A new study from the University of Ottawa, published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, shows that how people interpret physical signs of arousal—such as a racing heartbeat—relates to sexual functioning in gendered ways. The researchers found that viewing these sensations positively correlates with higher sexual desire, while fearing them is linked to lower sexual satisfaction in women and to physical sexual difficulties in men.
The researchers note that anxiety and sexual arousal trigger similar bodily responses. The sympathetic nervous system gears the body up for action, producing a racing heart, quicker breathing and a surge of blood to core organs. Because these signs overlap, the meaning a person assigns to them can shape both emotional experience and physical response. Anxiety sensitivity—a persistent fear that bodily sensations are dangerous or negative—emerged as a key factor in the study.
Conversely, some individuals hold a positive interpretation of the same sensations, seeing a fast pulse or breathlessness as signs of excitement or positive anticipation. The team, led by Andrea R. Ashbaugh, explored whether these differing beliefs help explain inconsistent findings in previous research on anxiety and sexual response.
In a cross-sectional online study, the researchers recruited 909 undergraduate students, comprising 491 women and 417 men, with one participant identifying as genderfluid. The average age was about 20. Participants completed questionnaires measuring anxiety sensitivity and positive interpretations of bodily sensations, alongside standard assessments of sexual functioning over the previous four weeks. Structural equation modelling was used to examine relationships, with analyses conducted separately for men and women.
Results indicated that men generally reported more positive interpretations of their physical arousal than women, while women showed higher anxiety sensitivity overall. Across both sexes, a positive interpretation of arousal as exciting was associated with higher sexual desire. The researchers suggest this positive framing may help people notice and pursue sexual interest more readily.
However, negative interpretations of arousal affected the sexes differently. In women, higher anxiety sensitivity consistently related to lower sexual satisfaction, but it did not map onto the more immediate physical aspects such as arousal, lubrication or orgasm. In men, higher anxiety sensitivity correlated with lower arousal, poorer erectile function and greater difficulty reaching orgasm, suggesting cognitive worries may more directly hinder physical performance in men.
The authors propose that cognitive beliefs about bodily sensations can shape sexual functioning in distinct ways for men and women. They suggest that therapies aimed at reframing arousal signals in a more positive light could help improve sexual desire and physical response, particularly in cases where anxiety sensitivity is high.
Limitations include the study’s cross-sectional design and reliance on self-reported data taken at a single time point, which mean causality cannot be established. The sample was also largely young, white and heterosexual university students, raising questions about generalisability to other ages and groups. The researchers call for longitudinal studies and experimental work to test whether clinical therapies that foster positive interpretations of arousal can yield tangible improvements in sexual functioning.
The study, “What is This Feeling? Examining How Interpretation of Arousal Sensations Are Associated with Anxiety and Sexual Functioning,” was authored by Andrea R. Ashbaugh, Serena Corsini-Munt, Lucas Walters, Leanne Kane, Allison J. Ouimet, Elke Reissing and Krystelle Shaughnessy.
