Sexual arousal and sexual inhibition: Qualitative study on Italian men through focus group

Objectives The goal of this study was to improve our understanding of men's sexual response and its components, the factors or types of situations that men describe as facilitating or interfering with sexual arousal, as well as men’s sexual desire, especially the psychological, emotional and adaptive factors influencing the sexual response in men. Methods Seventeen focus groups, involving 136 mostly Italian heterosexual men (M age = 38.58 years; range, 20-70), were conducted. 66.9% was in a stable relationship at the time of the research, while 32.34% was single. Focus group were conducted by two male trained moderator, following a discussion guide to facilitate the discussion; that included: a) sexual arousal and its components; b) relationship between sexual arousal and sexual desire; c) Factors that enhance or inhibit sexual arousal. The content of the discussions was analyzed for major themes by two independent coders. Results Participants described a wide range of physical (genital as well as nongenital) and cognitive/affective cues for sexual arousal, which are mostly a consequence of sensorial experience (seeing and touching the partner). Men described the relationship between sexual desire and arousal as being variable and complex, presented a wide range of factors that increased or decreased sexual arousal, related to the context and the relationship with the partner. Results showed substantial variability in both the importance and direction of their effects. Conclusions The findings may help further development of models of sexual response, the development of questionnaires and measures on sexual dysfunctions, and the study on gender differences in sexual desire and arousal.