Abstract
The area of sexual dysfunction has been an excellent arena for investigations of the means through which anxiety interferes with complex behavioral performance in general and sexual responsivity specifically. Historically, anxiety reduction has been a prominent theme in theories and treatment of sexual dysfunction since the late 1950s and 1960s (Brady, 1966; Lazarus, 1963; Wolpe, 1958). Key to both the conceptual and therapeutic genesis of this approach was Wolpe’s (1958) application of systematic desensitization to sexual dysfunction. Today, strands of his influence, such as the concept of reciprocal inhibition, continue to influence current conceptualizations of anxiety, the processes through which it inhibits sexual arousal, and techniques used to reduce its effects. This view was strongly reinforced by the pioneering work of Masters and Johnson (1966, 1970). Evidence of their influence is substantial and includes current nosological classification schemes (cf. DSM-III and DSM-III-R; American Psychiatric Association, 1980, 1987), a common definition of the sexual response cycle (Masters & Johnson, 1966), as well as widely accepted hypotheses of the etiology and maintenance of sexual dysfunction gleaned from their numerous case studies (Masters & Johnson, 1970).
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Bruce, T.J., Barlow, D.H. (1990). The Nature and Role of Performance Anxiety in Sexual Dysfunction. In: Leitenberg, H. (eds) Handbook of Social and Evaluation Anxiety. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2504-6_12
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