Publications by authors named "W G Macdowall"

Despite increasing scientific and policy interest in sexual wellbeing, it remains poorly conceptualized. Many studies purporting to measure it instead measure related but distinct concepts, such as sexual satisfaction. This lack of conceptual clarity impedes understanding, measuring, and improving sexual wellbeing.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Sexual wellbeing plays a crucial role in overall population health, and to effectively address it, valid measures are necessary.
  • - A new measure called the Natsal-SW was developed by analyzing 40 interviews and refining items through various reviews, ultimately resulting in a 13-item scale that demonstrates good reliability and validity.
  • - The final measure showed strong correlations with related external factors such as mental wellbeing, self-esteem, and sexual satisfaction, thus providing a useful tool for quantifying sexual wellbeing across diverse groups.
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Studies into decline in sexual activity among women in midlife produce equivocal findings, some implicating hormonal and physiological changes, others psycho-social and environmental factors. Women's perspectives rarely inform interpretation of the data. Associations between sexual satisfaction, activity and function, and health and lifestyle factors were explored using data from 2133 female participants in the third British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (2010-2012).

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Sexting has generated considerable public and professional interest with concerns centring on young people, and potential harms to mental and sexual health. Little research thus far has explored the practice among adults and none has focused on the cultural norms relating to the emotional experience of sexting across different ages and genders. We conducted 40 semi-structured interviews with a diverse sample of adults aged 18-59 years in Britain on the role of digital technologies in participants' sexual lives.

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Intimate relationships are ubiquitous and exert a strong influence on health. Widespread disruption to them may impact wellbeing at a population level. We investigated the extent to which the first COVID-19 lockdown (March 2020) affected steady relationships in Britain.

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