In our society, sexuality is often looked at with a negative bias (see Booth1). For example, adolescents are warned about the risks of sexuality (e.g., diseases, unwanted pregnancy). While this is certainly important, it is not everything that there is to sexuality. Alternatively, sexuality is often commercialized and depicted superficially.1 Rather little is said about the potential positive and more complex aspects of sexual interactions, such as the fostering of love, or the stress-reducing and enjoyable effects of touch and intimacy with another human being.
Even in the science of well-being and positive psychology, sexuality has received very little attention (see Ludwig et al., 20252). We contend that it is important to start paying more attention to positive aspects of this life domain, such as connection, love, transcendence or growth. Importantly, this does not mean ignoring negative aspects. We believe that new knowledge around the positive aspects of sexuality can indirectly help mitigate many of the common issues associated with sexuality, for example by fostering more constructive conversations around the topic. Insights may also help people develop more stable relationships, healthy self-regulation, and overall higher well-being. They might also be helpful for people facing specific challenges around this topic, such as those after cancer diagnosis.
My team and I are conducting research about positive sexuality including the development of a scientifically validated questionnaire to measure sexual well-being. Moreover, you can find a chapter on “positive sexuality” by me in this book3 (currently only available in German). Check out the Human Sexuality and Well-Being Project website at www.sexual-wellbeing.org to learn more.
1: Booth, B. K. Toward sexual well-being: A grounded theory study of the lived experience of sexuality, Widener University, (2014).
2: Ludwig, V.U.., Lewis, A., Pawelski, J., & Crone, D. (preprint, 2025, October 8). Sexuality in Positive Psychology: Toward the Integration of a Neglected Component of Human Flourishing. PsyArXiv Preprints. [not yet peer-reviewed]
3: Ludwig, V.U. (2020): Positive Sexualität: Unser Liebesleben aus der Sicht der Wissenschaft [Positive Sexuality: A scientific perspective on our love lives]. In Helmut Fink & Rainer Rosenzweig (Eds.). Hirn im Glück – Freude, Liebe, Hoffnung im Spiegel der Neurowissenschaft [Brain in Bliss – Joy, Love, Hope as Reflected by Neuroscience] (pp. 31-45). Nuremberg: Kortizes.
