N. Kenneth Sandnabba

DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN SEXUAL DESIRE AND SEXUAL ACTIVITY: GENDER DIFFERENCES AND ASSOCIATIONS WITH RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION

The nature of sexual satisfaction and its relationship with relationship satisfaction was examined in a population-based Finnish sample of men and women between 33 and 43 years. Both men and women wished to experience kissing and petting, sexual fantasies, oral sex, and vaginal intercourse more often. Sexual satisfaction, defined as no discrepancy between desired frequency and actual frequency of sexual behaviors, was associated with relationship satisfaction. In both sexes, sexual satisfaction with vaginal intercourse as well as kissing and petting was positively associated with relationship satisfaction, whereas higher desired and actual frequency of masturbation were negatively associated with relationship satisfaction.

The adult body: how age, gender, and body mass index are related to body image.

Objectives: Body image and perceived attractiveness were examined, and the impact of age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) was analyzed and discussed from an evolutionary and a sociocultural perspective. Method: The population-based sample consisted of 11,468 Finnish men and women aged 18 to 49 years. Results: Both age-related decrease and increase in body satisfaction was detected as well as interactions between age and gender. Some effects were nonlinear. Women were generally less satisfied with their bodies than men. BMI had a stronger influence on women’s body image than men’s. Discussion: It was proposed that it is insufficient to merely study how age affects general body image because adults might become more satisfied with some aspects of their bodies as a function of age and less satisfied with other aspects. Body satisfaction might also fluctuate during different phases of the adult life, and the patterns possibly differ between men and women.

Female Sexual Function and Its Associations with Number of Children, Pregnancy, and Relationship Satisfaction

Associations between number of children, pregnancy, and overall relationship satisfaction were explored in a population-based sample of 2081 women, aged 33–43 years. Multiparous women had less orgasm problems compared to nulliparous women. Nulliparous women had more pain problems and were sexually less satisfied compared to women with children, regardless of the number. Women pregnant with the first child had fewer pain problems compared to a matched nonpregnant control and were sexually more satisfied. Being more satisfied with the overall relationship was related to higher sexual satisfaction and less sexual function problems.

Selective breeding for isolation-induced intermale aggression in mice: associated responses and environmental influences.

Aggressive (TA) and nonaggressive (TNA) lines of mice were established by selective breeding for isolation-induced intermale aggression. This paper summarizes and updates studies performed on the TA and TNA lines. The genetic analysis revealed that in these lines the genes for aggression are located on the autosomes and demonstrate a Mendelian segregation. The genes are expressed only in the presence of androgens which are normally present only in males. Behavioral and biological responses associated with high and low levels of aggression in TA and TNA mice are reviewed. Line differences have been found in olfactory communication and marking behavior, in maternal and predatory aggression in females, in locomotor activity, and in learning abilities. Also, correlated neurochemical and endocrinological responses to the selection have been detected. Maternal factors during the preweaning period do not significantly affect the development of aggression in TA and TNA males, while early postweaning exposure to aggression or sex enhanced later aggressive and sexual activity. Early experience and genetic disposition for aggression are correlated, with TA males showing the greatest increase in the behaviors studied.

Sadomasochistically Oriented Behavior: Diversity in Practice and Meaning

One hundred and eighty-four subjects (22 women and 162 men) who were members of two sadomasochistically oriented clubs answered a semistructured questionnaire containing items relating to a variety of sexual behaviors. Using a multivariate statistical analysis that geometrically represents the co-occurrence of individual actions as a visual array (Guttman (1954). In Lazarfeld, P. E. (ed.), Mathematical Thinking in the Social Sciences, Free Press, Glencoe, IL.) four qualitatively different sexual scripts emerged: hypermasculinity; administration and receiving of pain; physical restriction; and psychological humiliation. Although similar themes have been suggested before, this study demonstrated their empirical base. Humiliation was significantly associated more with females and with heterosexual orientation in men, while hypermasculinity was associated with males and with homosexual orientation in men.

