Editing Sexual dysfunction (section)

===Female sexual dysfunction===
Several theories have looked at female sexual dysfunction, from medical to psychological perspectives. Three social psychological theories include: the self-perception theory, the overjustification hypothesis, and the insufficient justification hypothesis:

*Self-perception theory: people make attributions about their own attitudes, feelings, and behaviours by relying on their observations of external behaviours and the circumstances in which those behaviours occur{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
*Overjustification hypothesis: when an external reward is given to a person for performing an intrinsically rewarding activity, the person's intrinsic interest will decrease{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
*Insufficient justification: based on the classic [[cognitive dissonance]] theory (inconsistency between two cognitions or between a cognition and a behavior will create discomfort), this theory states that people will alter one of the cognitions or behaviours to restore consistency and reduce distress{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The prevalence of sexual dysfunction in women is not well known due to a paucity of epidemiological studies, inconsistent criteria for sexual dysfunction across different studies and incomplete recruitment, with studies often excluding women who were without a partner or who were sexually inactive. However, based on incomplete population based studies from the United States, Europe and Australia, unspecified arousal dysfunction (in which a woman is unable to achieve desirable genital or non-genital sexual arousal despite adequate stimulation and desire) was present in 3-9% of women aged 18–44, 5-7.5% aged 45–64 and 3-6% in women older than 65.<ref name="Davis 2024">{{cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=Susan R. |title=Sexual Dysfunction in Women |journal=New England Journal of Medicine |date=22 August 2024 |volume=391 |issue=8 |pages=736–745 |doi=10.1056/NEJMcp2313307|pmid=39167808 }}</ref> Anorgasmia with distress (in which women were unable to achieve an orgasm) was present in 7-8% of women younger than 40, 5-7% aged 40–64 and 3-6% of those older than 65.<ref name="Davis 2024" /> Poor sexual self image leading to distress was seen in 13.4% of women younger than 40 in an Australian population based study.<ref name="Davis 2024" />

The importance of how a woman perceives her behavior should not be underestimated. Many women perceive sex as a chore as opposed to a pleasurable experience, and they tend to consider themselves sexually inadequate, which in turn does not motivate them to engage in sexual activity.<ref name="king" /> Several factors influence a women's perception of her sexual life. These can include race, gender, ethnicity, educational background, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, financial resources, culture, and religion.<ref name="king" /> Cultural differences are also present in how women view menopause and its impact on health, self-image, and sexuality. A study found that African American women are the most optimistic about menopausal life; Caucasian women are the most anxious, Asian women are the most inhibited about their symptoms, and Hispanic women are the most stoic.<ref name="king" />

Since these women have sexual problems, their sexual lives with their partners can become a burden without pleasure, and may eventually lose complete interest in sexual activity. Some of the women found it hard to be aroused mentally, while others had physical problems. Several factors can affect female dysfunction, such as situations in which women do not trust their sex partners, the environment where sex occurs being uncomfortable, or an inability to concentrate on the sexual activity due to a bad mood or burdens from work. Other factors include physical discomfort or difficulty in achieving arousal, which could be caused by aging or changes in the body's condition.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/womens_health_issues/sexual_dysfunction_in_women/overview_of_sexual_dysfunction_in_women.html | title=Overview of Sexual Dysfunction in Women - Women's Health Issues}}</ref>

[[Sexual assault]] has been associated with excessive menstrual bleeding, genital burning, and painful intercourse (attributable to disease, injury, or otherwise), medically unexplained dysmenorrhea, menstrual irregularity, and lack of sexual pleasure.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} Physically violent assaults and those committed by strangers were most strongly related to reproductive symptoms. Multiple assaults, assaults accomplished by persuasion, spousal assault, and completed intercourse were most strongly related to sexual symptoms.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} Assault was occasionally associated more strongly with reproductive symptoms among women with lower income or less education, possibly because of economic stress or differences in assault circumstances. Associations with unexplained menstrual irregularity were strongest among African American women; ethnic differences in reported circumstances of assault appeared to account for these differences. Assault was associated with sexual indifference only among Latinas.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Saint Louis University Libraries {{!}} Saint Louis University|url=https://login.ezp.slu.edu/login?qurl=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2f12296010%2f|access-date=2020-12-17|website=login.ezp.slu.edu}}</ref>