Relationship of sexual double standard with sexual functioning and risk sexual behaviors: A systematic review

Abstract

Sexual double standard (SDS) refers to the acceptance of different criteria for the assessment of the same sexual behavior in men and women. Due to the absence of previous bibliographical reviews, this study presents a systematic review of the relationship between SDS, sexual functioning, and risk sexual behaviors. From a search of different databases, it was obtained a total of 22 scientific articles. The results indicate that attitude in favor of SDS harms sexual functioning and favors risk sexual behaviors, which were more harmful to women. The importance of the study of SDS in sexual health is discussed, to understand sexual functioning and the incidence of risk sexual behaviors. It is recommended to improve the instruments used to measure SDS, to guarantee an exact and invariant evaluation of this phenomenon in those groups defined by gender and other socio-cultural variables.