Sexual Intrusive Thoughts of College Students

Journal of Sex Research,  Nov, 1998  by E. Sandra Byers,  Christine Purdon,  David A. Clark

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Sexual thoughts and fantasies have long been of interest to sex researchers, both as a form of sexual expression and as a mechanism for sexual arousal that does not require the participation of a partner. In their review of the literature on sexual fantasy, Leitenberg and Henning (1995) noted that sexual fantasy is also of interest because it can affect later behavior, reflect past experience, reflect sexual scripts, be connected to the commission of sexual offenses, and be used as an adjunct to sex therapy. Sexual fantasies often occur within the context of sexual activity, but they occur more often in nonsexual situations (Pelletier & Herold, 1988).

Jones and Barlow (1990) have outlined the methodological difficulties that plague much of the research on sexual fantasy. Most importantly, operational definitions of sexual fantasy are frequently missing and are inconsistent across studies. For example, only recently has some research begun to distinguish between sexual fantasies and sexual thoughts on the basis of whether they are purposefully internally generated (i.e., sexual fantasies) or spontaneously triggered by an external event (i.e., sexual thoughts). Although some researchers have defined sexual thoughts/fantasies as cognitions producing sexual arousal (Leitenberg & Henning, 1995), others have defined sexual thoughts/fantasies by their sexual content. Whether a particular cognition constitutes a sexual thought/fantasy is often self-defined by the participant (e.g., Ellis & Symons, 1990; Jones & Barlow, 1990).

Sexuality researchers have not differentiated sexual thoughts/fantasies that are perceived as positive by the respondent from those that are perceived as negative. Substantial minorities of respondents feel guilty or embarrassed about their sexual fantasies (Davidson & Hoffman, 1986; Knoth, Boyd & Singer, 1988). For example, Cado and Leitenberg (1990) found that one quarter of their student sample reported feeling considerable guilt about sexual fantasies during intercourse, and were more likely to feel that such fantasizing was immoral, uncommon, abnormal, and socially unacceptable than the low guilt group. Almost half of a conservative Christian sample reported that their fantasies were "morally flawed or unacceptable" (Gil, 1990, p. 635). Gold, Balzano, and Stamey (1991) found that women whose sexual fantasies included men's use of force rated themselves as feeling more frightened, guilty, and disgusted, as well as less happy and less likely to act on the fantasy than women whose fantasies did not include force. Child sexual abuse survivors report more sexual fantasies involving being forced to engage in sexual activity (Briere, Smiljanich, & Henschel, 1994). However, it is not known whether these fantasies are experienced as positive and wanted or as negative and unwanted (e.g., flashbacks to abuse experiences) events. Ellis and Symons (1990) found that more than 15% of males and females try to repress the feeling of arousal when they have sexual fantasies/thoughts, suggesting a negative appraisal of the fantasy. In some cases, unwanted deviant sexual thoughts may be related to sex offending (Johnston, Ward, & Hudson, 1997). Thus, while the majority of individuals report sexual thoughts/fantasies that are perceived as positive, a substantial minority of individuals describe sexual thoughts/fantasies that are perceived as negative or unwanted.

Cognitive-behavioral researchers have found that the vast majority of non-clinical individuals experience unwanted, sudden, and involuntary thoughts of sex, violence, contamination, and doubt which are ego-dystonic (i.e., perceived as uncharacteristic of one's personality) (Purdon & Clark, 1993; Rachman & deSilva, 1978; Salkovskis & Harrison, 1984). Two examples of unwanted intrusions are thoughts of swerving into the next lane while driving or of having sex with someone who is repugnant to you. Given their sudden and involuntary nature, these thoughts are known as "intrusive thoughts." Current cognitive-behavioral theories of obsessive-compulsive disorder view intrusive thoughts as possible precursors to clinical obsessions (Salkovskis, Richards, & Forrester, 1995). Many nonclinical individuals find their intrusive thoughts to be at least somewhat unpleasant, unacceptable, and distressing (Clark & deSilva, 1985; Freeston, Ladouceur, Thibodeau, & Gagnon, 1991; Parkinson & Rachman, 1981; Purdon & Clark, 1993).

Sexual intrusive thoughts are not uncommon. Reanalysis of some of our data (Purdon & Clark, 1993) indicates that the majority of undergraduates report having had at least one sexual intrusive thought at some time in the past. Further, between 5% and 8% of patients with obsessive compulsive disorder experience intrusive thoughts of a sexual nature (Warwick & Salkovskis, 1990). However, cognitive-behavioral researchers have not differentiated between sexual intrusive thoughts and intrusive thoughts reflecting nonsexual themes. Such a distinction may assist our understanding of the escalation, persistence, and psychological impact of intrusive thoughts. For instance, an individual who is uncomfortable with his or her sexuality who experiences a sexual thought may appraise the thought negatively and thus experience it as an unwanted sexual intrusion rather than as a sexual thought/fantasy. This negative appraisal may also enhance the salience, and hence the frequency, of the sexual thought. This would imply a need for cognitive-behavioral researchers to incorporate sexuality variables into their understanding and treatment of sexual intrusive thoughts and sexual obsessions. It would also imply a need for sexuality researchers to incorporate the concept of intrusive thoughts into research on sexual thoughts/fantasies.