Sexual Functioning and Eating Disorder Symptoms: Examining the Role of Gender and Internalizing Symptoms in an Undergraduate Population

Sexual functioning problems observed in women may be better explained by depressive symptomology, as variance explained by ED variables, while statistically significant, was small and likely of lower clinical relevance. Sexual functioning problems in men may be minorly influenced by ED psychopathology, independent of depression and anxiety symptoms. Results suggest the importance of screening for sexual functioning problems and developing interventions that target potential mechanisms related to psychopathology.