published_or_final_version / abstract / Social Work and Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Master / Master of Philosophy

Although much research has been conducted on termination of pregnancy, there is a paucity of information regarding women’s sexuality after such a procedure, and in particular, how a woman understands her sexuality following a termination of pregnancy or what influences such an understanding. This research aimed to investigate how women understand their sexuality following a voluntary termination of pregnancy through the examination of the interaction between personal and broader social views on sexuality. Seven women who had undergone the procedure at two private termination clinics in Johannesburg were interviewed, using a semi-structured, open-ended interview schedule. The data was analysed according to thematic analytic methods. Based on the results, it was clear that the way in which women understand their sexuality following a termination of pregnancy is complex and multi-faceted. Particular themes emerged that were in line with the debates raised in the current literature. It became evident that these views were intricate and multi-faceted. Heteronormativity and heterosexuality proved particularly influential in how women understand their sexuality following a termination of pregnancy, and which further related to points raised throughout the literature. It was clear through the analysis that each theme could be seen to stand alone, or alternatively be represented through other themes and sub-themes.

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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The intent of this research thesis is the examination of post-secondary women’s positive experiences with pornography. Very little research has been conducted with women who enjoy pornography and yet recent statistics in Canada and the United States show that there is an increasing amount of female users of pornography (Cantor, Mares, & Hyde, 2003). This study presents an emerging grounded theory of the process through which a small group of post-secondary women come to label their experiences with pornography as positive. The study traces the experiences of four post-secondary women in Western Canada from their initial exposure to pornography to their current use of the material. Results showed the importance of personal control in the development of female sexual identity and the enjoyment of pornography. This study is embedded in a social constructionist theoretical framework and offers recommendations for further research in the area. iii / x, 179 leaves ; 29 cm

Wright and Adams (1994; 1999) developed a Choice Reaction Time measure to assess sexual interests in men and women. In their studies, men responded in accordance to their self-reported sexual interests much more consistently than women. Placing these results in the framework of objectification theories (e.g., Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), the present study was designed to examine the relationship between body image and young women's CRT responses.Forty-two females participated in the CRT task. Consistent with previous studies, 21 (50%) of the women took longer to respond on male trials than female trials. These women were compared to those who took longer on female trials on all the body image and sexuality measures using ANOVA's. Results indicated no significant differences on any of the body image measures, but a small number of differences on sexuality measures. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for gender differences in sexual interest. / Department of Psychological Science

Since Kinsey and his colleagues (Kinsey, Pomeroy, Martin, & Gebhard, 1948; 1953) first began to empirically examine human sexual behavior researchers have found that heterosexual men tend to report having had more sexual partners than heterosexual women. The purpose of the present study was to explore this phenomena using a within subject design. Participants were 124 undergraduate women who completed a packet of surveys on sensitive topics, such as sexuality, and body image, in two conditions: Anonymity Threat Condition: Participants were led to believe that the principle investigator would come in a view their responses while completing the surveys and Bogus Pipeline: Participants were led to believe that they were `hooked-up' to a lie detector. Results found within as well as between subject effects for measures of social desirability and one sexual attitude measure. However, these results did not generalize to the body image measures or sexual behavior questions. / Department of Psychological Science

The effects of anxiety arousal on subsequent sexual arousal were investigated to determine if sexually functional and dysfunctional women respond differentially to pairings of anxiety-evoking and erotic cues. Eight sexually dysfunctional and eight sexually functional women viewed a neutral control (travelogue videotape) or anxiety-evoking (threatened amputation videotape) preexposure stimulus followed by a sexually arousing (erotic videotape) experimental stimulus. A repeated measures design was used in which each subject observed both pairs of preexposure and experimental stimuli. Changes in sexual arousal were measured physiologically with a vaginal photoplethysmograph, and subjectively with a self-report rating scale. As predicted, functional women showed significantly greater physiological sexual arousal than dysfunctional women in both the neutral-erotic and anxiety-erotic conditions. Consistent with previous research, anxiety preexposure significantly enhanced genital arousal relative to the neutral-control stimulus for functional women. Moreover, dysfunctional women also achieved a significantly enhanced rate and magnitude of genital arousal following exposure to the anxiety stimulus. Contrary to the strength of their physiological responses however, both groups rated the anxiety-erotic condition as significantly less sexually arousing. Non-significant correlations between vaginal blood volume and subjective ratings revealed a trend for functional and dysfunctional women to experience enhanced genital arousal accompanied by an inhibited likelihood of acknowledging feeling aroused. These findings contradict the literature on sexually functional and dysfunctional men, and challenge current conceptualizations of sexual dysfunction. The findings suggest that (1) anxiety arousal enhances genital arousal in functional and dysfunctional women, (2) heightened arousal occurs despite contradictory cognitive perceptions, (3) the female sexual response system is desynchronous, (4) functional women do not necessarily process genital cues more effectively than dysfunctional women, (5) the physiological response system is imperative to defining a response as sexual and must be targeted in therapy, and (6) common modes of treatment directed toward increasing parasympathetic response may be counterproductive to the elicitation of sexual arousal. Alternative treatment strategies directed toward response synchrony, sympathetic activation, and cognitive attribution are discussed. A preliminary model of sexual dysfunction in women is proposed, .and discussed in terms of directions for future research. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

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