Sexual desire results from the interaction between biological, psychological and cultural components. These dimensions play a central role on the lack of sexual interest, although the subjectʼs gender may also be related to the way these factors interact with sexual desire. It is essential to clear witch differences both sexes present in their sexual desire response in order to develop a better clinical achievement to each gender.

The aim of the present study is to characterize both genders along specific dimensions in order to find which of them predict different levels of sexual desire.

200 men and 200 women were analysed regarding medical factors, cognitive-emotional factors during sexual activity, psychopathology and relationship adjustment. Statistical analyses were conducted in order to control the interaction between all variables, including gender.

Results showed that cognitive factors are the main predictors of sexual desire, with both genders presenting negative automatic thoughts during sexual activity having significantly less sexual desire. According to this, erection concerning thoughts and lack of erotic thoughts in men, or failure/disengagement thoughts and lack of erotic thoughts in women, were the best predictors of deficient desire. Regarding psychopathology and medical factors, both play a more peripheral role on sexual interest. Dyadic adjustment is strongly connected with female sexual desire, but much less with male desire. It was also found an interaction between the variables gender and medical factors, gender and dyadic adjustment and gender and age, as having a main effect on sexual desire.