Conceptual Frameworks Linking Sexual Health to Physical, Mental, and Interpersonal Well-Being: A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Year: 2025
Type: review
Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis
Abstract: The current meta-analysis modified the Enduring Vulnerability Stress Adaptation model of relationship functioning and the Attachment System Activation model of individual functioning to incorporate various aspects of sexual health. This provided conceptual frameworks for integrating the findings on a wide range of correlates of sexual health into comprehensive models of individual and interpersonal functioning to guide future research. Drawing from the clinical psychology, social psychology, and medical literatures, 3,119 unique records were initially identified, resulting in a final set of 173 records, representing 205 independent (sub)samples and a final combined sample of 160,466 participants. A total of 930 effects were extracted, yielding 44 meta-analytic effects (using random effects modeling). Path analyses of meta-analytic correlation matrices revealed that key dimensions of sexual health (i.e., sexual satisfaction, orgasms, sexual desire, lack of sexual pain, vaginal lubrication) demonstrated unique links to greater health, interpersonal functioning, and individual functioning (i.e., higher psychological well-being, physical health, & relationship satisfaction; lower psychological distress, attachment anxiety, & attachment avoidance). Meta-regression moderation analyses revealed that the effect linking orgasms to higher sexual satisfaction was especially pronounced for women and for individuals in clinical (sub)samples. Moderation analyses also suggested that the link between orgasms and lower distress was especially pronounced for older individuals. The findings were limited by the cross-sectional nature of the vast majority of the findings (96% of the records), leaving the directions of causality unclear. Taken together, these results highlight the central role that sexual health and more specifically orgasms might play in individual and relationship health, supporting the proposed conceptual models and highlighting directions for future research.
Source: Behavioral Sciences
DOI: 10.3390/bs15121636
Authors: Agnieszka E Pollard, Ian Cero, Ronald D Rogge
Institutions: University of Rochester, University of Rochester Medicine
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,654
OpenAlex ID: W4416757044