E. Sandra Byers

THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG BODY IMAGE, BODY MASS INDEX, EXERCISE, AND SEXUAL FUNCTIONING IN HETEROSEXUAL WOMEN

Problems related to negative body image are very common among young women. In this study, we examined the relationship between womens body image and their sexual functioning over and above the effects of physical exercise and body mass index (BMI) in a sample of 214 university women. Low situational body image dysphoria and low body dissatisfaction were associated with high sexual assertiveness and sexual esteem, low sexual anxiety, and fewer sexual problems. Positive body image was significantly associated with better sexual functioning, even after controlling for BMI and exercise. Although related to body image, BMI and exercise did not predict sexual functioning. These results were interpreted as indicating that a womans subjective body image is significantly related to her sexual functioning beyond the effects of actual body size and level of physical exercise.

COLLEGE STUDENTS' INCORPORATION OF INITIATOR AND RESTRICTOR ROLES IN SEXUAL DATING INTERACTIONS

According to the traditional sexual script, men are the initiators and women the restrictors of sexual activities (McCormick, Brannigan, & LaPlante, 1984). While recent attitudes have shifted toward a more egalitarian standard (DeLamater & MacCorquodale, 1979) and sexual experiences are becoming more permissive (Finlay, Starnes, & Alvarez, 1985), it is not known whether this has resulted in changes in sexual scripts. Therefore, 50 men and 55 women were used in a self‐monitoring procedure to record three aspects of sexual frequencies: sexual initiations, responses to initiations and considering initiations over a two‐week period. The results indicate that men and women are guided by a similar sexual script with regard to responding to initiations and considering initiations, but not with regard to initiation of sexual activity. Men still initiate sexual activity more frequently than women. It was concluded that men and women still appear to be guided by the traditional sexual script with respect to initiat...

A Comparison of Male and Female College Students' Experiences of Sexual Coercion.

Research comparing mens and womens experiences of sexual coercion has typically assessed differences in prevalence rates and risk. We extended this line of research by comparing the contexts of sexual coercion and reactions to sexually coercive experiences in an attempt to understand the meanings that men and women attribute to these events. Participants were 433 randomly selected college students who responded to an anonymous survey. In line with past research, more men than women reported being sexually coercive, and more women than men reported being sexually coerced in the preceding year. There was a great degree of correspondence between mens and womens reports of the contexts within which sexual coercion occurred. According to their reports, sexual coercion occurred primarily within the heterosexual dating context. Compared to men, however, women reported more negative reactions and stronger resistance to the use of sexual coercion. These findings emphasize how comparisons of prevalence rates alone may obscure important differences in the phenomenology of sexually coercive incidents for men and women. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for the development of education and prevention programs and the need to reevaluate current approaches to interpreting prevalence reports.

Dating couples' disagreements over the desired level of sexual intimacy

Sixty-seven female and 54 male college students participated in a study of sexual disagreements in which the man desired to engage in a higher level of sexual activity than did the woman. Participants kept an ongoing record of dates and disagreements and provided descriptive information about some of these. We had three goals: (a) to determine how frequently this type of disagreement occurs in dating relationships; (b) to determine the types and frequencies of the various strategies that men use when their partner indicates that she is unwilling to engage in a particular sexual activity; and (c) to describe the characteristics of disagreement situations and relate these to male compliance with the womans refusal. One or more disagreements were reported by 47% of participants, but disagreements occurred on only 7% of reported dates. In 61% of the disagreement situations, the man complied with the womans refusal without question. Verbal and/or physical coercion was reported in 25% of the disagreement situations. These results suggest that although sexual coercion is a part of some dating relationships, it does not characterize our dating system to the degree suggested by Clark and Lewis (1977). Characteristics of the disagreement situation and their relationship to male compliance are reported and discussed.

Dyadic assessment of sexual self-disclosure and sexual satisfaction in heterosexual dating couples

We examined two proposed pathways between sexual self-disclosure and sexual satisfaction. According to the proposed expressive pathway, reciprocal sexual self-disclosure contributes to relationship satisfaction, which in turn leads to greater sexual satisfaction. According to the instrumental pathway, own sexual self-disclosure leads to greater partner understanding of sexual likes and dislikes, which in turn leads to a more favorable balance of sexual rewards and costs and thus to higher sexual satisfaction. Seventy-four heterosexual dating couples completed questionnaires assessing self-disclosure, sexual and relationship satisfaction, as well as own and partner positive and negative sexual exchanges. Support was found for the instrumental pathway for both women and men and for the expressive pathway for women. For men, the expressive pathway was between own nonsexual self-disclosure and sexual satisfaction. These results are interpreted in light of the more instrumental role for men in sexual relationships.

