Perfectionists always seek a high level of performance in everything they do in life, and this characteristic makes them prone to negative self-evaluations and to be very critical of those around them as well.
Numerous investigations have been carried out on the consequences that this personality factor can have in many areas of life, but on few occasions it has been studied how it affects sexuality. In this area, research recently published by psychologists Joachim Stoeber and Laura N. Harvey, from the University of Kent (England), concludes that this personality factor may have an inhibitory effect .
The study authors looked at how different types of perfectionism can influence women's sex lives. To do this, they asked 366 women to complete surveys over three months – from December 2013 to February 2014 – and analyzed how different types of perfectionism could influence their sexual lives: self-oriented (tendency to set unrealistic goals), based on the other (demanding of others and intolerant) and socio-prescribed (belief that society has high expectations about one that they should not be disappointed) .
According to the results, the socio-prescribed is the one that has the most harmful influence. It contributes to a negative sexual self-concept of women and is linked to sexual dysfunctions such as anorgasmia or low sexual desire. In addition, it is a predictor of decreased sexual self-esteem and increases anxiety in relationships.
