Journal of Sexual Health Psychology
Volume:1 Issue: 2, Summer and Autumn 2022

One of the strategies for treating gender dysphoria is cross-sex hormone therapy (CHT). Our study aimed to explore the differences in the psychopathology of people with gender dysphoria who received the hormone with those who did not this treatment. We also wanted to explore discrimination and rejection among people with gender dysphoria.

We administered a demographic questionnaire and the structured clinical interview for DSM Axis I disorders (SCID_I) to all participants. Our study sample consisted of 41 people with gender dysphoria (20 MtF and 21 FtM), of whom 21 received Cross-sex hormone therapy (CHT) and 20 did not.

Results indicated that they were on CHT had lower psychological problems than those who did not receive hormone therapy. CHT was influenced by gender dysphoria’s psychological health. On the other hand, gender dysphoria that doesn’t receive CHT, had further depression, anxiety, obsession-compulsion, and in general Axis-I disorders. We also found that male-to-female people with gender dysphoria were more likely to suffer from discrimination and rejection.

We concluded that CHT could affect the mental health of people with gender dysphoria. Our knowledge of the role of discrimination, ridicule and rejection on the psychological pathology of people with gender dysphoria can help specialists to find the best treatment for these people.

Due to the Corona virus pandemic in 2019, all around the world people had to spend a long time in quarantine. The effect of this life style on the sexual behaviors of couples is an important issue that needs further investigation. The present study mainly aimed to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the sexual behaviors of married couples.

In total, 740 participants completed questionnaires through different online social platforms. The participants were married men and women over 18 years old. The required data were obtained from the sexual behaviors of couple’s questionnaire (Iranian version), Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale, and demographic variables questionnaire.

Data analysis revealed that 56.1% and 49.7% of the participants experienced no changes in their sexual and desire sexual frequency, respectively. According to multiple regression analysis, it was found that satisfaction with the partner, satisfaction with marriage, economic status, emotional relationship, tobacco use, psychiatric disorders have significant relationships with sexual frequency in couples.

According to the results, it can be concluded that there were no significant differences in sexual desire, frequency, pleasure and request in married couples during the COVID-19 outbreak.

 Sexual desire (SD) refers to individual differences in the internal force which determines sexual functions. This study investigated the relationship between openness to experience and intelligence with SD. The role of weight and age in moderating the relation between openness and intelligence with SD was also examined.

 A total of 168 participants were collected using grab sampling from 3 universities in Tehran, Iran (n=168; age range: 18 to 35; Mean = 23; Standard Deviation = 3.58). All participants completed measures of intelligence (Raven's Progressive Matrices), Openness to experience (measured through the NEO), and sexual desire (Hurlbert Index of SD).

 The data of the study were analyzed by using Pearson's correlation coefficient and regression. The results found no significant relationship between openness to experience and intelligence with SD. Moreover, sex and weight did not moderate the relationship between openness and intelligence with SD. Findings from the current study provide empirical support for the consistent link between intelligence and SD at older ages. There is also a curvilinear relationship between weight and SD.

 These findings suggest that intelligence or openness would not have an influence on SD, and only age plays a role in moderating the association between intelligence and SD.

 The aim of this study was to compare sexual self-concept and sexual awareness among divorced, infidelity, and normal women.

 The method of this study was causal-comparative, which was conducted to compare sexual self-concept and sexual awareness among three groups of women. The statistical population was all the women who were referred to Pooyan Sexual Disorders Clinic between 2016 and 2017. 55 divorced women, 42 unfaithful women, and 50 normal women were selected from volunteers as a sample. They responded to the sexual self-concept questionnaires of Fisher, Davis, and Yarber (2013) and sexual awareness of Snell, Fisher, and Miller (1991) in accordance with ethical principles.

 The findings showed that the mean age and the mean years of marital life of women who cheated before were higher than that of divorced women and control group (p<0.05). Moreover, these women had seen more pornography before marriage than divorced women and control group, and also had more masturbation (p<0.05). Results showed that sexual anxiety, sexual self-efficacy, sexual consciousness, avoidance of risky sex, chance sexual control, sexual preoccupation, sexual optimism, sexual self-esteem, sexual satisfaction, power-other sexual control, sexual self-schemata, fear of sex, sexual depression, and internal-sexual-control among the three groups had significant differences (p<0.05). However, sexual assertiveness, sexual problem self-blame, sexual motivation, and sexual problem management were not significantly different among the three groups.

 With the increase in life expectancy, the frequency of sexual activity decreases, possibly due to reduced sexual attractiveness by partner, age, occupation, and child care.

 In recent years the prevalence of cosmetic genital surgery in women has increased. This qualitative study has attempted to explore the rationale behind the decision of undergoing aesthetic genital surgeries in a sample of seven married women who had undergone such surgeries in Iran (Tehran).

 Seven in-depth semi-structured narrative interviews were conducted, and the results were analyzed via thematic analysis techniques.

 Three main themes emerged, namely, 'individual problems', 'Couple relationships', and 'Physician-Patient Relationships'. Six sub-themes that were commonly repeated were mental health issues, inadequate sexuality education, imbalanced couple dynamics, communication difficulties, simultaneous surgical intervention in the peri-genital region, and imbalanced power relations.

 It seems that an interplay of different personal and interpersonal issues, facilitates women's decision-making process and propels women in choosing genital aesthetic surgeries. Thus, women are advised to consult with a psychosexual therapist, a clinical psychologist, or a psychiatrist before making any decision about undergoing cosmetic surgery.