Theoretical review
The psychoanalytic theory of Freud (1913) explains the development of anxiety produced from the ego. He describes anxiety as being neurotic, moral or realistic. According to him, the ego’s dependence on the id can result in neurotic anxiety, which is a fear of unknown danger. Though this feeling of neurotic anxiety resides in the ego, it originally comes from desires of the id. Moral anxiety comes largely from the conflict between the ego and the superego, whereby anxiety exists as a conflict between actual needs and what the superego dictates. An example of this could include a child, who has recently developed a superego, feeling sexual temptations and believing them to be morally wrong at the same time. The third type, described as realistic anxiety, is an unpleasant feeling that could involve a real possible danger and this type of anxiety is similar to fear (Feist & Feist, 2009). Most of the time, anxiety is explained as an external emotional response that can cause danger (Parker, 2006). Freud explains how a traumatic event, which cannot be explained, can cause anxiety and that tends to disturb the victim. Some people may decide to repress the unpleasant event but it remains in their sub-consciousness. The implication of the repression is manifested through the person’s behavior. The anxiety associated with a traumatic event can be life-altering, affecting the mindset of the individual and must be psycho-analyzed separately. Developing FSIAD may come about as a result of realistic anxiety, where the person involved perceives danger after engaging in the sexual activity and may, therefore, respond to the act negatively.
The main proponents of cognitive theory are Beck (1976) and Ellis (1962) and they argue that anxiety comes about due to maladaptive, faulty, irrational and distorted thinking about an event. According to them, a person’s appraisal or interpretation of events determines the person’s emotional response to it. When a person evaluates an event negatively or as a challenge, the person is most likely to be anxious and if the same event is appraised positively the person is most likely not to experience any form of anxiety. Epictetus (AD 55-135) summarises that it is not the event itself that causes the psychological distress but it is one’s appraisal or interpretation of the event (Beck, Rush, Shaw & Emery, 1979). The appraisal of sexual activity influences either a person’s participation or refusal (aversion).