Efficacy of psychological interventions for sexual dysfunction: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Open accessAbstract
Sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent in the general population and associated with psychological distress and impaired sexual satisfaction. Psychological interventions are promising treatment options, as sexual dysfunction is frequently caused by and deteriorates because of psychological factors. However, research into the efficacy of psychological interventions is rather scarce and an up-to-date review of outcome studies is currently lacking. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of all available studies from 1980 to 2009 to examine the efficacy of psychological interventions for patients with sexual dysfunction. A total of 20 randomized controlled studies comparing a psychological intervention with a wait-list were included in the meta-analysis. The overall post-treatment effect size for symptom severity was d = 0.58 (95% CI: 0.40 to 0.77) and for sexual satisfaction d = 0.47 (95% CI: 0.27 to 0.70). Psychological interventions were shown to especially improve symptom severity for women with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder and orgasmic disorder. Our systematic review of 14 studies comparing at least two active interventions head-to-head revealed that very few comparative studies are available with large variability in effect sizes across studies (d between -0.69 and 2.29 for symptom severity and -0.56 and 14.02 for sexual satisfaction). In conclusion, psychological interventions are effective treatment options for sexual dysfunction. However, evidence varies considerably across single disorders. Good evidence exists to date for female hypoactive sexual desire disorder and female orgasmic disorder. Further research is needed on psychological interventions for other sexual dysfunctions, their long-term and comparative effects.
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A multidisciplinary treatment combining medical and psychological treatment is more effective than mono-treatment.
“Statement #9: A multidisciplinary treatment, in which medical treatment is combined with psychological treatment, has proven to be more effective than mono-treatment (Level 2, Grade B).”
From A Psychosocial Approach to Erectile Dysfunction: Position Statements from the European Society of Sexual Medicine (ESSM) (2021) · cites this paper as [106]
The Results of Studies Included in the Systematic Review report that combined psychological treatment and medication was more effective than medication alone in several comparisons. But for erectile dysfunction, one study found the opposite effect, and the paper did not pool the combined-treatment comparisons. The evidence therefore does not establish that combined treatment is generally more effective than any single treatment. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredAvailable studies on the effectiveness of psychological treatments are limited and hampered by small sample sizes, inadequate follow-up, and a lack of controlled designs.
“In addition, available studies on the effectiveness of psychological treatments are limited and hampered by small samples sizes, inadequate follow-up, and a lack of controlled designs.106, 107, 108”
From A Psychosocial Approach to Erectile Dysfunction: Position Statements from the European Society of Sexual Medicine (ESSM) (2021) · cites this paper as [106]
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- Authors
- Frühauf, S., Gerger, H., Schmidt, H. M., Munder, T., & Barth, J.
- Affiliations
- Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Barth, Jürgen
- Venue
- Archives of Sexual Behavior
- Published
- 2013-04-05
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 915-933
- ISSN
- 0004-0002 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-2800
- OpenAlex
- W2029534437
- Cited by
- 345
- References
- 70
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 2.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Archives of Sexual Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (publishedVersion)
- DSpace (Open University in the Netherlands) (publishedVersion)
- EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
- BORIS (University Library Bern) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Open Access CRIS of the University of Bern
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (118312, 105314-118312/1)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Sexual function and dysfunction studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Sex work and related issues
- Keywords
- sexual dysfunction, psychological intervention, treatment efficacy, sexual satisfaction, hypoactive sexual desire disorder, female orgasmic disorder, symptom severity, psychological distress
- MeSH terms
- Female, Humans, Male, Psychotherapy, Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological, Treatment Outcome, Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological
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