Premature or Rapid Ejaculation: Heterosexual Couples' Perceptions of Men's Ejaculatory Behavior

This study investigated the relationship between mens and their female partners perceptions of mens ejaculatory behavior as well as the impact of premature or rapid ejaculation on couple functioning. One hundred fifty-two men and their female partners provided information about the mans ejaculatory behavior, their perceptions of whether the man had a problem with premature or rapid ejaculation (RE), their sexual and relationship satisfaction, and their sexual concerns. The mens and womens reports on the mans ejaculatory behavior were only moderately correlated. In general, the women saw RE as less of a problem for the men than their male partners reported for themselves. The womens perceptions of both the mens ejaculatory behavior and his affective responses were uniquely related to her own and her partners identification of him as having an RE problem. For both the men and the women, having more characteristics of RE was related to lower sexual satisfaction, but was unrelated to relationship satisfaction. RE characteristics were also related to the number of non-RE sexual concerns reported by the men, but not to the number of sexual concerns reported by their female partner. However, men and women who identified the man as having an RE problem rated RE as having only a slightly negative impact on their own or their partners functioning. The results suggest that, for most couples, the timing of ejaculation adversely affects sexual satisfaction but not overall relationship and personal functioning.

The sexual well-being of women who have experienced child sexual abuse.

The present study examined the association between child sexual abuse (CSA) and a range of positive and negative aspects of womens sexual well-being. We also investigated the extent to which womens cognitive-affective sexual appraisals mediated these relationships. Participants were 272 female community college and university students. CSA involving fondling only was generally not associated with adverse sexual outcomes. However, the women who had experienced CSA involving sexual penetration or attempted sexual penetration were (a) more likely to be sexually revictimized in adulthood; (b) more likely to have engaged in casual sex, unprotected sex, and voluntary sexual abstinence; and (c) reported fewer sexual rewards, more sexual costs, and lower sexual self-esteem. These findings held over and above the effects of nonsexual abuse in childhood, and as predicted, sexual self-esteem partially or fully mediated most of these relationships. Nonsexual abuse in childhood and adult sexual victimization were also uniquely associated with a number of adverse sexual outcomes. However, outcomes were not worse for women who had experienced CSA involving actual or attempted sexual penetration and sexual assault in adulthood. The results highlight the fact that CSA is a serious and widespread problem with significant implications for adult womens sexual functioning.

Predicting initiations and refusals of sexual activities in married and cohabiting heterosexual couples

Twenty‐two men and 55 women used a self‐monitoring procedure to keep an ongoing record of three aspects of sexual frequency in marital and cohabiting relationships: sexual initiations, responses to these initiations, and considering initiating but not doing so. In addition, respondents provided descriptive information on one negative and one positive response situation. Two of the goals of the study were to determine whether one or more of these aspects of sexual frequency: (1) was related to the factors relevant to sexual frequency; and (2) differed for men and women. A third goal was to determine the strategies individuals used to initiate sexual activity and to respond to sexual initiations, and to relate these to the partners response. The results indicated that male partners initiated and considered initiating sex more often than did the female partners. However, contrary to sex‐role stereotypes, when the number of initiations was controlled, men and women did not differ in their responses to the se...

Role of Sexual Self-Disclosure in the Sexual Satisfaction of Long-Term Heterosexual Couples

This study examined two proposed pathways between sexual self-disclosure (SSD) and sexual satisfaction in a sample of 104 heterosexual couples in long-term relationships. According to the proposed instrumental pathway, disclosure of sexual preferences increases a partners understanding of those preferences resulting in a sexual script that is more rewarding and less costly. A more favorable balance of sexual rewards to sexual costs, in turn, results in greater sexual satisfaction for the disclosing individual. According to the proposed expressive pathway, mutual self-disclosure contributes to relationship satisfaction, which in turn leads to greater sexual satisfaction. Support was found for the instrumental pathway for both men and women. Support also was found for an expressive pathway between own SSD and partner nonsexual self-disclosure (NSD) and mens sexual satisfaction, and between own NSD and womens sexual satisfaction. These results are interpreted in terms of mechanisms for establishing and maintaining sexual satisfaction in long-term relationships in men and women.

Sexual Satisfaction within Dating Relationships: A Test of the Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction

This study extended the Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction (IEMSS) to short-term dating relationships. The IEMSS has been shown to have excellent validity for long-term heterosexual relationships. The IEMSS proposes that sexual satisfaction is greater to the extent that, over time, relationship satisfaction is high, levels of sexual rewards exceed levels of sexual costs, relative sexual reward levels exceed relative sexual cost levels, and interpersonal equality of sexual rewards and of sexual costs are perceived to exist. Fifty-one college men and 57 college women in a dating relationship of 3 to 36 months participated in the study. As predicted, more sexually satisfied individuals reported greater relationship satisfaction, a more favorable reward/cost ratio, a more favorable relative reward/relative cost ratio, and more equal rewards and costs between partners. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that relationship satisfaction, the difference between relative rewards, relative costs and cost equality made unique contributions to the prediction of sexual satisfaction, accounting for 75 percent of the variance in sexual satisfaction. The model was shown to work equally well for men and women, for individuals new and less new to their relationship, and for high and low self-disclosers. The IEMSS offers a promising approach for investigating and understanding sexual satisfaction.