Bibliotherapy interventions for female low sexual desire: erotic fiction versus self-help

Low sexual desire is the number one complaint that women bring to their health care practitioners. Limited research demonstrates that written materials (or bibliotherapy) increase sexual desire in women. The aim of this study was to further the literature by conducting a comparative study on the eff...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sexual and relationship therapy 2016-08, Vol.31 (3), p.344-358
Main Authors: Palaniappan, Meenakshi, Mintz, Laurie, Heatherly, Rachel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arousal
Bibliotherapy
Comparative studies
Efficacy
Eroticism
Female
Fiction
Health care
hypoactive sexual desire disorder
Intervention
Medical personnel
Orgasm
Pain
Self help
Sexual desire
Sexual functioning
Womens health
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Summary:Low sexual desire is the number one complaint that women bring to their health care practitioners. Limited research demonstrates that written materials (or bibliotherapy) increase sexual desire in women. The aim of this study was to further the literature by conducting a comparative study on the efficacy of two types of written materials when read by women struggling with low sexual desire: self-help versus erotic fiction. Thirty-five women across the two conditions completed sexual functioning measures at two time points (pre-intervention and post-intervention), with 27 women completing a six-week follow-up. Participants reading both types of books made statistically significant gains on the two measures of desire, arousal, lubrication, satisfaction, orgasm, pain reduction, and overall sexual functioning. In both conditions, those participating in a six-week follow-up maintained their gains in desire, satisfaction, pain reduction, and overall sexual functioning. Findings are discussed within the context of treatment for low sexual desire in women. Implications are discussed.
ISSN:1468-1994
1468-1749
DOI:10.1080/14681994.2016.1158805