Gender Differences in the Development of Sexual Excitation and Inhibition Through the Life Course: Preliminary Findings from a Representative Study in Flanders

The dual control model proposes that there are individual differences in the propensity for sexual excitation and sexual inhibition. Research to date has considered the effect of age on these traits as a simple linear effect, and studies examining gender differences in age effects are lacking. There are, however, indications that the associations of age with excitation and inhibition are nonlinear and that there might be gender differences in these associations. The aim of this study was to examine how these traits develop through an individual’s life and whether there are gender differences in this development. In this study we applied polynomial regression analyses to examine the interaction effects of age and gender on sexual excitation and inhibition. We used data from a representative cross-sectional survey on sexual health in Flanders (N = 1,825; mean age = 43.77; SD = 17.98). Most of the associations of excitation and inhibition with age were nonlinear, and there were substantial gender differences in these associations. This indicates that the interplay between age, gender, and excitation and inhibition should be taken into account in research on (dys)functional sexuality.