Introduction

1. Factors Mediating the Relationship between Body Image Spectatoring and Sexual Functioning Among College Women. Alisha Oscharoff and Heather Hoffmann Knox College Introduction Results A woman’s sexual performance may depend on her ability to be an arousing erotic stimulus and thus women may tend to evaluate themselves, or spectate, on physical appearance (Wiederman, 2000). Spectatoring is theorized to inhibit sexual arousal through dual cognitive and affective processes (Trapnell, Meston, & Gorzalka, 1997). It may be that body image spectatoring distracts women from using sexual fantasies, which are often used by women in a conscious effort to facilitate arousal and orgasm (Lunde, Larsen, Fog, & Carde, 1991). It may also be that body image spectatoring causes psychic entropy and thus interrupts or decreases flow, an optimal psychological state in which a person becomes completely involved in an activity and loses any self-consciousness (Csikszentmihalyi, 1994; Greenleaf & McGreer, 2006). Furthermore, women who feel uncomfortable with their bodies may experience heightened levels of negative affect in physically intimate situations, which has been found to inhibit arousal for some women (Lykins, Janssen, & Graham, 2006). • Fantasy was not correlated with any of the key variables. • The original mediational hypothesis was only tested using data from the diary entry. Method Sample Characteristics 110 women with previous solitary and partnered sexual activity. After initial participation, 60.9% of participants completed a follow up diary entry soon after engaging in sexual activity. Measures Used • Flow fully mediated the effects of spectatoring on orgasm (Z = -2.16, p = .03) • Flow mediated the effects of spectatoring on desire and arousal (Z = -2.05, p = .04) • Anger/Frustration mediated the effects of spectatoring on desire and arousal (Z = 2.05, p = .04) • Anger/Frustration fully mediated the effects of body image spectatoring on orgasm (Z = -2.01, p = .04) • The Body Image Self-Consciousness Scale was used to measure spectatoring • The extent to which participants experienced physically intimate situations with a partner as flow was measured by a modified version of the Flow State Scale. • A questionnaire designed for this study measured how often individuals had at least one sexual fantasy, percent of time absorbed in fantasy, and the overall quality of participants’ fantasies. • The tendency to experience negative mood while in sexual situations was measured by a series of questions modeled after the Mood and Sexuality Questionnaire that asked participants to rate how often and to what extent they felt anxious or stressed, sad or depressed, and angry or frustrated while in a physically intimate situation with a partner. • At baseline, sexual desire was measured with the dyadic subscale of the Sexual Desire Inventory-2. In the diary entry, desire was measured using five questions written for this study. Two questions pertained to the strength of sexual desire and three pertained to the participant’s ability to become sexually aroused. • Orgasm was measured using three items from the Female Sexual Function Index. Primary Research Question Conclusions • Women who tended to engage in body image spectatoring reported lower levels of desire, arousal, and orgasmic functioning, • Women who experienced higher levels of flow and lower levels of negative mood were more likely to report consistent, easy, and satisfying orgasms. • Women who reported lower levels of flow and higher levels of anger and frustration were more likely to report lower levels of sexual desire and arousal. • The effects of spectatoring on sexual functioning were mediated by flow and mood. Do affect, flow, and fantasy mediate the relationship between body image spectatoring and sexual functioning? Spectatoring Negative affect Inattention to erotic cues References • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1994). The evolving self: A psychology for the third millennium. New York: Harper Perennial. • Greenleaf, C., & McGreer, R. (1006). Disordered eating attitudes and self-objectification among physically active and sedentary female college students. The Journal of Psychology, 140, 187-198. • Lunde, I., Larson, G. K., Fog, E., & Garde, K. (1991) Sexual desire, orgasm, and sexual fantasies: A Study of 625 Danish women born in 1910, 1936, and 1958. Journal of Sex Education and Therapy, 17, 111-115. • Lykins, A. D., Janssen, E., & Graham, C. A. (2006). The relationship between negative mood and sexuality in heterosexual college women and men. The Journal of Sex Research, 43, 136-143. • Trapnell, P. D., Meston, C. M., & Gorzalka, B. B. (1997) Spectatoring and the relationship between body image and sexual experience: Self-focus of self-valence. The Journal of Sex Research, 34, 267-278. • Wiederman, M. W. (2000). Women’s body image self-consciousness during physical intimacy with a partner. The Journal of Sex Research, 37, 60-68. Decreased Sexual Functioning