Sexual guilt and anxiety linked to worse sexual functioning

Women with stronger sexual guilt and anxiety report poorer sexual functioning, a study of sexually active women in Indonesia finds.

Sexual functioning is the ability to experience healthy, satisfying sexual activity, including desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm and satisfaction, and the absence of pain during sex.

The study authors note that traditional values in Indonesian society discourage discussion of sexual issues, with sex remaining largely taboo.

They suggest young people face conflicting social and cultural views that foster sexual guilt and anxiety.

Sex guilt is a generalised expectation of punishment for violating standards of appropriate sexual behaviour.

Individuals with strong sex guilt may avoid sex, lack sexual initiative and struggle to process sexual stimuli. Sex anxiety concerns others’ opinions and possible breaches of social norms.

Participants were 169 women aged 19 to 40 from Greater Jakarta, recruited via an online survey shared on social media and WhatsApp.

Of those surveyed, 59 per cent were married, 44 per cent had children and 56 per cent held a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

They completed assessments of sexual functioning (Female Sexual Function Index), sex guilt (Brief Mosher Sex Guilt Inventory) and sex anxiety (Sex Anxiety Inventory).

Results showed higher sex guilt and sex anxiety were linked to worse sexual functioning.

There were no differences in sex guilt, sexual functioning or sex anxiety between participants with and without children. Single women tended to report worse sexual functioning than other groups.

Study authors Mia Audina Olivia and Ahmad Naufalul Umam concluded: “Our main finding confirmed the global dynamics on how sexual guilt and anxiety may hinder one’s sexual functioning, while the demographic data showed that sexual functioning in Indonesian women’s context is tied with normative relationship of marriage.”

The researchers noted that the study design does not allow causal conclusions to be drawn from the results.