Stephen L. O'Keefe

Intimacy, orgasm likelihood, and conflict predict sexual satisfaction in heterosexual male and female respondents.

Anonymous data provided by 417 female and 179 male sexually active heterosexual respondents showed that in long term sexual relationships, sexual satisfaction was positively correlated with two different intimacy variables, the respondents orgasm likelihood, and negatively correlated with conflict in the relationship. Multiple linear regression permitted us to measure the effect sizes of these variables as predictors of sexual satisfaction. These findings have important implications for treatment of symptomatic couples.

Father-daughter incest: data from an anonymous computerized survey.

Retrospective data were entered anonymously by 1,521 adult women using computer-assisted self-interview. Nineteen were classified as victims of father–daughter incest, and 241 were classified as victims of sexual abuse by an adult other than their father before reaching 18 years of age. The remaining 1,261 served as controls. Incest victims were more likely than controls to endorse feeling damaged, psychologically injured, estranged from one or both parents, and shamed by others when they tried to open up about their experience. They had been eroticized early on by the incest experience, and it interfered with their adult sexuality. Incest victims experienced coitus earlier than controls and after reaching age 18 had more sex partners and were more likely to have casual sex outside their primary relationship and engage in sex for money than controls. They also had worse scores on scales measuring depression, sexual satisfaction, and communication about sex than controls.

Sister-brother Incest: Data from Anonymous Computer Assisted Self Interviews

Retrospective data were entered anonymously by 1,178 adult men using computer-assisted self-interview. Twenty-seven were victims of sister-brother incest (SBI), 119 were victims of child sexual abuse by an adult female (CSA-AF) before 18 years of age, 1,032 were controls. SBI was often the first sexual experience for the victim. Our findings were consistent with other reports of early and persistent hyper-eroticization of incest victims. SBI increased the likelihood of engaging in behaviors as an adult consistent with a co-existing or primary male-male sexual orientation, and SBI and CSA-AF had deleterious impacts on adult mens sexual adjustment with their adult partners.

Brother–Sister Incest: Data from Anonymous Computer-Assisted Self Interviews

Retrospective data were entered anonymously by 1,521 adult women using computer-assisted self interview. Forty were classified as victims of brother–sister incest, 19 were classified as victims of father–daughter incest, and 232 were classified as victims of sexual abuse by an adult other than their father before reaching 18 years of age. The other 1,230 served as controls. The victims of brother–sister incest had significantly more problematic outcomes than controls on many measures (e.g., more likely than the controls to endorse feeling like damaged goods, thinking that they had suffered psychological injury, and having undergone psychological treatment for childhood sexual abuse). However, victims of brother–sister incest also had significantly less problematic outcomes than victims of father–daughter incest on some measures (e.g., significantly less likely than the father–daughter incest victims to endorse feeling like damaged goods, thinking that they had suffered psychological injury, and having undergone psychological treatment for childhood sexual abuse).

Divorced and Separated Parents in Conflict

Abstract This experiment investigated the effect of a parenting education program on separated or divorced parents who were court ordered to attend the Cooperative Parenting™ and Divorce program (Boyan & Termini, 1997). This program was designed to help parents reduce parental conflict and to educate them about the factors that influence their childrens adjustment. Training consisted of six sessions lasting two hours each, one week apart. Random assignments of the parenting partners to a control or treatment group was done lottery style. Participation in the program had a significant (p < .05) positive effect on co-parenting skills as well as perceived overall parent relationships for both mothers and fathers.

Sister-sister incest: data from an anonymous computerized survey

Retrospective data were entered anonymously by 1,521 adult women using a computer-assisted self-interview. Thirty-one participants were victims of sister–sister incest, 40 were victims of brother–sister incest, 19 were victims of father–daughter incest, 8 were victims of sexual abuse by an adult female (including one mother), and 232 were victims of sexual abuse by an adult male other than their father before reaching 18 years of age. The rest (1,203) served as controls. The victims of sister–sister incest had significantly more problematic outcomes than controls on many measures as adults. Victims of sister–sister incest were more depressed and more likely than controls to be distant from the perpetrator-sister and to have traded sex for money, experienced an unplanned pregnancy, engaged in four different types of masturbation, and engaged in 13 different same-sex behaviors. Our findings were consistent with other reports of early eroticization and persistent hypereroticization of incest victims.

