1,720,986 research outputs found
Oral contraceptive use and prevalence of vulvodynia: Are genital-specific side effects of OC use early signs of risk?
No full textBackground Past research suggests that oral contraceptive (OC) use increases the risk for vulvodynia/vestibulodynia, although results are often mixed or inconsistent.Aim To test whether OC use is associated with having a diagnosis of vulvodynia/vestibulodynia, whether the observed association varies across the type of OC, and whether side effects associated with OC use (ie, genital specific, negative affect, non-genital physical symptoms) are associated with having a diagnosis of vulvodynia/vestibulodynia.Methods A sample of n = 2171 adult females completed a questionnaire regarding OC use and associated side effects, and provided information on having a diagnosis of vulvodynia or vestibulodynia. Recruitment oversampled for women with genitopelvic pain, which provided n = 582 women (26.8% of overall sample) who had a diagnosis of vulvodynia or vestibulodynia. Binary logistic regressions were conducted to test for associations.Outcome Self-report of having received a diagnosis of vulvodynia or vestibulodynia.Results Results showed that all types of OCs were significantly associated with having a diagnosis, and that genital-specific side effects (vulvar/genital pain and vaginal dryness), but not affective or non-genital physical side effects, were associated with having a diagnosis of vulvodynia/vestibulodynia, with the strongest and most consistent effect being for vulvar/genital pain. Specifically, participants who reported vulvar/genital pain as a side effect of OC use were 3-5 times more likely than those without this side effect to have a diagnosis of vulvodynia/vestibulodynia. Analyses also controlled for 23 potential comorbid diagnoses with no or very little change to the associations between vulvodynia/vestibulodynia and the OC-use variables.Clinical Implications Early recognition and identification of genital-specific side effects of OC use may provide an opportunity for preventing genital pain from becoming chronic and difficult to manage.Strengths and Limitations This study uses a large sample, assesses unique associations with combined and progestin-only OCs, and for the first time addresses diverse OC-related side effects as potential risk indicators of vulvodynia. Limitations are the lack of prospective data, reliance on self-report measures, recruitment through social media outlets that may result in overestimating the effect sizes, and a lack of information on specific OCs used.Conclusions The present study provides evidence that OC use and genital-specific side effects of OC use are associated with having a diagnosis of vulvodynia/vestibulodynia and provides important information for managing potential OC-related risk for vulvodynia/vestibulodynia
Target specificity of subjective relationship measures: Understanding the determination of item variance
No full textThe present study was conducted to test the ability of two subscales from the Friendship
Quality Questionnaire (FQQ; Parker & Asher, 1993) to discriminate between
different target friendships. This was done by testing for mean differences between
targets, and by using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to examine
the factor structures for these measures when the responses for different targets were
considered together. Participants were 293 Italian middle-school students. Both subscales
(Validation and Caring, and Conflict and Betrayal) showed mean differences
between the best friend and the second and third best friends, but only the validation
and caring subscale demonstrated differences between the second and third best
friends. Factor analyses showed that for both subscales some items were able to
discriminate between friends whereas others were not. Confirmatory factor analyses
demonstrated the existence of target-specific factors, as well as a common ‘individual
differences’ factor. Practical and theoretical issues regarding the different sources of
item variance are discussed
Sexual Desire in Women: Paradoxical and Nonlinear Associations with Anxiety and Depressed Mood
Full text linkThe aim of the present study was to expand previous findings regarding paradoxical effects of negative mood on sexual desire. This was done by considering the full range of depressed mood and anxiety symptoms and using methods that are unaffected by recall bias and that don’t require participants to infer causal associations between their mood and sexual desire. A convenience sample of 213 university students completed daily questionnaires for approximately two months. Multilevel random-effects models were used to estimate average effects for the entire sample and to test for variability across participants in the associations between negative mood and sexual desire, controlling also for potential influences of the menstrual cycle. Previous findings showing that some women report decreased sexual desire and others increased sexual desire when depressed or anxious were confirmed. More importantly, for both depressed mood and anxiety, results demonstrated the presence of within-person paradoxical associations, whereby there were some women for whom both low and high levels of negative mood were associated with the same change (an increase or a decrease) in sexual desire. Related to these diverse response patterns, paradoxical associations between negative mood and sexual desire were also present at low levels of negative mood. The discussion underlines the importance of considering individual variability and multifactorial nonlinear models when studying sexual desire
Peer relations across contexts: Individual-network homophily and network inclusion in and after school
No full textPeer relations across 2 contexts (in school and after school) were examined for 577 participants, approximately
12 years old, from 3 middle schools in Milan, Italy. The primary research questions were: Do peer networks
from different contexts uniquely contribute to explaining variance in individual behavior? Do measures of peer
preference and peer network inclusion across contexts uniquely contribute to explaining individual depressive
