Abstract

RIBEIRO, Celina  and  PEREIRA, Henrique. The impact of interoceptive awareness on sexual functioning among portuguese women. Psic., Saúde & Doenças [online]. 2022, vol.23, n.1, pp.74-88.  Epub Apr 30, 2022. ISSN 1645-0086.  https://doi.org/10.15309/22psd230108.

Research on sexual functioning among women suggests a relation between sexual functioning and interoceptive awareness, or the conscious perception of internal bodily signs. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of interoceptive awareness on sexual functioning among Portuguese women. Hence, 459 Portuguese women, with an average age of 34.57 years (SD=10.27), ranging from 18 to 65 years, completed the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA), the Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised (FSDS-R), and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). The results showed that higher levels of interoceptive awareness were associated with better sexual functioning, less sexual distress, and greater desire for sex with and without intercourse. Higher levels of distress, meanwhile, were related to worse sexual functioning. Using a linear regression model, we found a significant correlation between interoceptive awareness and sexual distress in sexual functioning; the two variables, together, explain 44.8% of sexual functioning of the women who participated in the study. However, only sexual distress was shown to be a significant predictor of the model. Interoceptive awareness can have an influence on sexual functioning in women with or without sexual dysfunction, although it is not an essential predictor.

Keywords : Sexual functioning; Sexual distress; Interoceptive awareness.

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