Gender Scripts and Female Sexual Functioning: The Role of Sexual Pressure and Sexual Subjectivity

Building upon previous research that has already established a negative association between gender scripts' endorsement and female sexual functioning, the present study tested a model that explains how gender scripts' endorsement may affect female sexual functioning through perceived sexual pressure, compliance with unwanted sex, and sexual subjectivity. A community sample of 390 women (mean age = 23.98 ± 4 years; age range: 18-35 years) completed measures of gender scripts' endorsement, sexual pressure, sexual subjectivity, sexual functioning, depression, and anxiety. The assessed structural model produced an adequate fit to the data (χ= 41.93, df = 14, p = .0002; χ = 2.99; RMSEA [90%CI] = .07 [.05-.08]; CFI = .95; SRMR = .05). Variables accounted for 42% of the variance in sexual functioning levels. We found evidence for two paths linking gender scripts' endorsement to sexual functioning: in the first path the association was mediated by the level of sexual subjectivity; in the second path the association was mediated by perceived sexual pressure and by the frequency of compliance with unwanted sex. The present study represents a step toward a better understanding of the socio-cultural and psychological mechanisms underlying the link between gender scripts and female sexual functioning; theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.