"Baring the Body in the Bedroom": Body Image, Sexual Self-Schemas, And Sexual Functioning Among College Women and Men‪.‬

Abstract A growing literature points to the role of body-image attitudes in human sexual functioning. Specifically, body dissatisfaction and excessive psychological investment in one's physical appearance may lead to physical self-consciousness and body exposure avoidance during sexual relations, which in turn may impair sexual desire, enjoyment, and performance. The present research with 145 college women and 118 college men evaluated a contextual body-image measure, the Body Exposure during Sexual Activities Questionnaire (BESAQ), which assesses anxious/avoidant body focus during sex. Findings supported the BESAQ's reliability and validity. Associations with sexual functioning were stronger for the BESAQ than for trait body-image measures. For both sexes, better sexual functioning was related to less anxious/avoidant body focus and stronger sexual self-schemas. Physical self-consciousness during sexual relations focused substantially on weight and gender-relevant attributes. Clinical and research implications of the findings are considered.