Re-Considering Female Sexual Desire
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 10-2014 Re-Considering Female Sexual Desire: Internalized Representations Of Parental Relationships And Sexual Self- Concept In Women With Inhibited And Heightened Sexual Desire Eugenia Cherkasskaya Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/317 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] RE-CONSIDERING FEMALE SEXUAL DESIRE: INTERNALIZED REPRESENTATIONS OF PARENTAL RELATIONSHIPS AND SEXUAL SELF-CONCEPT IN WOMEN WITH INHIBITED AND HEIGHTENED SEXUAL DESIRE BY EUGENIA CHERKASSKAYA A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Clinical Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2014 ii ©2014 EUGENIA CHERKASSKAYA All Rights Reserved iii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Clinical Psychology in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Margaret Rosario, Ph.D. _________________ _______________________________________ Date Chair of Examining Committee Maureen O’Connor _________________ ________________________________________ Date Executive Officer Diana Diamond, Ph.D. Lissa Weinstein, Ph.D. Deborah Tolman, Ed.D Diana Puñales, Ph.D. Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iv Abstract RE-CONSIDERING FEMALE SEXUAL DESIRE: INTERNALIZED REPRESENTATIONS OF PARENTAL RELATIONSHIPS AND SEXUAL SELF-CONCEPT IN WOMEN WITH INHIBITED AND HEIGHTENED SEXUAL DESIRE by Eugenia Cherkasskaya Adviser: Margaret Rosario, Ph.D. Background: Psychoanalytic and sociocultural thinkers and researchers suggest that the etiology of low female sexual desire, the most prevalent sexual complaint in women, is multi-determined, implicating biological and psychological factors, including women’s early relational experiences and sexual self-concept that stem from gender dynamics of a patriarchal culture. Further, recent studies indicate that highly sexual women exhibit heightened sexual desire, and high levels of sexual agency and sexual esteem. The study evaluated a model that hypothesized that sexual self-concept (sexual subjectivity, self-objectification, genital self-image) explains (i.e., mediates) the relations between internalized representations of parental relationships (attachment, separation/individuation, parental identification) and sexual desire in heterosexual women. Methods: Six hundred participants completed self-report questionnaires, assessing the above- mentioned variables. Subsequently, 20 women (10 with inhibited desire, 10 with heightened desire) were individually interviewed about their experiences of sexual desire to examine the differences in the phenomenology of female sexual desire between highly sexual and sexually inhibited women. Results: The results partially supported the hypotheses: internalized v representations of parental relations (attachment and separation-individuation) significantly predicted sexual self-concept (sexual body esteem, self-objectification, genital self-image), which, in turn, was significantly related to sexual desire. Contrary to the study hypothesis, parental identification did not have a significant relationship with the construct of sexual self- concept. The narratives of highly sexual women embodied powerful and cherished experiences of bodily and relational desire, including a wish for merger, while those of the sexually inhibited women reflected negative affects and cognitions in a sexual context as well as a split between the bodily and the relational aspects of sexual desire. Conclusions: Current findings demonstrate the importance of investigating not only the sexually inhibited women but also the highly sexual women with a particular focus on women’s internalized working models of early parent-child relations and their experiences of their bodies in a sexual context in understanding the origins of female sexual inhibition. Treatment of low or absent desire in women would benefit from modalities that emphasize early object relations as well as interventions that foster mind-body integration. vi Acknowledgments I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to my dissertation committee. I would like to thank my Chair, Dr. Margaret Rosario, for guiding me through the process of conceptualizing and designing my research study, reviewing and commenting on each section of the manuscript and supporting me through the dissertation process from start to finish. Further, I would like to thank Dr. Diana Diamond and Dr. Lissa Weinstein for their feedback on my manuscripts and training in psychoanalytic theory, which largely informed the conceptualization for my dissertation research. I would like to thank Dr. Deborah Tolman for her guidance in conducting and analyzing the interviews utilizing the Listening Guide on the phenomenology of female sexual desire. I would like to thank Dr. Diana Puñales for her continued support and clinical supervision during my training. Further, I would like to thank the FAR Fund and the faculty of the Clinical Psychology Program of CUNY for awarding me the generous FAR Fund Dissertation Fellowship that allowed me to realize this research study. I also would like to thank Dr. Marc Glassman for his invaluable statistical consultations. I am tremendously grateful to my parents who have supported and encouraged me throughout each step of my clinical training and dissertation work, as they have in each of my endeavors. I would like to express my great appreciation to my friends for their support, encouragement, and curiosity during each stage of my dissertation process and throughout my clinical training. I would like to thank my friends and colleagues at the clinical psychology program of CUNY for their invaluable feedback on my dissertation work, peer supervision, support and encouragement throughout my doctoral training. Finally, I would like to thank the women who participated in my study and shared their incredible stories with me. vii Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................ vi Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 Part I: Definitions of Sexual Desire in the Empirical and Psychoanalytic Literatures ............... 7 Empirical definition of sexual desire. ..................................................................................... 7 Brief history of the sexual response cycle. ............................................................................. 9 Psychoanalytic definition of sexual desire. ........................................................................... 15 Part II: Overview of Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD) .......................................................... 22 Female sexual dysfunction. ................................................................................................... 22 Prevalence of desire difficulties in women. .......................................................................... 24 Etiology of disorders of desire. ............................................................................................. 27 Biological Factors. ............................................................................................................ 27 Psychological Factors. ...................................................................................................... 30 Part III: Internalized Representations of Parental Relationships and Female Sexual Desire in Adulthood ................................................................................................................................. 34 Attachment and sexuality. ..................................................................................................... 35 Separation-individuation between mother and daughter. ..................................................... 42 Parental identification and female sexuality ......................................................................... 47 Part IV: Sexual Self Concept: Sexual Subjectivity, Self-Objectification, and Genital Self Image......................................................................................................................................... 52 Internalized representations of parental relationships and the body ego. ............................. 55 Sexual subjectivity and self-objectification. ......................................................................... 60 viii Body image and genital self-image in empirical literature. .................................................. 66 Part V: The Highly Sexual Woman: A Sign of Health or Pathology? ...................................... 70 Heightened sexuality in empirical literature. ........................................................................ 72 Hypersexuality in the DSM. ................................................................................................