(475) The Role of Internal and External Consent and of Mentalized Affectivity in Sexual Satisfaction

Introduction Although the focus on sexual satisfaction and pleasure has become prominent in the last years in the field of psycho-sexology, scarce data are still available regarding the role internal and external consent, together with mentalized affectivity, may have on the perception of pleasurable sexual activity. Objective The main aim of this study is to evaluate if internal or external consent may differently impact on sexual satisfaction. Then, the mediating effect of mentalized affectivity is also studied. Methods An internet-based sample of people belonging to general population has been enrolled through Google Moduli platform. The link has been shared to several social media platforms. The protocol consisted of four psychometric questionnaires evaluating internal consent (Internal Consent Scale, ICS), external consent (External Consent Scale, ECS), sexual satisfaction (New Sexual Satisfaction Scale, NSSS), and mentalized affectivity (Mentalized Affectivity Scale, MAS). Specific demographics have been also collected Results A sample of 251 subjects has been enrolled. Of these, 53,8% were females, and 45% males. 74,9% of the sample declared to have heterosexual orientation, 8% homosexual orientation, 12,4% bisexual orientation and the rest part declared pansexual, asexual or other type of sexual orientation. Both internal and external sexual consent were positively associated with sexual satisfaction, with internal consent showing a slightly stronger effect. Relationship status also played a significant role, with individuals in committed relationships (51,4%) reporting higher levels of sexual satisfaction than singles. No significant mediation effects were observed for affective mentalization Conclusions These data show that sexual consent plays a central role in sexual satisfaction. On the contrary, mentalized affectivity seems to not have an impact in mediating the link between consent and satisfaction. Based on these evidence, it appears necessary to discuss and improve the knowledge and the communication about sexual consent with patients in clinical settings. Disclosure No