Lingerie, boob jobs, Kate Upton, flexibility, and being gung-ho for just about anything are just among the few qualities that come to mind when men talk about the ideal sexual partner. However, psychologists said that imposing these standards will most likely result in not-so-happy-endings for both parties.
The latest research from the University of Kent is the first to explore the consequences of different types of sexual perfectionism.
"The present article presents the first longitudinal study examining whether multidimensional sexual perfectionism predicts changes in sexual self-concept and sexual function over time," wrote lead researcher Joachim Stoeber.
The study involved 366 women who completed two surveys between December 2013 and February 2014. Researchers noted that 230 of the participants were students with an average age of 19.7, and 136 were internet users with an average age of 30. Participants were told that they were taking part in online surveys examining how "personal and interpersonal expectations and beliefs affect one's sexuality and sexual function," according to a statement released by researchers.
However, the real point of the study was to understand how perfectionism, defined by researchers as "striving for flawlessness and the setting of exceedingly high standards for performance, accompanied by tendencies for overly critical self-evaluations and concerns about negative evaluations by others," affects an individual's sex life over time.
The latest research examined four different types of sexual perfectionism: self-oriented, partner-oriented, partner-prescribed and socially prescribed.
"Self-oriented sexual perfectionism reflects perfectionistic standards people apply to themselves as sexual partners; partner-oriented sexual perfectionism reflects perfectionistic standards people apply to their sexual partner; partner-prescribed sexual perfectionism reflects people's beliefs that their sexual partner imposes perfectionistic standards on them; and socially prescribed sexual perfectionism reflects people's beliefs that society imposes such standards on them," explained researchers.
Study analysis linked partner-prescribed sexual perfectionism to negative sexual self-concept and sexual dysfunction in women. Furthermore, partner-prescribed sexual perfectionism was the most devastating when it came to arousal in female sexual function.
The good news is that women reporting self-oriented perfectionism had higher levels of sexual functioning and were more likely to be aroused. Researchers found that this finding was particularly true among single women.
Researchers said the latest findings might help clinicians and therapists treat women with sexual-concept problems and predict levels of sexual esteem and anxiety.
The findings are published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.