Psychiatric Symptoms and Same-Sex Sexual Attraction and Behavior in Light of Childhood Gender Atypical Behavior and Parental Relationships

This study explores the relation between the level of current symptoms of depression and anxiety and recalled childhood gender atypical behavior (GAB), and quality of relationships with parents among men and women who reported same-sex sexual attraction or engaged in same-sex sexual behavior and men and women who did not. Matched pairs, 79 men (n = 158) and 148 women (n = 296), with equal levels of GAB were created of Finnish participants with either same-sex sexual attraction or behavior and participants without. The measures used were retrospective questionnaires. Ratings of maternal and paternal over-control and coldness differed as a function of same-sex sexual attraction or behavior. Childhood GAB was correlated with negative ratings of parental relationships. Both same-sex sexual attraction or behavior and a history of childhood GAB affected the reported levels of current depression and anxiety. Only gender typical participants with no same-sex sexual attraction or behavior reported significantly lower levels of symptoms. The findings suggest that childhood GAB is related to later distress both among hetero- and homosexual individuals. The elevated level of psychological distress among homosexual individuals, reported in several studies, might—to some extent—be caused by their generally higher levels of childhood GAB as opposed to a homosexual orientation per se.

The genetics of sexuality and aggression (GSA) twin samples in Finland

The Genetics of Sexuality and Aggression (GSA) project was launched at the Abo Akademi University in Turku, Finland in 2005 and has so far undertaken two major population-based data collections involving twins and siblings of twins. To date, it consists of about 14,000 individuals (including 1,147 informative monozygotic twin pairs, 1,042 informative same-sex dizygotic twin pairs, 741 informative opposite-sex dizygotic twin pairs). Participants have been recruited through the Central Population Registry of Finland and were 18-49 years of age at the time of the data collections. Saliva samples for DNA genotyping (n = 4,278) and testosterone analyses (n = 1,168) were collected in 2006. The primary focus of the data collections has been on sexuality (both sexual functioning and sexual behavior) and aggressive behavior. This paper provides an overview of the data collections as well as an outline of the phenotypes and biological data assembled within the project. A detailed overview of publications can be found at the projects Web site: http://www.cebg.fi/.

EFFECTS OF INTERVIEW PHASE, REPEATED INTERVIEWING, PRESENCE OF A SUPPORT PERSON, AND ANATOMICALLY DETAILED DOLLS ON CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE INTERVIEWS

A non-representative sample of 27 investigative interviews with suspected victims of child sexual abuse (CSA) in Finland were analysed. Aspects such as the effects of interview phase, repeated interviewing, another (related) person attending the interview, as well as the use of anatomically detailed (AD) dolls were considered. The number of new details reported by the child was higher in the beginning, while the number of focused and suggestive question types increased towards the end of the interviews. The results of repeated interviewing were mixed: repeated interviews contained more words and descriptive answers by the child, while, however, also containing more suggestive questions. Another person attending the interview was found to be associated with the child being less informative and the interviewer posing more suggestive questions than when another person was not present. Similar effects were found to be associated with the use of AD dolls. The implications of the findings for child abuse investigations were discussed.

Changes in the prevalence of child sexual abuse, its risk factors, and their associations as a function of age cohort in a Finnish population sample

OBJECTIVE We examined (1) the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) experiences as a function of cohort and gender, (2) the prevalence of factors associated with CSA as a function of cohort and whether the association of these factors with CSA remained the same irrespective of cohort, and (3) whether any cohort differences could be explainable by cohort differences in reporting bias. METHOD We used the responses of 4,561 men (M=29, SD=7 years) and 8,361 female (M=29, SD=7 years) Finnish participants who responded to the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form as well as questions regarding family structure. RESULTS The prevalence of CSA experiences varied between 0.7-4.6% for men and 1.8-7.5% for women depending on the item. Younger cohorts reported less CSA as well as less of the risk factors (physical neglect and abuse, emotional neglect and abuse, parental substances abuse, not growing up with both biological parents) that were positively associated with the likelihood of CSA. The effects of these risk factors did not vary as a function of the cohort. Also, the declining trend was not explainable by social desirability being higher in the younger cohorts. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that there is a real decline in the prevalence of CSA and it is associated with a simultaneous decline in factors associated with CSA.

Potential for homosexual response is prevalent and genetic

We investigated the potential to engage in homosexual behavior in 6001 female and 3152 male twins and their siblings finding that 32.8% of the men and 65.4% of the women reported such potential (p<0.001). 91.5% of these men and 98.3% of these women reported no overt homosexual behavior during the preceding 12 months. The potential to engage in homosexual behavior was influenced by genetic effects for both men (37.4%) and women (46.4%) and these overlapped only partly with those for overt homosexual behavior.