The menstrual distress questionnaire (MEDI-Q): reliability and validity of the English version.

Background: Menstrual cycle has a significant impact on women's health from different perspectives, both physically and psychologically. The assessment of menstrual-related distress is of pivotal clinical interest, especially in women with chronic exposure to abnormal bleeding or pain. The Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MEDI-Q) is a new tool originally developed in Italian that comprehensively evaluates menstrual-related distress.

Dysregulated Sexuality in Women with Eating Disorders: The Role of Childhood Traumatic Experiences.

The present study explored the psychopathological, behavioral, and putative biological underpinnings of dysregulated sexuality in eating disorders (EDs), focusing on the role of childhood trauma - evaluated with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). The comparison between Binge-Purging and Restricting patients outlined the predominance of markers of dysregulated sexuality in the first subgroup. In the clinical sample, hypersexuality - measured through the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory (HBI) - was associated with severe psychopathology, emotion dysregulation, childhood trauma, adverse consequences, and higher ghrelin levels.

How Does Childhood Trauma Impact Women's Sexual Desire? Role of Depression, Stress, and Cortisol.

The relationship between childhood trauma and adult sexual dysfunction is well documented; however, there is a paucity of research that examines the physiological and psychological mechanisms that may potentiate this relationship. As depression, perceived stress, and hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation are correlates of childhood trauma and sexual dysfunction, the current study sought to examine the association of each of these domains with low sexual desire in a sample of ( = 275 [ = 137 women with low sexual desire; = 138 sexually healthy women]) non-clinically depressed women. First, we assessed the relative contributions of HPA axis dysregulation (as indexed by the diurnal cortisol slope), childhood trauma, depression symptoms and perceived daily stress on low sexual desire.

Intimacy Mediates the Relation Between Maltreatment in Childhood and Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction in Adulthood: A Dyadic Longitudinal Analysis.

Trauma theories suggest that childhood maltreatment (CM) may partly explain intimacy problems in romantic relationships. However, empirical studies have yielded conflicting findings, likely due to the varying conceptualizations of intimacy. Findings that support long-term negative effects of CM on sexual and relationship satisfaction are almost exclusively based on cross-sectional intra-individual data, precluding the examination of mediating pathways and of dyadic interactions between individuals reporting CM and their partners.

Deviance or Normalcy? The Relationship Among Paraphilic Thoughts and Behaviors, Hypersexuality, and Psychopathology in a Sample of University Students.

Introduction: The actual definitions of paraphilic thoughts or behaviors and hypersexuality are still a matter of debate in the scientific community, and few studies have evaluated their psychopathological correlates in non-clinical samples of both men and women.

Aim: This study aimed at shedding light on the gender differences in terms of frequency of paraphilic fantasies and behaviors, and the relationship among paraphilias, hypersexuality, and general psychopathology.

Methods: A sample of 775 university students (243 men, 532 women) was recruited from 6 Italian universities using questionnaires posted in social networks.

The risk of Telling: A Dyadic Perspective on Romantic Partners' Responses to Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure and Their Associations with Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction.

Among 70 community couples who reported childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and disclosure to their partner, this study examined associations between survivors' perception of partner responses to their disclosure, and both partners' sexual and relationship satisfaction. Participants completed self-report questionnaires online. Results of path analyses within an actor-partner interdependence model indicated that survivors' perceived partner responses of emotional support to disclosure were associated with their own and their partners' higher sexual satisfaction.

Body Esteem as a Common Factor of a Tendency Toward Binge Eating and Sexual Dissatisfaction Among Women: The Role of Dissociation and Stress Response During Sex.

Background: Several studies have suggested a relevant overlap between eating disorders and sexual dysfunction involving the emotional component of body image esteem and dissociative experiences.

Aim: To evaluate the common maintaining factors of sexual dysfunction and vulnerability to pathologic eating behaviors and their relation to a physiologic stress response.

Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, we evaluated a non-clinical sample of 60 heterosexual women (25-35 years old) for dissociation during sex with a partner, body image disturbance, and tendency toward pathologic eating behaviors.

Testing cognitive predictors of individual differences in the sexual psychophysiological responses of sexually functional women.

The literature on sexual responses shows a large and not fully understood between-women variance in sexual responses and in strength of coherence between physiological and subjective sexual responses. This study investigated cognitive factors theorized to be associated with sexual responses that could explain such variance. Specifically, we investigated the predictive value of sexual excitation/inhibition and sexual schemas on sexual response and coherence.

The Role of Family Environment and Multiple Forms of Childhood Abuse in the Shaping of Sexual Function and Satisfaction in Women.

Studies suggest that sexual self-schemas are an important cognitive mechanism in the sexual development of women with a history of childhood abuse. This literature is only beginning to explore how multiple forms of abuse (i.e.

Cross-sex hormonal treatment and body uneasiness in individuals with gender dysphoria.

Introduction: Cross-sex hormonal treatment (CHT) used for gender dysphoria (GD) could by itself affect well-being without the use of genital surgery; however, to date, there is a paucity of studies investigating the effects of CHT alone.

Aims: This study aimed to assess differences in body uneasiness and psychiatric symptoms between GD clients taking CHT and those not taking hormones (no CHT). A second aim was to assess whether length of CHT treatment and daily dose provided an explanation for levels of body uneasiness and psychiatric symptoms.

Dissociation during sex and sexual arousal in women with and without a history of childhood sexual abuse.

