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Cindy Meston

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Cindy Meston is a Canadian-American clinical psychologist well-known for her research[1] on the psychophysiology of female sexual arousal. She is a Full Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, Director of the Female Sexual Psychophysiology Laboratory,[2] and author of Why Women Have Sex [3] (with co-author Dr. David M. Buss). In 2016, the BBC, London, England named Meston one of the 100 most influential and inspirational women in the world.[4]

Early life

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Meston was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada.[5] Prior to becoming a noted sex researcher, Meston lived in Vancouver, B.C. where she worked in fashion design and then as the Western Canadian Sewing Specialist for White/Elna Sewing Machine Company.

Education and career

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Meston received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of British Columbia in 1995. She completed most of her postgraduate training at the University of Washington Medical Center in the departments of Sexual and Reproductive Medicine, Psychiatry, and Urology.[5] From 1996-1998 she received a Fellowship from the Ford Foundation in New York to study the effects of early childhood sexual abuse on adult sexual function. In 1998, she accepted a position as Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and was promoted to Full Professor of Clinical Psychology in 2007.[6]

Meston has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and given over 300 conference presentations on women’s sexuality.[5][7] Her book, Why Women Have Sex (co-authored with Dr. David Buss) has been translated into nine languages and has received extensive media coverage.[3][8][9] Articles on her research and book have appeared in over 300 newspapers (e.g., Science Times, New York Times), magazines (e.g., NewYorker, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Glamour), and online publications.[6] She has made several television appearances (e.g., The Rachel Ray Show, The Dr. Phil Show, ABC (20/20), NBC National News) and conducted over 50 national radio interviews (e.g., NPR) and podcasts.[6] Meston is also a co-author (with Irwin Goldstein, Susan Davis, and Abulmaged Traish) of the book Women’s Sexual Function and Dysfunction, [10] which was published in 2006.

She is a past president of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health[11] and an elected member of the International Academy of Sex Research,[12] the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex,[13] and the Association for Psychological Science.[14]

In 2005, Meston was selected as Chair of the orgasm committee for the World Health Organization.[15] The express goal of the committee was to develop an operational definition of female orgasm. The definition developed by Meston and colleagues is still in active use by the W.H.O. Meston has served as a consultant to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and to numerous pharmaceutical companies who are developing drugs to enhance women’s sexual function.

Awards for Meston’s research include a fellowship from The Ford Foundation, an International Research Award from the Athena Institute for Women’s Wellness, a Distinguished Professor Award from the Canadian Research Foundation, the Raymond Dickson Centennial Endowed Teaching Fellowship, the Wulf H. Utian Endowed Lecturer Award from the North American Menopause Society, and the Career Service Award from the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health. She has won ten awards for best peer-reviewed manuscript by international academic societies.[5]

Selected research areas

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Female Sexual Arousal and the Sympathetic Nervous System:  Historically, clinicians, researchers, and theorists believed the early stages of arousal in women were facilitated by the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and inhibited by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). While this relationship had never been tested empirically in women, it was assumed to be true based on analogous research on the erectile response in men. Meston was the first researcher to directly examine the role of the SNS in the female sexual response, conducting a series of experiments on humans and animals and finding that, contrary to popular thought, SNS activation does not simply impair sexual arousal in women.[16][17][18][19] Rather, Meston’s research suggests that optimal SNS activation seems to be necessary for the development of female physiological sexual arousal. Meston has conducted numerous follow-up studies examining how these results vary in women with autonomic impairments as a function of anxiety,[20] post-traumatic stress disorder,[19] and antidepressant usage.[21] Most recently, Meston has explored the overall balance between the SNS and PNS (i.e., heart rate variability) as an important marker and treatment target for female sexual function.[22]

Sexual Motivation: Few researchers have historically examined sexual motives in women, assuming such motives were likely self-explanatory: for pleasure, for procreation, for love. Together with evolutionary psychologist David Buss, Meston questioned the simplicity of these assumptions and conducted a large-scale study of sexual motives, finding that women actually report 237 distinct reasons for having sex that range from experience-seeking to mate-guarding.[23] Meston has also conducted a series of follow-up studies finding that such motives vary based on sexual satisfaction levels [24] and age.[25]

Childhood Sexual Abuse: Among the long-term symptoms found to exist decades following childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a broad spectrum of sexual difficulties in adulthood. Meston has conducted a series of studies seeking to understand the mechanisms by which those sexual difficulties develop, including the degree to which the CSA is integrated into the individual’s sexual self-schema and the degree to which the individual identifies as being a victim of sexual abuse.[26][27] Based on these cognitive mechanisms, Meston developed an expressive writing intervention for sexual trauma that has been found to be efficacious in reducing sexual difficulties following CSA.[28]

