Grant: CIHR New Investigator

Sexual health is an integral component of physical and mental quality of life. Sexual arousal and desire problems affect up to one third of women, yet effective and safe treatments do not yet exist. Recently, changes to the way sexual arousal and desire problems are conceptualized have been proposed by sexuality researchers, such that sexual arousal and desire are no longer distinct experiences where desire leads to arousal. Instead, sexual desire is triggered by, or emerges, from experiencing sexual arousal. This new model of sexual response may be beneficial to women's health because it more accurately captures women's experience of their sexuality and better explains women's experiences of sexual difficulties. This model has not, however, been scientifically tested to determine which aspects of sexual arousal trigger sexual desire, and whether these aspects differ for women with and without sexual arousal and desire difficulties. Our primary objective is to understand the relationships among sexual arousal, sexual desire, and sexual health in women. We will assess sexual arousal in women with and without sexual arousal and desire difficulties using physiological, psychological, and hormonal measures. We will then follow women after participation and collect behavioural and self reported measures of their experience of sexual desire. Understanding the relationship between sexual arousal and desire will create gender-specific knowledge about women's sexuality and about the causes of women's sexual dysfunctions. This outcome is vital given the unsuccessful history of applying male based models of sexual functioning to women. The proposed research will have direct implications for identifying risk factors for sexual arousal and desire problems, inform treatment decisions, and decrease the burden of sexual dysfunction and its negative impacts for Canadian women.