Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

Sexual desire (sometimes referred to as “libido” in the past) is a psychological construct used to explain the probability or strength of a sexual response. Low sexual desire, defined as a sexual dysfunction, first gained attention with the incorporation of “desire” as a critical component of Helen Kaplan’s conceptualization of the sexual [Page 1725]response cycle, which consisted of three phases: desire-arousal-orgasm. The concept has, however, undergone substantial rethinking (and renaming), particularly with regard to women’s sexual function. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, low sexual desire in men has been retained as a separate, distinct classification, known as hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). In women, the previously separate classification of low sexual desire was combined with problems of sexual arousal ...