The invested partner in sexual disorders: a profile

To determine the relevant psychosexual characteristics of invested partners of patients with sexual disorders, the authors administered the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI) to 51 invested partners and 200 normal volunteers. Female invested partners (N = 18) participated in a significantly more constricted range of specific sexual activities and revealed significantly lower sexual drive than the normal women. Tbey also had significantly lower scores on the femininity component of the gender role definition subtest. Male invested partners (N = 33) also showed significantly lower femininity scores and had somewhat lower scores on endorsement of specific sexual experiences. Degree of sexual satisfaction in the invested partners was comparable to that of their sexually dysfunctional partners.