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The moderator role of neuroticism in the relationship between sexual thoughts and affective response during sexual activity, and sexual functioning: A study with heterosexual and lesbian women

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Abstract

Personality traits, automatic thoughts and affective states play a major role on female sexual functioning. Nevertheless, little is known regarding the moderator role of personality traits on the relationship between automatic thoughts and affective states, and sexual functioning, in lesbian and heterosexual women. The current study aimed to test the moderator role of personality traits (e.g. neuroticism) on the relationship between automatic thoughts and affective states during sexual activity, and sexual functioning in a sample of lesbian and heterosexual women. Nine-hundred and forty-one women (697 heterosexual women; 244 lesbian women) completed an online survey about cognitive factors and sexual functioning. Participants completed the NEO-Five Factor Inventory, the Automatic Thoughts Scale from the Sexual Modes Questionnaire, the Positive Affect – Negative Affect Scale, and the Female Sexual Functioning Index. Main findings suggested neuroticism, sexual abuse thoughts, failure and disengagement thoughts, lack of erotic thoughts, and positive and negative affective states as significant predictors of female sexual functioning, regardless of sexual orientation. Moreover, women with higher levels of sexual abuse thoughts and higher absence of erotic thoughts, or lower levels of positive affective states, when presented higher levels of neuroticism, also reported a decrease in their sexual functioning, regardless of sexual orientation. Overall, neuroticism acts as moderator on the relationship between sexual abuse thoughts, lack of erotic thoughts and positive affective states, and sexual functioning, regardless of sexual orientation. Implications for improve sex therapy outcomes are discussed.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to confidentiality of the data but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Reference: SFRH/BD/72919/2010). The author would like to thank Professor Pedro Nobre for his support during data collection.

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  1. Centro de Investigação em Psicologia para o Desenvolvimento Positivo, Instituto de Psicologia e Ciências da Educação, Universidade Lusíada-Norte, Rua Dr. Lopo de Carvalho, 4369 – 006, Porto, Portugal

    Maria Manuela Peixoto

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Correspondence to Maria Manuela Peixoto.

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Ethical Statement

All procedures performed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional ethics committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments. The current study is part of a research project approved by Aveiro University Ethics Committee.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

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Peixoto, M.M. The moderator role of neuroticism in the relationship between sexual thoughts and affective response during sexual activity, and sexual functioning: A study with heterosexual and lesbian women. Curr Psychol 42, 3427–3436 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01703-w

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