Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy

Rosen, Raymond C.; Leiblum, Sandra R.; Spector, Ilana P.

doi: 10.1080/00926239408403419pmid: 8035472

Abstract Treatment approaches for male erectile disorder (MED) have proliferated in recent years. Due to the growing emphasis on medical or surgical approaches to treatment, however, there has been a relative neglect of the psychological or interpersonal dimensions of the problem. The present article describes a five-part model for time-limited, cognitive-interpersonal treatment of male erectile disorder. Key elements of the model are: psychoeducational and cognitive intervention; sexual and performance anxiety reduction; script assessment and modification; conflict resolution and relationship enhancement; and relapse prevention training. Although intended primarily for use with psychogenic erectile dysfunction in intact couples, the model can be applied to single males or those with organically based erectile difficulties. Several case examples are provided and the limitations of the model are discussed.

Ochs, Eric P.; Meana, Marta; Paré, Louise; Mah, Kenneth; Binik, Yitzchak M.

doi: 10.1080/00926239408403420pmid: 8035473

Abstract In an ongoing research program investigating the utility of Sexpert, an expert computer system designed to counsel couples about their sexual relationships, we tested whether sexually active couples' attitudes concerning computerized sexual counseling could be affected by interacting with Sexpert. Eighty-one young heterosexual couples drawn from the university and general community were assigned to one of three sources of feedback about couple sexual functioning (Sexpert, a video, a self-help book) or a control condition. Attitudes toward all counseling sources used in the study were assessed through semantic differential and similarity-dissimilarity questionnaires. Subjects in the Sexpert condition showed significant improvements in their attitudes toward computerized sexual counseling and evaluated Sexpert significantly better and more similar to a human therapist as a result of exposure. Subjects in the other three conditions showed no significant changes in attitudes. This study provides strong evidence for the acceptability of a computerized sex-expert system.

Hsu, Bing; Kling, Arthur; Kessler, Christopher; Knapke, Kory; Diefenbach, Pamela; Elias, James E.

doi: 10.1080/00926239408403421pmid: 8035467

Abstract This report is a replication of a study conducted 10 years ago by Person et al., investigating gender differences in sexual behaviors andfantasies in a college population. We found that men continue to fantasize more than women, but the gender differences have narrowed. Recent sexual experiences of our population show a trend toward an increase in gender differences, and there is a greater correlation between sexual fantasy and experiences in women than in men. As in Person's study, we did not find that men had more aggressive I sadistic fantasies than women.

Schiavi, Raul C.; Schanzer, Harry; Sozio, Giampaolo; Setaccj, Carlo; Stimmel, Barbara; Rayfield, Elliot J.

doi: 10.1080/00926239408403422pmid: 8035468

Abstract Thirty-seven diabetic men selected to exclude the confounding effects of other medical illnesses and nondiabetic medications and 53 healthy controls underwent extensive psychosexual and medical evaluations and penile blood pressure assessments by ultrasonic Doppler measurement and mercury strain-gauge plethysmography. There was a significant negative correlation between age and the penile-brachial index (PBI) in the diabetic but not in the control group. The impotent diabetic group had significantly lower PBI than nondysfunctional diabetic and healthy control subjects. Diabetic type, complications, and adequacy of metabolic control were not statistically related to PBI. Although the PBI may not have diagnostic utility for individual patients, it may provide a valuable noninvasive physiologic measure of penile vascular changes in studies on the aged and the medically ill. The processes that mediate the interaction of diabetes and aging on penile blood pressure and erectile capacity deserve further investigation.

Apt, Carol; Hurlbert, David Farley

doi: 10.1080/00926239408403423pmid: 8035469

Abstract To examine the sexual attitudes, behaviors, and intimate relationships of individuals with histrionic personality disorder, this study compared a sample of women with histrionic personality disorders to an adequately matched sample of women without personality disorders (aged 24—31 years) using various measures. As compared to the control group, women with histrionic personality were found to have significantly lower sexual assertiveness, greater erotophobic attitudes toward sex, lower self-esteem, and greater marital dissatisfaction. Women in the histrionic group were also found to evidence significantly greater sexual preoccupation, lower sexual desire, more sexual boredom, greater orgasmic dysfunction, and were more likely to enter into an extramarital affair than their counterparts. Despite these findings, a higher sexual esteem was noted among the histrionic group. This pattern of sexual behavior noted among histrionic women appears consistent with those behaviors exhibited in sexual narcissism. These findings and treatment considerations are explored.

Waring, E. M.; Schaefer, Betsy; Fry, Richard

doi: 10.1080/00926239408403424pmid: 8035470

Abstract This study examines the effect of therapeutic changes in a couple's self-disclosure behavior and its impact on their perception of their marital intimacy. Twenty couples participated in 10 weekly sessions of structured self-disclosure. The Self-Disclosure Coding System was used to rate audiotapes of the second and ninth sessions. Two raters, blind to treatment condition, demonstrated high interrater reliability on measures of changes in: 1) amount of self-disclosure; 2) whether self-references were positive, negative, or neutral; 3) depth of disclosures; and 4) rate of self-reference. Spouses, who were rated as disclosing in greater depth and referring to themselves in a more positive manner, perceived increased intimacy in their marriages as a consequence of therapy. The role of self-disclosure between spouses as a specific technique in marital therapy merits further study.

Rosenberg, Kenneth Paul

doi: 10.1080/00926239408403425pmid: 8035471

Abstract Why are people gay? This past summer, a geneticist working at the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Dean Hamer, presented new information suggesting that homosexuality may be partly genetic.1 Hamer's paper is the latest and perhaps most compelling evidence linking homosexuality to biology.2

doi: 10.1080/00926239408403426pmid: N/A

Abstract Sexual Perversion: Integrative Treatment Approaches for the Clinician, by Sheldon Travin and Barry Protter. New York: Plenum Press, 1993, 205 pages, $35.00.

doi: 10.1080/00926239408403427pmid: N/A

Abstract Why Am I Gay? Stories of Coming Out in America, produced by Kenneth Paul Rosenberg. VHS videocassette, 60 minutes, color, 1993. Purchase price $99.95, plus $5 shipping and handling. Ambrose Video Publishing, Inc., 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104; fax, 212-265-8088; telephone, 212-265-7272. Love Makes a Family: Gay Parents in the 90, produced by Remco Kobus, Maria Leech, and Daniel Veltri. VHS videocassette. 16 minutes, color, 1993. Purchase price $ 195; rental $50, plus shipping $9. Fanlight Productions, 47 Halifajc Street, Boston, MA 02130; telephone 1-800-937-41 13. Other Families, produced by Dorothy Chvatal. VHS videocassette, 49 minutes, color. Purchase price $195; rental $50, plus shipping $9. Contact Fanlight Productions, 47 Halifax Street, Boston, M A 021 30; telephone 1-800-937-4223.