A Randomized, Waiting-List-Controlled Study Shows That Brief, Mindfulness-Based Psychological Interventions Are Effective for Treatment of Women's Low Sexual Desire

We evaluated two treatment conditions for low sexual desire in women: one where participants were administered a mindfulness-based treatment protocol and another with exercises focusing on scheduled sex and motivations for sex in addition to the aforementioned protocol. Seventy women (M age 39.2, SD...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of sex research 2019-09, Vol.56 (7), p.913-929
Main Authors: Gunst, Annika, Ventus, Daniel, Arver, Stefan, Dhejne, Cecilia, Görts-Öberg, Katarina, Zamore-Söderström, Elin, Jern, Patrick
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brief interventions
Complaints
Females
Homework
Interpersonal relations
Medicin och hälsovetenskap
Mindfulness
Psychological distress
Quality
Questionnaires
Sexual desire
Sexual messages
Women
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Summary:We evaluated two treatment conditions for low sexual desire in women: one where participants were administered a mindfulness-based treatment protocol and another with exercises focusing on scheduled sex and motivations for sex in addition to the aforementioned protocol. Seventy women (M age 39.2, SD = 9.8) with complaints of low sexual desire were randomly allocated to one of these treatment conditions or a waiting-list condition. Participants attended four individual sessions and completed homework exercises. Questionnaire data were collected before and after treatment and at follow-ups three and six months later. Primary outcomes were the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) desire subdomain and the Sexual Interest and Desire Inventory-Female (SIDI-F). Secondary outcomes were the Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised (FSDS-R), the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS), the Perceived Relationship Quality Components Inventory (PRQC), and the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18). Women in both treatment conditions reported significantly higher sexual desire (FSFI desire d = 0.75 to 1.06) immediately following treatment, compared to the waiting list. Improvements were sustained at follow-up, accompanied by improvements in some secondary outcomes. We found no significant differences between the treatment conditions in terms of treatment effectiveness. Our study adds to the literature suggesting that mindfulness-based treatments are suitable options for treating low sexual desire in women.
ISSN:0022-4499
1559-8519
1559-8519
DOI:10.1080/00224499.2018.1539463