Marie-Pier Vaillancourt-Morel

Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières · Département de Psychologie

Purpose Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent among young adult couples. The Five-Factor Model of personality, consisting of neuroticism, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and extraversion, is a relevant framework to understand individual risk factor of IPV perpetration and victimization. In particular, neuroticism and agreeablenes...

The experience of sexual violence (SV) in sport can vary according to contextual factors such as its form, type of perpetrator, and frequency of acts that might impact the risk factors and outcomes of SV. This study aims to explore the heterogeneity of SV experiences in sport using latent class analysis and to compare the victimization profiles bas...

Introduction The Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX) is a brief questionnaire that evaluates five major aspects of sexual function: sex drive, arousal, erectile function/vaginal lubrication, ability to reach orgasm, and satisfaction with orgasm. An advantage of the ASEX is its simplicity and brevity (five items), making it suitable for the scre...

Cumulative childhood trauma (CCT; e.g., sexual abuse, neglect) has been consistently associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. However, we know little about the processes involved in this association. Although emotion dysregulation has been identified as a mechanism explaining the CCT–IPV association in men survivors, it is also...

This study explored the relationships between sexual health indicators (i.e., sexual satisfaction, distress, and function) and the DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders, a promising dimensional framework for assessing personality pathology. A sample of 489 participants seeking help in private practice clinics completed self-report measu...

Risky sexual behaviors (RSBs) are a prevalent public health concern among adolescents and young adults. Dating apps, which are relatively new technological means to meet sexual partners, are on the rise among this population. However, the scientific literature is mixed regarding the association between the use of dating apps and RSBs, with most stu...

The evolution of technology has transformed the way young adults develop and maintain relationships, including their sexuality. Since many young adults report low sexual satisfaction, it is important to understand what contributes to these negative experiences. Several studies have identified that attachment anxiety and avoidance are related to low...

The UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Model and the various psychometric instruments developed and validated based on this model are well established in clinical and research settings. However, evidence regarding the psychometric validity, reliability, and equivalence across multiple countries of residence, languages, or gender identities, including gender...

Perfectionism, or the tendency to aspire for excessively high standards, is a personality trait that can be divided into three dimensions: Self-oriented perfectionism, (SOP) other-oriented perfectionism (OOP) and socially-prescribed perfectionism (SPP; Hewitt and Flett; 1991). Indeed, perfectionist behaviors can be directed towards oneself or towar...

Motivations for pornography use may vary across gender identities, sexual orientations, and geographical regions, warranting examination to promote individual and public health. The aims of this study were to validate the Pornography Use Motivations Scale (PUMS) in a diverse, multicultural sample, and develop a short form (PUMS-8) that can assess a...

This study suggests that the top five predictors of problematic pornography use (PPU) were frequency of use, emotional avoidance pornography use motivation, stress reduction pornography use motivation, moral incongruence, and sexual shame. These findings provide empirically based key insights to develop effective, scientifically driven prevention a...

Problematic pornography use (PPU) is the most common manifestation of the newly introduced compulsive sexual behavior disorder diagnosis in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases. Research related to PPU has proliferated in the past two decades, but most prior studies were characterized by several shortcomings (e.g., usin...

There is growing interest in identifying factors that promote sexual well-being in romantic relationships. One such factor is intimacy—a process involving self-disclosure and empathic response that is positively associated with sexuality outcomes. However, most work among community couples examined cross-sectional associations in mixed-sex/gender c...

Pornography can be used through multiple media and its associations with couples’ relationship and sexual satisfaction are mixed. The aims of this study were to examine the proportion of use of different pornographic media (i.e., videos, pictures, audio material, and written material), including different contents (i.e., sexual activities and nudit...

Le modèle interpersonnel du perfectionnisme comporte trois dimensions : Le perfectionnisme orienté vers soi (POS), le perfectionnisme orienté vers l’autre (POA) et le perfectionnisme socialement prescrit (PSP). Bien que certains auteurs aient trouvé des liens significatifs entre le perfectionnisme et la fonction sexuelle et la satisfaction sexuelle...

Research on male survivors of childhood sexual abuse is notably deficient when it comes to addressing their sexual concerns, such as experiences of sexual distress, negative thoughts, and feelings related to their sexuality. Dissociation, a known consequence of childhood sexual abuse, could be associated with higher sexual concerns through identity...

Le perfectionnisme se conceptualise en trois dimensions, le perfectionnisme orienté vers soi (POS), le perfectionnisme orienté vers l’autre (POA) et le perfectionnisme socialement prescrit (PSP). La perception des réponses empathiques du partenaire (PREP) correspond à l’impression que son partenaire intime est soucieux, compréhensif et validant env...

Introduction: Perfectionism, the tendency to aspire for excessively high standards, is a personality trait that can be divided into three dimensions: Self-oriented perfectionism (SOP), other-oriented perfectionism (OOP) and socially-prescribed perfectionism (SPP; Hewitt and Flett; 1991). Indeed, perfectionist behaviors can be directed towards onese...

Background. Depression and anxiety are among the most prevalent mental health issues experienced worldwide. However, whereas cross-cultural studies utilize psychometrically valid and reliable scales, fewer can meaningfully compare these conditions across different groups. To address this gap, the current study aimed to psychometrically assess the B...

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the P4 suicide screener in a multinational sample. The primary goal was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the scale and investigate its convergent validity by analyzing its correlation with depression, anxiety, and substance use. Study design: The study design is a cro...

