mathematics

Sexual dysfunction

Sexual dysfunction is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sexual dysfunction rather than just read about it. In short: Sexual dysfunction is difficulty experienced by an individual or partners during any stage of normal sexual activity, including physical pleasure, desire, preference, arousal, or orgasm. The World Health Organization defines sexual dysfunction as a "person's inability to participate in a sexual relationship as they would wish".

Key takeaways

Sexual dysfunction belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sexual dysfunction to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sexual dysfunction from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sexual dysfunction is difficulty experienced by an individual or partners during any stage of normal sexual activity, including physical pleasure, desire, preference, arousal, or orgasm. The World Health Organization defines sexual dysfunction as a "person's inability to participate in a sexual relationship as they would wish". This definition is broad and is subject to many interpretations. A diagnosis of sexual dysfunction under the DSM-5 requires a person to feel extreme distress and interpersonal strain for a minimum of six months (except for substance- or medication-induced sexual dysfunction). Sexual dysfunction can have a profound impact on an individual's perceived quality of sexual life. The term sexual disorder may not only refer to physical sexual dysfunction, but to paraphilias as well; this is sometimes termed disorder of sexual preference. A thorough sexual history and assessment of general health and other sexual problems (if any) are important when assessing sexual dysfunction, because it is usually correlated with other psychiatric issues, such as mood disorders, eating and anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia. Assessing performance anxiety, guilt, stress, and worry are integral to the optimal management of sexual dysfunction. Many of the sexual dysfunctions that are defined are based on the human sexual response cycle proposed by William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson, and modified by Helen Singer Kaplan.

Types Sexual dysfunction can be classified into four categories: sexual desire disorders, arousal disorders, orgasm disorders, and pain disorders. Dysfunction among men and women are studied in the fields of andrology and gynecology respectively.

Sexual desire disorders

Sexual desire disorders or decreased libido are characterized by a lack of sexual desire, libido for sexual activity, or sexual fantasies for some time. The condition ranges from a general lack of sexual desire to a lack of sexual desire for the current partner. The condition may start after a period of normal sexual functioning, or the person may always have had an absence or a lesser intensity of sexual desire. The causes vary considerably but include a decrease in the production of normal estrogen in women, or testosterone in both men and women. Other causes may be aging, fatigue, pregnancy, medications (such as SSRIs), or psychiatric conditions, such as depression and anxiety. While many causes of low sexual desire are cited, only a few of these have ever been the object of empirical research.

Sexual arousal disorders

Sexual arousal disorders were previously known as frigidity in women and impotence in men, though these have now been replaced with less judgmental terms. Impotence is now known as erectile dysfunction, and frigidity has been replaced with a number of terms describing specific problems that can be broken down into four categories as described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: lack of desire, lack of arousal, pain during intercourse, and lack of orgasm. For both men and women, these conditions can manifest themselves as an aversion to and avoidance of sexual contact with a partner. In men, there may be partial or complete failure to attain or maintain an erection, or a lack of sexual excitement and pleasure in sexual activity. There may be physiological origins to these disorders, such as decreased blood flow or lack of vaginal lubrication. Chronic disease and the partners' relationship can also contribute to dysfunction. Additionally, postorgasmic illness syndrome (POIS) may cause symptoms when aroused, including adrenergic-type presentation: rapid breathing, paresthesia, palpitations, headaches, aphasia, nausea, itchy eyes, fever, muscle pain and weakness, and fatigue. From the onset of arousal, symptoms can persist for up to a week in patients. The cause of this condition is unknown; however, it is believed to be a pathology of either the immune system or autonomic nervous systems. It is defined as a rare disease by the National Institute of Health, but the prevalence is unknown. It is not thought to be psychiatric in nature, but it may present as anxiety relating to coital activities and may be incorrectly diagnosed as such. There is no known cure or treatment.

Erectile dysfunction

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sexual dysfunction

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sexual dysfunction claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sexual dysfunction before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sexual dysfunction ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sexual dysfunction

In research: Sexual dysfunction appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sexual dysfunction in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sexual dysfunction is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Orgasm, Sexology, Sexual arousal, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sexual dysfunction outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sexual dysfunction in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sexual dysfunction means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sexual dysfunction out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sexual dysfunction in simple terms?

Why does Sexual dysfunction matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sexual dysfunction?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sexual dysfunction.