symptoms? Structural equation models showed that both the in-school and the after-school peer networks
uniquely contributed to explaining variance in 2 types of individual problem behavior (in-school problem
behavior, after-school delinquency), and that similarity with the 2 peer networks varied according to behaviors
specific to each context and across gender. Finally, both in-school and after-school peer network inclusion
contributed to explaining variance in depressive symptoms, after controlling for classroom peer preference
Evolution, the Menstrual Cycle, and Theoretical Overreach
Full text linkA considerable amount of recent psychological research has attributed a variety of menstrual-cycle-related changes in social behavior to evolutionarily adaptive functions. Although these studies often draw interesting and unusual conclusions about female emotion and behavior within evolutionary theory, their significant limitations have not yet been addressed. In this article, we outline several methodological and conceptual issues related to the menstrual cycle that constitute threats to the internal validity and theoretical integrity of these studies. We recommend specific guidelines to address these issues and emphasize the need to apply more comprehensive and sophisticated theoretical structures when considering menstrual-cycle-related changes in emotion and behavior
Sexual Desire in Women: Paradoxical and Non-Linear Associations with Depression and Anxiety
Full text linkABSTRACT
Introduction
Previous studies aimed at defining the relationship between high levels of negative mood and sexual desire have shown that, in addition to people describing an expected decrease in sexual desire, some people report an unexpected increase in sexual desire when depressed or anxious (referred to as a “paradoxical effect”, Bancroft et al., 2003). However, these past findings are based on self-inferred causal attributions and retrospective, one-time measurements. Moreover, tests of these associations at the low extreme of negative mood have not been previously conducted.
Objective
The aim of the present study was to replicate and expand previous findings regarding paradoxical effects of negative mood on sexual desire (Bancroft et al., 2003; Lykins, Janssen & Graham, 2006), by analyzing the associations between negative mood and sexual desire across the entire range of depression and anxiety symptoms. Moreover, to address previous limitations, we sought to test for replication using methods that are unaffected by recall bias, and that don't require participants to infer causal associations between their mood and sexual desire.
Methods
A sample of n=213 university-aged women completed daily questionnaires for two full menstrual cycles (M = 58 daily reports per participant). Measurement included changes in sexual desire, as well as psychological changes (anxiety and depression) and other symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle. Multilevel modeling with random intercepts and slopes, were used to test for individual differences in linear and non-linear associations between mood symptoms and changes in sexual desire. Cluster analyses were used to identify different patterns of change in sexual desire associated with different levels of mood.
Results
Previous findings were successfully replicated. Specifically, high levels of depression were associated with increased sexual desire in 12% of the sample (paradoxical association), and high levels of anxiety were associated with increased sexual desire in 20% of the sample (paradoxical association). Thus, in addition to women who showed either no significant changes or a decrease in sexual desire when depressed or anxious, results confirmed the presence of paradoxical associations between high levels of negative mood and sexual desire (see shaded area on Fig.1). Interestingly, these between-group paradoxical effects were also present at low levels of negative mood. That is, at low levels of negative mood some women reported increased sexual desire while others reported decreased sexual desire. Moreover, for both depression and anxiety, analyses revealed three clusters of women presenting different patterns of change in sexual desire across different levels of mood symptoms. Specifically, results demonstrated the presence of within-person paradoxical associations, whereby, there are some women for whom both low and high levels of negative mood are associated with the same change (an increase or a decrease) in sexual desire. These groups are labeled "Positive Paradoxical" and "Negative Paradoxical" in Fig.1.
Conclusions
Results from the present study underline the importance of considering individual variability when studying sexual desire. Multiple mechanisms, based on personality traits, learning, autonomic activity, or situational factors, might moderate the relationship between mood and sexual desire. A new integrative theoretical framework is proposed to interpret these results (see Figure 2).
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Affective Risk Associated With Menstrual Cycle Symptom Change
Full text linkIn the present study we test whether cyclical changes in affective symptoms of the menstrual cycle are associated with higher mean levels of those same symptoms. Using prospective daily reports across two full menstrual cycles, from two samples of female University students (n = 213; n = 163), we applied both quartic polynomial regressions and cosine regressions to model cyclical change in symptoms, and to test for mean-level differences in symptoms across the resulting trajectory patterns. Counter to prior findings, but consistent with theoretical expectations, these results show that females who experience menstrual cycle-related changes in affect (whether a perimenstrual or mid-cycle increase) are at risk for higher average levels of affective symptoms. These results suggest that the mid-cycle group should be recognized as a target for future research that is associated with increased risk for chronic negative affective symptoms
The best way to tell you to use a condom: The interplay between message format and individuals’ level of need for cognition
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