Papers by sofia jawed-wessel
Journal of sex & marital therapy, Jan 18, 2015
Little is known about current attitudes toward having sex during pregnancy in the United States. ... more Little is known about current attitudes toward having sex during pregnancy in the United States. It is possible that pregnant women and their sexual partners hold beliefs and have feelings during this time that might lead to sexual and relational distress. Two new scales, Maternal Sex during Pregnancy and Partner Sex during Pregnancy were developed and administered to 112 newly pregnant couples. The scales demonstrated strong reliability and validity. Attitudes and beliefs varied across the sample, but the scores did not significantly differ between partners. These scales allow clinicians to support healthy sexuality during pregnancy by understanding sources of anxiety and possible misconceptions.
Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 2013
Sexuality education efforts tend to focus on adolescents and risk-reduction strategies. Outside o... more Sexuality education efforts tend to focus on adolescents and risk-reduction strategies. Outside of clinical settings, there are few sexuality education opportunities focusing on enhancing the sexual lives (e.g., desire, arousal, orgasm) of adult women in long-term monogamous relationships. In-home sex toy parties may enrich women's sexual experiences by providing attendees with an opportunity to learn in a nontraditional setting. In the present study, more than 2,500 party attendees were surveyed regarding their party experience and sexual history. Participants reported high scores on the Female Sexual Function Index with repeat attendees scoring significantly higher than their counterparts. Recommendations are discussed regarding the use of parties as a source for sexuality information distribution and screening for therapeutic referrals.
Introduction. Changes in sexual function can be difficult to capture, especially when an attempt ... more Introduction. Changes in sexual function can be difficult to capture, especially when an attempt is made to assess the effects of pregnancy or childbirth on the sexual function of first-time mothers. Commonly used sexual function measures are limited and fail to account for pregnancy or birth in assessment of function. Aims. The purpose of this study was to explore the utility of the Sexual Function Questionnaire Medical Impact Scale (SFQ-MIS) in assessing impact of childbirth on sexual function among first-time mothers with infants aged one year or younger. Methods. A total of 255 women completed a cross-sectional, web-based survey. Exploratory factor analysis was utilized to assess the factor structure of the SFQ-MIS scores in this sample. Variations in SFQ-MIS scores based upon participant characteristics were conducted to further evaluate the SFQ-MIS scores. Main Outcome Measures. SFQ-MIS score was the primary measure of interest. Factors related to pregnancy and childbirth, suc...
International Journal of Athletic Therapy and Training
While Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) has a rate of injury similar to other combat sports, there is lit... more While Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) has a rate of injury similar to other combat sports, there is little information on the types of injuries sustained by BJJ athletes. The purpose of this study was to assess demographic information, participation rates, injuries, and medical care in BJJ athletes over a 12-month period. Seventy-eight athletes (75.0%) reported 136 injuries in the past year; however, medical attention was only sought for 59 (43.4%) of those injuries. No significant association was found between each demographic variable and injury prevalence. Despite the fact that a majority of BJJ athletes reported suffering an injury within the past year, slightly less than half of these injured athletes sought medical care. There was no difference in injury prevalence between belt ranks.
Archives of Sexual Behavior
Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Science+Bu... more Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be self-archived in electronic repositories. If you wish to selfarchive your article, please use the accepted manuscript version for posting on your own website. You may further deposit the accepted manuscript version in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later and provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The final publication is available at link.springer.com".
Archives of Sexual Behavior
The sexual satisfaction of couples during pregnancy is an under-researched area of study. Several... more The sexual satisfaction of couples during pregnancy is an under-researched area of study. Several limitations exist within the current literature, including a lack of inquiry into attitudes about sex during pregnancy, analysis of the relationship between sexual satisfaction and sexual behaviors, and analysis of dyadic interactions within the couple. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationships between attitudes toward having sex during pregnancy, various sexual behaviors, and sexual satisfaction among expectant couples via multilevel structural equation modeling. Recruitment focused on mixed-gender monogamous couples where the pregnant individual was between 8 and 12 weeks of gestation, and both partners were soon-to-be first time parents. Touching, hugging, or holding, kissing, vaginal and oral sex, and rubbing each other’s genitals were all common behaviors among the 116 couples in the current investigation. Anal sex and sex toy use were less common, but far from absent. According to our model, attitudes toward having sex during pregnancy significantly predicted sexual satisfaction by operating through specific sexual behaviors: kissing, vaginal fingering, and vaginal intercourse, while use of a toy alone and use of a toy with partner were independent predictors of sexual satisfaction. Gender had a direct relationship with satisfaction (men were more satisfied), as well as indirect relationship with satisfaction through an interaction with vaginal fingering and use of a sex toy alone. While multiple past month sexual behaviors were likely to increase satisfaction among pregnant and non-expectant couples alike, this improvement might depend on which behaviors are included and the gender of the individual.
Archives of Sexual Behavior
The Journal of Sex Research
The purpose of this review was to examine and synthesize the available quality evidence to provid... more The purpose of this review was to examine and synthesize the available quality evidence to provide researchers, educators, and clinicians an overview of what is known about sexual behaviors during pregnancy and the year after childbirth. Search engines were used to identify peer-reviewed, English-language articles that met the inclusion criteria. A total of 56 prospective, retrospective, and qualitative studies published after 1996 were reviewed. A gradual decline in vaginal intercourse from prepregnancy to first trimester to third trimester was found. Most couples resume vaginal intercourse by eight weeks after childbirth, but this behavior does not occur at prepregnancy frequencies until closer to 12 months postchildbirth. Future studies should consider assessing sexual behaviors beyond vaginal intercourse and increase efforts in recruitment of diverse samples including non-White, nonheterosexual pregnant individuals, and partners of pregnant individuals.
Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 2016
The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the extent to which perceived changes in... more The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the extent to which perceived changes in weight, body satisfaction, body image self-consciousness and genital self-image could be used to predict sexual function scores. A total of 168 primiparous women completed the cross-sectional, web-based survey. Significant correlations were found between the body satisfaction, body image self-consciousness, and female genital self-image and sexual function. Multivariate regression analysis suggests body image and genital self-image combined account for 14.1% of the variance in overall sexual function. Women should have opportunities to discuss body changes throughout pregnancy.
Sexuality Research and Social Policy
The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2012
Little is known about the characteristics of sexual events during which individuals choose to use... more Little is known about the characteristics of sexual events during which individuals choose to use lubricant with condoms. Aims. The aims of this article were to evaluate the determinants of adding lubricant to condoms during baseline and at the event level, to assess the event-level variables' influence on adding lubricants to condoms, and to assess the event-level influence of using condoms with lubricant on event-level condom attitudes. Methods. A total of 1,874 men completed a 30-day Internet-based prospective daily diary study of sexual behavior and condom use.
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Papers by sofia jawed-wessel