Psychometric Development: Meston has developed a number of questionnaires and psychometric tools to measure constructs in sexuality ranging from sexual function to sexual satisfaction. She co-authored the Female Sexual Function Index,[29] which is the most widely used psychometric measure of female sexual function. She also authored the Sexual Satisfaction Scale for Women,[30] the Why Have Sex Questionnaire,[23] and the Cues for Sexual Desire Scale.[31]

Books

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  • Meston, C. M., & Buss, D. M. (2009). Why Women Have Sex: Sexual Motivation from Adventure to Revenge (and Everything in Between). New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc. (Translated into 9 languages).[32]
  • Goldstein, I, Meston, C. M., Davis, S. R., & Traish, A. M. (Eds.) (2006). Women’s Sexual Function and Dysfunction. London: Taylor & Francis Group.[10]

Selected publications

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  • Meston, C. M., & Gorzalka, B. B. (1995).  The effects of sympathetic activation on physiological and subjective sexual arousal in women.  Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 651-664.[16]
  • Meston, C. M., & Frohlich, P. F. (2000). The neurobiology of sexual function.  Archives of General Psychiatry, 57, 1012-1030.[33]
  • Meston, C. M., Rellini, A. H., & Heiman, J. R. (2006). Women’s history of sexual abuse, their sexuality, and sexual self-schemas.  Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 229-236.[34]
  • Meston, C. M., & Buss, D. (2007). Why humans have sex. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36, 477-507.[23]
  • Lorenz, T. K., & Meston, C. M. (2012). Acute exercise improves physical sexual arousal in women taking antidepressants. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 43, 352-361.[21]
  • Meston, C. M., Lorenz, T, K. A., & Stephenson, K. R. (2013). Effects of expressive writing on sexual dysfunction, depression, and PTSD in women with a history of childhood sexual abuse: Results from a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10, 2177-2189.[28]
  • Harte, C. B., Watts, T. W., & Meston, C. M. (2013). Predictors of 1-, 6-, and 12-month smoking relapse among smokers completing a tobacco cessation intervention program. Journal of Substance Abuse, 18, 405-416. [35]
  • Lorenz, T. K., & Meston, C. M. (2014) Exercise improves sexual function in women taking antidepressants: results from a randomized crossover trial. Depression and Anxiety, 31, 188-195.[36]
  • Kilimnik, C. D., Boyd, R. L., Stanton, A. M., & Meston, C. M. (2018). Identification of nonconsensual sexual experiences and the sexual self-schemas of women: Implications for sexual functioning. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47, 1633-1647.[37]
  • Meston, C. M. & Stanton, A. S. (2018). Desynchrony between subjective and physiological sexual arousal in women: Theoretically interesting but clinically irrelevant. Current Sexual Health Reports, 1-3.[38]
  • Stanton, A. S., Boyd, R. L., Fogarty, J. J., & Meston, C. M. (2019). Heart rate variability biofeedback increases sexual arousal among women with female sexual arousal disorder: Results from a randomized-controlled trial. Behavior Research and Therapy, 115, 90-102.[39]
  • Meston, C. M., & Stanton, A. S. (2019). Understanding sexual arousal and subjective-genital arousal desynchrony in women. Nature Reviews Urology, 16, 107-120.[40]
  • Freihart, B. K.., & Meston, C. M. (2019). Preliminary evidence for a relationship between physiological synchrony and sexual satisfaction. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 16 (12), 2000 – 2010.[41]

