Sexual desire and intimate relationships

Definitions of sexual desire are broad and understandings of sexual desire are subjective. However, the development of various ways of measuring the construct allows for extensive research to be conducted that facilitates the investigation of influences of sexual desire. Particular differences have been observed between the sexes in terms of understanding sexual desire both with regard to one's own sexual desires, as well as what others desire sexually. These beliefs and understandings all contribute to how people behave and interact with others, particularly in terms of various types of intimate relationships.

As there is no single understanding of sexual desire, it is important to explore beliefs about the nature of the construct to reveal the different ways that it is characterized.

Theorists believe that sexual desire can serve a number of roles, as a combination of both desire for physical pleasure as well as a need for intimacy in terms of love and affection though the weight of each need may vary dependent on situational context and the individuals involved. Researchers also consistently define sexual desire in the context of motivations, cognitions, emotions and similarly subjective psychological experiences that may be described as the need, wish, longing for, or drive to seek out sexual engagement as opposed to the physiological arousal or sexual events.

One definition of sexual desire specifically characterizes the construct as “the sum of the forces that lean us toward and away from sexual behaviour”. An ordinary spectrum of sexual desire as one that may range from aversion to passion, and though individuals may experience fairly consistent patterns of sexual desire throughout their lives, patterns of sexual desire do evolve over the course of a lifetime, as it is subject to such influences as age, gender, social situation, and health.

Sexual desire may not be as directly or reliably testable as sexual arousal, which can be validly and reliably assessed by monitoring genital and other physiological arousal. No test exists that can definitely measure sexual desire. Through the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain imaging techniques, hormonal assessment and self-report questionnaires such as the Passionate Love Scale (PLS) various cognitive and behavioural characteristics have been found to reliably identify sexual desire across cultures and distinguish it from other feelings of love and attachment.

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