An exploratory study of factors associated with sexual inhibition and excitation: findings from a representative survey in Flanders

The dual control model of sexual response was developed to account for individual differences in sexual excitation and inhibition. According to this model, the balance between excitation and inhibition is of crucial importance in determining an individual’s sexual response to a stimulus. In this study, we aimed to contribute to the existing literature on sexual excitation and inhibition in two ways. First, we investigated the distribution of excitation and inhibition scores in a representative population sample. Second, we conducted an exploratory study of the factors associated with variation in excitation and inhibition. We used data from a representative survey on the sexual health of men and women in Flanders (N = 1,825; mean age = 43.77; SD = 17.98). The results indicated that excitation and inhibition had a near normal distribution among men and women. However, the scores for sexual inhibition due to threat of performance failure (SIS1) among men, and for sexual inhibition due to the threat of performance consequences (SIS2) among women, were somewhat skewed. Furthermore, age, gender, physical and mental health, education level, and attitudes toward sex were all to some extent associated with differences in inhibition, excitation, or both