Kafka (2009) has done an exemplary job of synthesizing disparate perspectives on dysregulated sexuality, and distilling the common elements into Hypersexual Disorder, a proposed new diagnosis for the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical ManualofMentalDisorders.Thereappears tobesubstantialclinical support for this disorder; however, strong empirical evidence demonstrating its validity...

With advancing age, there is an increase in the complaints of a lack of a libido in women and erectile dysfunction in men. The efficacy of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors, together with their minimal side effects and ease of administration, revolutionized the treatment of erectile dysfunction. For women, testosterone administration is the principal treatment for hypoactive sexual desire dis...

Communication problems are believed to play a central role in many sexual dysfunctions. The present study behaviorally assessed communication patterns within heterosexual couples in which the woman was experiencing female orgasmic disorder and within two groups of control couples. The sexually dysfunctional couples evidenced significantly poorer communication than controls, primarily but not ex...

BACKGROUND In the professional literature and among our professional societies, female sexual dysfunction nomenclature and diagnostic criterion sets have been the source of considerable controversy. Recently, a consensus group, supported by the International Society for Women's Sexual Health, published its recommendations for nosology and nomenclature, which included only one type of arousal dy...

BACKGROUND Opiate abuse in males has significant effects on their sexual functions. In contrast, sexuality in females is a multidimensional issue that can strongly be affected by several factors in their partners. However, only a limited number of studies have assessed the role of males' opioid dependency in their female partners' sexual function. OBJECTIVES The present study aimed to evaluat...

Many women with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) experience difficulties becoming sexually aroused. This study measured cortisol and physiological sexual arousal during exposure to sexual stimuli in women with and without a history of CSA. Childhood sexual abuse survivors showed a smaller decrease in cortisol during sexual arousal than the nonsexually abused, control group potentially ...

OBJECTIVE The authors prospectively examined associations between each DSM-IV borderline personality disorder criterion and suicidal behaviors. METHOD Borderline personality disorder diagnosis and criteria, major depressive disorder, substance use disorders, and history of childhood sexual abuse were assessed with semistructured interviews. Participants (N=621) were followed for 2 years with ...

Much of the literature focuses on the pathology that falls to the far right of the Watkins (1997) differentiation-dissociation continuum, such as Dissociative Identity Disorder and Dissociative Disorder NOS. Adding a "far left" to this continuum, as well as a construct of what the "far left" looks like, makes apparent the value of healthy adaptive differentiation for those individuals that fall...

Patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (pseudoseizures) have been diagnosed as having conversion disorder or dissociative disorder. Pseudoseizure patients frequently report a history of physical and sexual abuse, and traumatic experience is considered part of the mechanism for producing dissociation. Pseudoseizures may be a manifestation of dissociative disorder, especially when a his...