Women with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) experience dissociative symptoms and sexual difficulties with greater frequency than women without a history of CSA. Current models of sexual dysfunction for sexual abuse survivors suggest that dissociation may mediate the relationship between CSA and sexual arousal difficulties. Dissociation, however, is often conceptualized as a single construct in studies of CSA and not as separate domains as in the dissociation literature.

Psychopathological similarities and differences between obese patients seeking surgical and non-surgical overweight treatments.

Purpose: To compare the psychopathological characteristics of obese patients seeking bariatric surgery with those seeking a medical approach.

Methods: A total of 394 consecutive outpatients seeking bariatric surgery were compared with 683 outpatients seeking a medical treatment. All patients were referred to the same institution.

Childhood sexual abuse moderates the relationship between sexual functioning and eating disorder psychopathology in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa: a 1-year follow-up study.

Introduction: Sexual dysfunctions that affect all aspects of sexuality are common in patients with eating disorders. However, only few studies have provided longitudinal information on sexual functioning in patients with eating disorders.

Aim: To evaluate the longitudinal course of sexual functioning, and how changes in psychopathology and history of childhood abuse interact with sexual functioning in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN).

Sexual functioning in women with mild and severe symptoms of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

Introduction: Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is one of the most frequently inherited neurological disorders, and while it is known that individuals suffering from this condition have low quality of life, little is known about their sexual function and satisfaction.

Aim: To describe the functioning on different domains of sexuality in a relatively large sample of women with CMT, provide comparisons between mildly and severely affected patients and between women with the two different types of CMT (demyelinating vs. axonal), and assess the relationship between sexual function and age of onset.

The mediating effect of daily stress on the sexual arousal function of women with a history of childhood sexual abuse.

Psychopathologies such as posttraumatic stress disorder are often proposed as mediators of the sexual arousal dysfunction experienced by women with a history of childhood maltreatment. However, posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms are only part of the difficulties experienced by these women. Other factors to consider include negative affectivity and perceived daily stress.

Differences in sexual desire between women with clinical versus biochemical signs of hyperandrogenism in polycystic ovarian syndrome.

The role androgens play in female sexual desire remains unclear. We investigated whether androgen sensitivity or elevated androgen levels contributed to sexual desire using a motivational model of sexual desire. Eighty-five women diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) were categorized depending on whether they exhibited clinical symptoms of androgen sensitivity or high biochemical androgen levels.

Female sexual arousal disorders.

Introduction: Definitions and terminology for female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD) are currently being debated. While some authors have suggested that FSAD is more a subjective response rather than a genital response, others have suggested that desire and arousal disorders should be combined in one entity. Persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) is a new entity which is suggested to be defined as Restless Genital Syndrome.

Emotional states of love moderate the association between catecholamines and female sexual responses in the laboratory.

Introduction: Research suggests that there are three interrelated, yet distinct, emotion-motivation brain systems for human love (lust, romantic love, and attachment), each associated with a unique catecholaminergic and hormonal profile. Of interest for the current study are norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA), which have a hypothesized connection with romantic love. As NE and DA are also known to facilitate sexual arousal, it is plausible that NE and DA may have a greater positive association with the sexual arousal responses of women in romantic love compared with women in lust.

Relationship satisfaction as a predictor of treatment response during cognitive behavioral sex therapy.

Although recent research suggests that individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may be an effective treatment for female sexual dysfunctions, we have little information regarding predictors of treatment response. The goal of the current study was to assess the degree to which pre-treatment relationship satisfaction predicted treatment response to cognitive behavioral sex therapy. Women with sexual dysfunction (n = 31, M age = 28 years, 77.

Pilot study of a brief cognitive behavioral versus mindfulness-based intervention for women with sexual distress and a history of childhood sexual abuse.

Although sexual difficulties related to a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are common, there are no efficacious treatments to address sexual distress. Recent evidence for the benefits of mindfulness, which emphasizes present-moment non-judgmental awareness, in the treatment of women's sexual concerns provided the impetus for this pilot study. Twenty partnered women with sexual difficulties and significant sexual distress, and a history of CSA were randomized to two sessions of either a cognitive behavioral (CBT, n = 8) or mindfulness-based (MBT, n = 12) group treatment (age: M = 35.

Cardiovascular reactivity and proactive and reactive relational aggression among women with and without a history of sexual abuse.

This study examined the association between cardiovascular reactivity and proactive and reactive functions of relational aggression among women with and without a history of sexual abuse. Heart rate reactivity, blood pressure reactivity, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity while recounting a relational stressor (e.g.

The importance of sexual self-disclosure to sexual satisfaction and functioning in committed relationships.

Introduction: Past research indicates that sexual self-disclosure, or the degree to which an individual is open with his or her partner about sexual preferences, is a key aspect of sexual satisfaction and that partner's lack of knowledge about one's sexual preferences is associated with persistent sexual dysfunction.

Aims: To replicate and extend past research by examining (i) how one's own levels of sexual self-disclosure are related to one's own sexual health (after controlling for partner's levels of sexual self-disclosure); (ii) how one's partner's levels of sexual self-disclosure are associated with one's own sexual health (after controlling for one's own levels of sexual self-disclosure); and (iii) whether gender moderates the associations between sexual self-disclosure and sexual health.

Main Outcome Measures: Scores from the Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction and the Sexual Communication Satisfaction Scale.