The relationship between anxiety and sexual functioning in lesbians and heterosexual women.

The association between anxiety and sexual functioning was studied in relation to women's sexual orientation. Participants in lesbian relationships (n = 42) and heterosexual relationships (n = 78) completed the Multidimensional Anxiety Questionnaire and Female Sexual Function Index. No difference was found between groups on the anxiety measure, but lesbians scored higher than heterosexuals on sexual functioning scales for arousal and orgasm. Intercorrelations among sexual functioning scales were dissimilar for lesbians and heterosexuals. Among heterosexuals, anxiety was negatively correlated with overall sexual functioning, lubrication, orgasm, and pain, but among lesbians anxiety was uncorrelated with all sexual functioning variables.