Empirical review
Keith’s (2008) review of the National Health and Social Life Survey found that 32% of women and 15% of men, between the ages of 18 and 59 years, lacked sexual interest for several months within the last year. A study was conducted by Roger and David (1999) on the relationship between worry, sexual aversion, and low sexual desire among college undergraduates. Using a quantitative approach, 138 participants were sampled with age range of 19-22 years, of which 56% were females. Results from the sexual aversion scale and the Penn State Worry Question (PSWQ, to test for one’s proneness to worry) indicated that higher scores on the PSWQ showed extreme anxiety positively correlated with refusal to engage in sexual activity. There was a statistically significant relationship between generalized anxiety and sexual intimacy. Another study conducted by Bradford and Meston (2006) revealed that there is an association between a high level of anxiety in a non-clinical sample of women and their sexual arousal. They demonstrated that the impact of anxiety on sexual function may be more cognitive than physiological; and that the anxiety may be towards a specific thing and not the activity itself. Some experimental studies have shown a positive correlation between specific types of anxiety disorders and sexual arousal. Findings from studies using clinically diagnosed women with obsessive-compulsive disorders, generalized anxiety disorders, panic attacks, among others have revealed that they have poor sexual intimacy with their partners (Leiblum, Seehuus & Goldmeier, 2007; Van Minnen & Kampman, 2000). Even though there are methodological differences in the studies reviewed, there seems to be a statistically significant correlation between anxiety and sexual relations. However, the level of significance at which this is likely to occur is unclear. Adopting a qualitative approach, this report therefore seeks to throw more light on the phenomenon, as in relation to the Ghanaian context.