm difficulty, perceived partner responsiveness, sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, and sexual distress, at baseline, for 28 days of daily diary, and 4 months later. At the daily level, women’s greater orgasm difficulty was associated with their own lower sexual satisfaction and greater sexual distress that day, but not their partners’ sexual satisfaction or distress. There were no significant prospective associations or moderation by perceived partner responsiveness between women’s orgasm difficulty and sexual outcomes. It may be reassuring that partners’ sexual well-being was not associated with women’s orgasm difficulty, though future research should confirm whether partners are aware of any orgasm problems.