The Quality of Women’s Sexual Functioning: Exploring the Role of Emotion Regulation and Sexual Communication

Abstract

For long time female sexual function has been studied in relation to the ability to procreate and the presence of physical pathologies. Nevertheless, psychological experiences of desire, excitement and pleasure have proven to be crucial in the assessment of female sexual function and its alterations in clinical settings. According to the literature, altered sexual functioning may be related to several fundamental psychological factors. Emotion regulation difficulties are considered as one of the main predictors of low levels of women’s sexual functioning and satisfaction. However, the mechanisms linking emotion dysregulation to female sexual dysfunctions are still unclear. Sexual communication, conceived as the ability to openly express one’s sexual preferences, desires, and sexual concerns, may be related to both emotion regulation skills and quality of sexual functioning. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the mediating role of sexual communication in the relationship between emotion regulation and female sexual functioning. Methods: Participants were 1280 non-menopausal women ranging in age between 18 and 57 years (Mage = 27.34, SD = 6.48), 77.66% was engaged in a long-term relationship, and 22.34% was single having occasional sexual intercourses. Participants completed three self-report questionnaires: DERS, for the assessment of emotion regulation abilities; “Communication” subscale of the SSS-W, for the evaluation of sexual communication; FSFI, for the assessment of sexual functioning. Results: Results showed that worse emotion regulation skills were associated with worse female sexual functioning. Moreover, sexual communication mediated this relationship, so that lower levels of emotion regulation skills were associated with worse sexual communication, which in turn was associated with lower sexual functioning quality. Conclusions: Our findings suggested that difficulties in understanding and accepting one’s emotions may impair the ability to openly communicate one’s wishes and concerns with a sexual partner. Failure in expressing sexual needs and preferences may in turn interfere with the quality of one’s sexual life, potentially leading to sexual dysfunctions and dissatisfaction.