Sexual Abuse

This article provides a review of the existent research on bisexuality and consolidates what data exists on bisexuals and bisexuality. This review includes those studies that could be located in which bisexuality was treated as a sexual orientation distinct from homosexuality. Several issues relevant to defining bisexuality are examined, as are factors involved in the adoption of a bisexual identity and problems associated with the maintenance of a bisexual lifestyle. In addition, a number of studies are reviewed that address differences between bisexuals and either heterosexuals or homosexuals. Only one study was located that examined individual differences within a bisexual sample. Finally, the traditional emphasis on the role of gender in partner selection is briefly examined and suggestions for future research into bisexuality are presented.

The recent literature on human sexuality emphasizes the importance of sexual communication. The present research reports the results of three studies documenting the development and validation of an instrument concerned with sexual communication, the Sexual Self-Disclosure Scale (SSDS). The results in Study I indicated that the twelve SSDS subscales were highly reliable and that women were more willing to discuss the topics on the SSDS with female than male therapists. A second study revealed that men's and women's responses to the SSDS were related in meaningful, predictable ways to their sexual-esteem, sexual-depression and sexual-preoccupation, as measured by the Sexuality Scale. In Study III, the SSDS was revised to include a wider variety of sexual topics dealing with sexual behaviors, values-preferences, attitudes, and feelings. The results from Study III indicated that men's and women's responses to the SSDS-R varied as a function of their own gender and the content of the sexual topics. The discussion focuses on the increased need for communication about sexual issues, the implications of the present findings for intimate relationships, and the possible uses of the Sexual Self-Disclosure Scale in the study of human sexuality.

Psychological test data, including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Symptom Check List (SCL-90R) and the Derogatis Stress Profile (DSP), was analyzed for male veterans who had been previously diagnosed as suffering from either psychogenic or biogenic erectile dysfunction. Consistent with previous studies, there were no significant differences found between the two groups on the MMPI profile scores and the selected research scales. However, there were also no differences found on either the SCL-90R or the DSP, further questioning the use of objective psychometric instruments in discriminating the etiology of sexual dysfunction.

The purposes of this study were a) to further replicate previous findings on vaginal eroticism, using heart rate change as corroborative evidence for the subjective perception of sexual arousal and orgasm; and b) to investigate the correlation between heart rate change and subjective intensity of female orgasm. Heart rate measurements were obtained from ECG tracings. Eleven coitally experienced volunteers were examined by digital stimulation of their vaginal walls; 90.9% of the women had vaginal erotic sensitivity and 72.7% of them reported reaching orgasm which was corroborated by statistically significant increases in heart rate relative to baseline levels. A digital stimulation of the clitoris was also conducted on the research participants, and 72.7% of them reached orgasm. The participants experienced a total of 26 orgasmic episodes, 17 vaginally and 9 clitorally elicited. A moderate correlation between increases in heart rate and subjectively graded orgasm intensities was found. These findings support previous studies indicating that most, if not all, women possess vaginal zones whose strong tactile stimulation elicits orgasms. They also lend some support to the existence of a correlation between the subjective grading of orgasm intensity and the objective measurement of heart rate change.