References

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  1. ^ "Google Scholar". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  2. ^ "MESTONLAB.COM". www.mestonlab.com. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Why women have sex". the Guardian. 27 September 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  4. ^ Keane, Phoebe (2 December 2016). "100 Women 2016: Researching the female orgasm". BBC World Service. BBC. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d "Cindy May Meston: CV" (PDF). Labs.la.utexas.edu. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Cindy M. Meston, Ph.D." labs.la.utexas.edu. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Cindy Meston on why people have sex". ideacity. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  8. ^ Law, Sally (1 December 2009). "Ask an Academic: Why Women Have Sex". The New Yorker. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Cindy Meston". Penguin.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Women's Sexual Function and Dysfunction: Study, Diagnosis and Treatment". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  11. ^ "ISSWSH - Home". www.isswsh.org. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  12. ^ "IASR". IASR. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  13. ^ "Home - The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality". www.sexscience.org. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  14. ^ "Homepage". Association for Psychological Science - APS. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  15. ^ Meston, Cindy M.; Hull, Elaine; Levin, Roy J.; Sipski, Marca (July 2004). "Disorders of orgasm in women". The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 1 (1): 66–68. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2004.10110.x. ISSN 1743-6095. PMID 16422985.
  16. ^ a b Meston, Cindy M.; Gorzalka, Boris B. (1 July 1995). "The effects of sympathetic activation on physiological and subjective sexual arousal in women". Behaviour Research and Therapy. 33 (6): 651–664. doi:10.1016/0005-7967(95)00006-J. ISSN 0005-7967. PMID 7654157.
  17. ^ Meston, Cindy M.; Gorzalka, Boris B. (1 February 1996). "The effects of immediate, delayed, and residual sympathetic activation on sexual arousal in women". Behaviour Research and Therapy. 34 (2): 143–148. doi:10.1016/0005-7967(95)00050-X. ISSN 0005-7967. PMID 8741721.
  18. ^ Meston, C. M; Gorzalka, B. B. (1996). "Differential effects of sympathetic activation on sexual arousal in sexually dysfunctional and functional women". Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 105 (4): 582–591. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.105.4.582. ISSN 0021-843X. PMID 8952191.
  19. ^ a b Rellini, Alessandra H.; Meston, Cindy M. (1 January 2006). "Psychophysiological Sexual Arousal in Women with a History of Child Sexual Abuse". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 32 (1): 5–22. doi:10.1080/00926230500229145. ISSN 0092-623X. PMID 16234222. S2CID 16678158.
  20. ^ Bradford, Andrea; Meston, Cindy M. (1 August 2006). "The impact of anxiety on sexual arousal in women". Behaviour Research and Therapy. 44 (8): 1067–1077. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2005.08.006. ISSN 0005-7967. PMC 2857771. PMID 16199003.
  21. ^ a b Lorenz, Tierney A.; Meston, Cindy M. (June 2012). "Acute exercise improves physical sexual arousal in women taking antidepressants". Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 43 (3): 352–361. doi:10.1007/s12160-011-9338-1. ISSN 1532-4796. PMC 3422071. PMID 22403029.
  22. ^ Stanton, Amelia M.; Lorenz, Tierney A.; Pulverman, Carey S.; Meston, Cindy M. (September 2015). "Heart Rate Variability: A Risk Factor for Female Sexual Dysfunction". Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. 40 (3): 229–237. doi:10.1007/s10484-015-9286-9. ISSN 1090-0586. PMC 6711474. PMID 26081002.
  23. ^ a b c Meston, Cindy M.; Buss, David M. (1 August 2007). "Why Humans Have Sex". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 36 (4): 477–507. doi:10.1007/s10508-007-9175-2. ISSN 1573-2800. PMID 17610060. S2CID 6182053.
  24. ^ Stephenson, Kyle R.; Ahrold, Tierney K.; Meston, Cindy M. (1 June 2011). "The Association Between Sexual Motives and Sexual Satisfaction: Gender Differences and Categorical Comparisons". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 40 (3): 607–618. doi:10.1007/s10508-010-9674-4. ISSN 1573-2800. PMC 3038192. PMID 20967494.
  25. ^ Meston, Cindy M.; Hamilton, Lisa Dawn; Harte, Christopher B. (1 December 2009). "Sexual Motivation in Women as a Function of Age". The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 6 (12): 3305–3319. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01489.x. ISSN 1743-6095. PMC 2978963. PMID 19751384.
