Sexual Desire and Arousal Disorders in Women
Abstract
According to incentive motivation theory, sexual desire is the result of the interplay between a sensitive sexual response system and stimuli that activate the system. From this notion it follows that sexual desire is not a cause but a consequence of sexual arousal. The effects of hormones, somatic disease and medication on sexual arousability are discussed, as well as the influence of psychological factors - such as stimulus meaning, mood and cognition - and relational context on female sexual desire and arousal. At present, much attention is being paid to possible pharmacological treatments for decreased desire and arousal problems, even though desire and arousal seem more strongly associated with psychological and relational factors. Empirical evidence of the effect of psychological treatments for decreased desire and arousal problems in women is scarce. A cognitive-behavioral therapy approach with explicit attention to relational context and a focus on improving arousal and sexual satisfaction has shown to be effective. Knowledge about which treatment elements bring about change is still lacking.
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Psychological variables, including stimulus meaning, mood, and cognition, as well as relationship context, have been found to impact sexual arousal and desire in women.
“Additionally, psychological variables, including stimulus meaning, mood, and cognition, as well as relationship context, have been found to impact sexual arousal and desire in women (Brotto et al., 2011;Laan & Both, 2011;Leeners et al., 2014;Nowak et al., 2023).”
From “Your Addiction, her Sexual Suffering”—A Qualitative Inquiry into the Effects of Compulsive Sexual Behaviors on Intimate Female Partners (2025) · cites this paper as Laan & Both, 2011
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References 116 · Cited by 49
- Authors
- Laan, E., & Both, S.
- Affiliations
- Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam (NL)
- Leiden University Medical Center (NL)
- Venue
- Advances in Psychosomatic Medicine
- Publisher
- S. Karger AG
- Published
- 2011
- Volume
- 31
- Pages
- 16-34
- ISSN
- 0065-3268 (ISSN-L)
- 1662-2855
- OpenAlex
- W1991100384
- Cited by
- 49
- References
- 116
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 13.56
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Advances in psychosomatic medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Pure Amsterdam UMC (publishedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Sexual function and dysfunction studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- female desire, sexual arousal disorders, female sexual dysfunction, relational context, sexual satisfaction, pharmacotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy
- MeSH terms
- Combined Modality Therapy, Diagnosis, Differential, Female, Humans, Motivation, Psychological Theory, Sexual Behavior, Sex Counseling, Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological, Hormone Replacement Therapy, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
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