ABSTRACT
Kaplan (1977) and Lief (1977) pioneered the research on low sexual desire (once referred to as inhibited sexual desire, or ISD). After experiencing an inordinate number of couples presenting with little or no interest in sexual activity, they began to view this problem as a distinct disorder. It is now commonly referred to in the professional literature as hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). The DSM-IV (APA, 1994) specifically defines HSDD as a “deficiency or absence of sexual fantasies and desire for sexual activity” (p. 496), and breaks it down into the usual subtypes (i.e., lifelong versus acquired and generalized versus situational). The disorder may also be due primarily to psychological factors or a combination of medical and psychological factors. While this is the most accepted definition of the disorder to date, perhaps the most graphic description of the problem was provided by Kaplan (1987), who referred to individuals with little or no sexual desire as being “in a psychogenic state of ‘sexual anorexia’” (p. 11).
