Assessing Women’s Sexual Arousal in the Context of Sexual Assault History and Acute Alcohol Intoxication

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https://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/article/S1743-6095(15)33043-5/fulltext

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https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.01786.x
 http://hdl.handle.net/11603/18757

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UMBC Psychology Department

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2010-03-30

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journal articles postprints
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Gilmore, A. K., Schacht, R. L., George, W. H., Otto, J. M., Davis, K. C., Heiman, J. R., Norris, J., & Kajumulo, K. F. (2010). Assessing women's sexual arousal in the context of sexual assault history and acute alcohol intoxication. The journal of sexual medicine, 7(6), 2112–2119. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.01786.x

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Abstract

Introduction Few studies have examined differences in women’s sexual arousal based on sexual assault history (SAH) or in-the-moment alcohol intoxication. Only one has examined combined effects. Findings regarding the relationship between SAH and arousal are contradictory. Aim We aimed to determine the relationship between SAH, alcohol intoxication, and sexual arousal. Main Outcome Measures Genital response was measured by vaginal pulse amplitude (VPA) using vaginal photoplethysmography while watching erotic films. Self-reported sexual arousal was assessed after watching erotic films. Methods Women were randomly assigned to an alcohol (target blood alcohol level = .10%) or control condition and categorized as having a SAH or not. After beverage administration, all women watched erotic films while genital arousal (vaginal pulse amplitude; VPA) was measured. Afterwards self-reported sexual arousal was measured. Results Women with a SAH had smaller increases in genital arousal in response to the films than women without a SAH. Intoxicated women had smaller increases in genital arousal than sober women. However, no differences for SAH or intoxication were found in self-reported arousal. Conclusion SAH and alcohol intoxication are associated with smaller increases in genital arousal compared to women without a SAH and sober women, suggesting that these co-occurring factors impact sexual arousal.