Normal sexual response in women.

In summary, women's sexual response is characterized as highly variable and influenced by a wide range of determinants, including physiologic, psychosocial, and contextual factors. This complexity is reflected also in the multiple etiologic factors and determinants of sexual problems in women. It is evident in current conceptualizations of normal female sexual response, as presented in this article, in which the circularity and overlap of different components and aspects of sexual response in women are viewed differently from the more linear and invariable trajectory of sexual response in men.

Sexual dysfunction and chronic illness: the role of flexibility in coping.

Sexual dysfunction is common among individuals with chronic illnesses and is associated with distress and reduced quality of life. Because of the long-term, often irreversible nature of sexual dysfunction in chronic illness and limitations of pharmacological treatments, there is a need to understand cognitive and behavioral coping processes in this population. We present a model of coping with sexual dysfunction that focuses on the construct of flexibility, including the definition of sexual functioning and its centrality to overall self-concept.