  26. ^ Rellini, Alessandra H.; Meston, Cindy M. (1 April 2011). "Sexual Self-Schemas, Sexual Dysfunction, and the Sexual Responses of Women with a History of Childhood Sexual Abuse". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 40 (2): 351–362. doi:10.1007/s10508-010-9694-0. ISSN 1573-2800. PMC 3047701. PMID 21140286.
  27. ^ Kilimnik, Chelsea D.; Meston, Cindy M. (1 March 2019). "Sexual Violence Identification and Women's Sexual Well-Being". Current Sexual Health Reports. 11 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1007/s11930-019-00186-y. ISSN 1548-3592. S2CID 86461384.
  28. ^ a b Meston, Cindy M.; Lorenz, Tierney A.; Stephenson, Kyle R. (September 2013). "Effects of expressive writing on sexual dysfunction, depression, and PTSD in women with a history of childhood sexual abuse: Results from a randomized clinical trial". The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 10 (9): 2177–2189. doi:10.1111/jsm.12247. ISSN 1743-6095. PMC 3775987. PMID 23875721.
  29. ^ Rosen, C. Brown, J. Heiman, S. Leib, R. (April 2000). "The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI): A Multidimensional Self-Report Instrument for the Assessment of Female Sexual Function". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 26 (2): 191–208. doi:10.1080/009262300278597. ISSN 0092-623X. PMID 10782451. S2CID 216086942.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ Meston, Cindy; Trapnell, Paul (January 2005). "Development and Validation of a Five-Factor Sexual Satisfaction and Distress Scale for Women: The Sexual Satisfaction Scale for Women (SSS-W)". The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2 (1): 66–81. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2005.20107.x. ISSN 1743-6095. PMC 2859306. PMID 16422909.
  31. ^ McCall, Katie; Meston, Cindy (September 2006). "Cues Resulting in Desire for Sexual Activity in Women". The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 3 (5): 838–852. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2006.00301.x. ISSN 1743-6095. PMC 2861288. PMID 16942529.
  32. ^ "Why Women Have Sex | Cindy M. Meston | Macmillan". US Macmillan. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  33. ^ Meston, Cindy M.; Frohlich, Penny F. (1 November 2000). "The Neurobiology of Sexual Function". Archives of General Psychiatry. 57 (11): 1012–1030. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.57.11.1012. ISSN 0003-990X. PMID 11074867.
  34. ^ Meston, Cindy M.; Rellini, Alessandra H.; Heiman, Julia R. (April 2006). "Women's history of sexual abuse, their sexuality, and sexual self-schemas". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 74 (2): 229–236. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.74.2.229. ISSN 0022-006X. PMID 16649867.
  35. ^ Harte, Christopher B.; Watts, Tyler W.; Meston, Cindy M. (1 October 2013). "Predictors of 1-, 6- and 12-month smoking cessation among a community-recruited sample of adult smokers in the United States". Journal of Substance Use. 18 (5): 405–416. doi:10.3109/14659891.2012.709913. ISSN 1465-9891. S2CID 18313478.
  36. ^ Lorenz, Tierney Ahrold; Meston, Cindy May (March 2014). "Exercise improves sexual function in women taking antidepressants: Results from a randomized crossover trial". Depression and Anxiety. 31 (3): 188–195. doi:10.1002/da.22208. ISSN 1091-4269. PMC 4039497. PMID 24754044.
  37. ^ Kilimnik, Chelsea D.; Boyd, Ryan L.; Stanton, Amelia M.; Meston, Cindy M. (2018). "Identification of Nonconsensual Sexual Experiences and the Sexual Self-Schemas of Women: Implications for Sexual Functioning". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 47 (6): 1633–1647. doi:10.1007/s10508-018-1229-0. ISSN 1573-2800. PMID 29845443. S2CID 44069311.
  38. ^ Meston, Cindy M.; Stanton, Amelia M. (September 2018). "Desynchrony Between Subjective and Genital Sexual Arousal in Women: Theoretically Interesting but Clinically Irrelevant". Current Sexual Health Reports. 10 (3): 73–75. doi:10.1007/s11930-018-0155-4. ISSN 1548-3584. S2CID 52044008.
  39. ^ Stanton, Amelia M.; Boyd, Ryan L.; Fogarty, Justin J.; Meston, Cindy M. (2019). "Heart rate variability biofeedback increases sexual arousal among women with female sexual arousal disorder: Results from a randomized-controlled trial". Behaviour Research and Therapy. 115: 90–102. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2018.10.016. ISSN 1873-622X. PMID 30466714. S2CID 53721456.
  40. ^ Meston, Cindy M.; Stanton, Amelia M. (February 2019). "Understanding sexual arousal and subjective–genital arousal desynchrony in women". Nature Reviews Urology. 16 (2): 107–120. doi:10.1038/s41585-018-0142-6. ISSN 1759-4820. PMID 30664743. S2CID 58560008.
  41. ^ Freihart, Bridget K.; Meston, Cindy M. (2019). "Preliminary Evidence for a Relationship Between Physiological Synchrony and Sexual Satisfaction in Opposite-Sex Couples". The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 16 (12): 2000–2010. doi:10.1016/j.jsxm.2019.09.023. ISSN 1743-6109. PMID 31708485. S2CID 207949903.
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