Correlates of Exhibition-like Experiences in Childhood and Adolescence: A Model for Development of Exhibitionism in Heterosexual Males

We identified risk factors before age 18 for exhibitionism and urges to engage in exhibitionism. Sharing a tub bath with a female and allowing a female partner to look at his genitals appeared to serve the function of conditioning experiences that were both pleasurable and sexually arousing. Being allowed to be nude in mothers presence indicated mothers approval for engaging in the exhibitionism. The findings were consistent with a conditioning model in which exhibition-like experiences can initiate a vicious cycle that can result in a sexual addiction with powerful urges to engage in exhibitionism that are triggered by dysphoric feelings.

Risk factors for father-daughter incest: data from an anonymous computerized survey.

Retrospective data from 2,034 female participants, provided anonymously using a computer-assisted self-interview, were used to identify risk factors for father–daughter incest (FDI). A total of 51 participants had reported having experienced FDI. The risk factors identified within the nuclear family by the multiple logistic regression analysis included the following: (a) Having parents whose relationship included verbal or physical fighting or brutality increased the likelihood of FDI by approximately 5 times; (b) families accepting father–daughter nudity as measured by a scale with values ranging from 0 to 4 increased the likelihood of FDI by approximately 2 times for each unit value increase of 1 above 0; (c) demonstrating maternal affection protected against FDI. The likelihood of being a victim of FDI was highest if the participant’s mother never kissed or hugged her; it decreased by 0.44 for a 1-unit increase in affection and by 0.19 times for a 2-unit increase; and (d) being in homes headed by single-parent mothers or where divorce or death of the father had resulted in a man other than the biological father living in the home increased the risk of FDI by approximately 3.2 times. The results were consistent with the idea that FDI in many families was the cumulative result of a circular pattern of interactions, a finding that has implications for treatment of the perpetrator, the victim, and the families. The data also suggested it may be possible to design an information program for parents that will result in reducing the risk of FDI in families implementing the program’s recommendations.

Empathic sexual responses in heterosexual women and men

Two distinct empathic sexual responses have been mentioned anecdotally in the literature: (1) an increase in physiological sexual arousal in response to the sexual arousal of the partner (empathic turn-on) and (2) a decrease in physiological sexual arousal in response to lack of sexual arousal in the partner (empathic turn-off), but to our knowledge this is the first systematic study of the phenomenon. There were 722 women and 415 men who participated in the anonymous computer survey. Of the total of 1137 participants, 90.5% agreed that they had experienced empathic turn-on, 69.1% agreed that they had experienced empathic turn-off, 64.4% agreed that they had experienced both empathic turn-on and turn-off and only 4.7% had experienced neither, χ 2 (1, n = 1137) = 19.484, p < .001. Sexual satisfaction of participants was significantly lower at the levels of partners orgasm likelihood below 0.5 than above 0.5 in both men and women when analyzed separately. Both men and women were more likely to express multiple or sustained orgasms (instead of single orgasms) with a good partner than while masturbating. Empathic sexual responses can modulate the sexual arousal of both men and women by increasing sexual arousal when the partner is aroused and decreasing sexual arousal when the partner is not sexually responsive.

Genital Piercing: Childhood and Adolescent Behaviors That Serve as Predictors and Scores on Scales Measuring Hypersexuality and Risky Sexual Behavior, Sexual Orientation, Depression, Conflict, Intimacy, and Sexual Satisfaction

ABSTRACT Groups of 62 women and 25 men with genital piercings were compared to same-sex controls without genital piercing (2,549 women and 1,427 men, respectively) on measures of sexual orientation, intimacy, conflict, sexual satisfaction, depression, numbers of sexual partners, and numbers of times they engaged in sexual behaviors with female and male partners as adults. As adults, both women and men with genital piercings scored higher on the measures of same-sex orientation, hypersexuality, and risky sexual behavior and had more adult male partners and same-sex partners than controls. Women with genital piercings were more likely than controls to endorse being sexually addicted.