The Relationship between Activating Cognitive Schemas, Negative Automatic Thoughts and Sexual Arousal in Married Female College Students

Sexual activity is regarded as one of the most fundamental aspects of life. The researchpurpose is to investigate the relationship between activating cognitive schemas, negativeautomatic thoughts and sexual arousal in married female college students. Therefore, in adescriptive study based on regression, a sample of 125 female married students was selected from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad through the convenience sampling and wastested in terms of the sexual performance, activation of cognitive schemas in sexual context and sexual styles. Results of the regression analysis indicated that activating cognitive schemas and negative automatic thoughts are correlated to sexual arousal. Moreover, sexual abuse automatic thoughts were negatively correlated to the lack of stimulating thoughts, lack of desirable body image and sexual arousal of married women. The results of this research indicated that sexual arousal can be predicted by negative automatic thoughts and cognitive schemas. These findings confirm that cognitive schemasand negative automatic thoughts are the influencing variables of married women’s sexualarousal.