Downloaded by [b-on: Biblioteca do conhecimento online ISPA] at 04:47 02 November 2013Conditions of access <strong>and</strong> use can be found at http://www.t<strong>and</strong>fonline.com/page/terms<strong>and</strong>-conditions
<strong>Sexual</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Relationship</strong> <strong>Therapy</strong>, 2013Vol. 28, No. 3, 246–258, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14681994.201 2.756137Downloaded by [b-on: Biblioteca do conhecimento online ISPA] at 04:47 02 November 2013<strong>Is</strong> <strong>responsive</strong> <strong>sexual</strong> <strong>desire</strong> <strong>for</strong> partnered sex problematic among men?Insights from a two-country studyAleks<strong>and</strong>ar Sˇ tulhofer a *, Ana Alex<strong>and</strong>ra Carvalheira b <strong>and</strong> Bente Træen ca Sexology Unit, Department of Sociology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia; b Institute ofApplied Psychology, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal; c Department of Psychology,University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway(Received 21 May 2012; final version received 3 December 2012)In contrast to the body of research focusing on female <strong>sexual</strong> <strong>desire</strong>, there hasbeen very little research into patterns of male <strong>sexual</strong> <strong>desire</strong>. This study addressesthis deficiency in the literature by providing empirical answers to the followingthree questions: (1) is there a pattern of <strong>responsive</strong> <strong>sexual</strong> <strong>desire</strong> – defined as beingpredominantly receptive to a partner’s initiation of <strong>sexual</strong> activity withoutinitially desiring it – among men? (2) <strong>Is</strong> this pattern associated with lower levels of<strong>sexual</strong> health than a more spontaneous pattern of male <strong>desire</strong>? (3) Are existingclinical observations regarding possible causes of reduced interest in partnered sexuseful <strong>for</strong> underst<strong>and</strong>ing the more <strong>responsive</strong> men’s <strong>sexual</strong> <strong>desire</strong>? A large onlinesurvey about men’s <strong>sexual</strong> interest was conducted in 2011 among 2215 Norwegian<strong>and</strong> Portuguese men aged 18–75 years (the average age in the sample was 36.5years). Sociodemographic, health-related, socio<strong>sexual</strong> <strong>and</strong> relationship-relatedin<strong>for</strong>mation was collected. Three distinct patterns of male <strong>sexual</strong> <strong>desire</strong> wereobserved: decreased (23.6%), <strong>responsive</strong> (2.5%) <strong>and</strong> spontaneous (73.9%) <strong>desire</strong>patterns. Men in the more <strong>responsive</strong> <strong>and</strong> spontaneous <strong>desire</strong> groups significantlydiffered from participants in the decreased <strong>desire</strong> group, as they reportedsignificantly higher levels of <strong>sexual</strong> interest, <strong>sexual</strong> satisfaction <strong>and</strong> frequency of<strong>sexual</strong> intercourse <strong>and</strong> were less likely to have experienced <strong>sexual</strong> healthdifficulties in the past 12 months. Interestingly, participants with more <strong>responsive</strong><strong>and</strong> spontaneous <strong>desire</strong> patterns were indistinguishable in terms of a number ofsociodemographic, health-related, socio<strong>sexual</strong> <strong>and</strong> relationship-related variables.The sole predictor of the <strong>responsive</strong> <strong>sexual</strong> <strong>desire</strong> pattern was proneness torelationship-related <strong>sexual</strong> boredom. Clinical observations about the roles ofnegative emotions, relationship strain <strong>and</strong> specific <strong>sexual</strong> arousal patterns(homoerotic, autoerotic <strong>and</strong>/or paraphilic) in the etiology of hypoactive <strong>sexual</strong><strong>desire</strong> did not seem relevant <strong>for</strong> men with <strong>responsive</strong> <strong>desire</strong>.Keywords: <strong>sexual</strong> <strong>desire</strong>; men; <strong>sexual</strong> health; <strong>responsive</strong> <strong>desire</strong> patternIntroductionIn a series of influential papers, Basson (2000, 2001, 2002) proposed a new model ofhuman <strong>sexual</strong> response based primarily on her underst<strong>and</strong>ing of <strong>and</strong> evidenceregarding female <strong>sexual</strong>ity. Unlike the st<strong>and</strong>ard <strong>sexual</strong> response model (developed byMasters <strong>and</strong> Johnson <strong>and</strong> appended by Kaplan), which is linear <strong>and</strong> starts with a*Corresponding author. Email: astulhof@ffzg.hrÓ 2013College of <strong>Sexual</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Relationship</strong> Therapists
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