Background The three-item Sexual Distress Scale (SDS-3) has been frequently used to assess distress related to sexuality in public health surveys and research on sexual wellbeing. However, its psychometric properties and measurement invariance across cultural, gender and sexual subgroups have not yet been examined. This multinational study aimed to...

Pornography use is a common sexual activity for many individuals including those in a romantic relationship. Some studies have shown that violent content depicted in pornography is a risk factor for perpetration of violence in real life. Even if most of these studies examined perpetration of violent behaviors in general, not specifically toward the...

Background and aims Problematic pornography use (PPU) is a common manifestation of the newly introduced Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder diagnosis in the 11th edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Although cultural, gender‐ and sexual orientation‐related differences in sexual behaviors a...

Perfectionism can be conceptualised into three dimensions – self-oriented perfectionism (SOP), other-oriented perfectionism (OOP), and socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP). While emotional intimacy is considered a key predictor of relationship satisfaction, some authors suggest that perfectionism is associated with a greater fear of intimacy and...

Pornography offers a wide variety of sexual contents and has documented potential positive (e.g., higher sexual satisfaction) and negative associations (e.g., lower sexual function) with sexuality. The aims of this study were to describe the proportion of use of five different contents of pornography (i.e. group sex, passion and romance, gender-ben...

Objective We analyzed adult ADHD symptoms in a cross-cultural context, including investigating the occurrence and potential correlates of adult ADHD and psychometric examination of the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) Screener. Method Our analysis is based on a large-scale research project involving 42 countries (International Sex Survey, N=72,...

Childhood maltreatment (CM) has been consistently associated with negative sexual outcomes in couples. Yet, its link with sexual motivation, which plays a key role in relational and sexual well-being, remains elusive. Based on self-determination theory, sexual motivations encompass intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation (i.e., integrated, ident...

Cumulative childhood maltreatment (CCM) is associated with relationship difficulties including lower perceived partner responsiveness (PPR)—the degree of feeling cared for, understood, and validated by a person's partner. Attachment theory is understood via its representations of self and others and could offer a better understanding of how CCM eff...

Background and aims: Problematic pornography use (PPU) is a common manifestation of the newly introduced Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder diagnosis in the 11th edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Although cultural, gender- and sexual orientation-related differences in sexual behaviors...

Perfectionism is a personality trait that can affect many aspects of our lives, including our romantic relationships. Studies have shown that perfectionism can be divided into two main dimensions – perfectionistic strivings (PS) and perfectionistic concerns (PC). Each facet is linked to interpersonal behaviors, some of which may have negative effec...

Sexual aversion disorder (SAD) is a chronic condition that impacts sexual and psychological well-being. However, the relevance of SAD as a discrete disorder remains highly debated. This study aimed to clarify the status of SAD as either a distinct disorder or a trans-diagnostic symptom shared among sexual dysfunctions. This cross-sectional study us...

Introduction: Despite being a widely used screening questionnaire, there is no consensus on the most appropriate measurement model for the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Furthermore, there have been limited studies on its measurement invariance across cross-cultural subgroups, genders, and sexual orientations. Aims: The present...

Perfectionism, or the tendency to aspire for excessively high standards, is a personality trait that can be divided into three dimensions: Self-oriented perfectionism, other-oriented perfectionism and socially-prescribed perfectionism (Hewitt and Flett; 1991). Indeed, perfectionist behaviors can be directed towards oneself or towards others, but ca...

The Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) is an instrument to screen substance use-related health risks. However, little is known whether the ASSIST could be further shortened while remaining psychometrically sound across different countries, languages, gender identities, and sexual orientation-based groups. The study a...

Background and aims: Despite its inclusion in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, there is a virtual paucity of high-quality scientific evidence about compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD), especially in underrepresented and underserved populations. Therefore, we comprehensively examined CSBD across 42 countries,...

Pornography use is a common sexual activity engaged in mostly alone, including for partnered individuals. Evidence concerning the benefits and costs of solitary pornography use for romantic relationship quality is mixed and may vary depending on the circumstances of pornography use, including partner knowledge of one’s solitary use. Adopting a dyad...

Adolescence is a crucial period for the development of the sexual self-concept. While existing research shows that adolescents’ sexual self-concept varies, few studies have examined its relation with psycho-social competencies such as the general self-concept, interpersonal skills, and self-control capacities. The objective of this study was to exa...

Although several studies have shown that childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with a host of negative consequences including romantic relationship difficulties for victims in adulthood, most overlooked the potential effects on the romantic partner. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to comprehensively synthesize the literature on th...

Le perfectionnisme est un trait de personnalité pouvant affecter plusieurs aspects de notre vie, dont nos relations sociales et amoureuses. Les études ont démontré que le perfectionnisme pouvait se diviser en deux dimensions principales – la recherche de hauts standards (RHS) et les préoccupations perfectionnistes (PP) – la première étant davantage...

Intimate partners experience more negative emotion in response to sexual versus nonsexual conflicts in their relationship. Negative emotions hinder communication and sexual well-being. In a laboratory-based observational study, we tested the prediction that couples who took longer to downregulate negative emotion during a sexual conflict discussion...

Objective: A novel cognitive-behavioral couple therapy (CBCT) has shown efficacy for treating provoked vestibulodynia (PVD), the most common type of genito-pelvic pain, in comparison to topical lidocaine. However, mechanisms of therapeutic change have not been determined. We examined women's and partners' pain self-efficacy and pain catastrophizin...

Social media have profoundly transformed young adults’ social interactions, especially within their romantic relationships. For instance, jealousy induced by the partner's activity on social media can cause conflicts that can escalate into controlling and aggressive behaviors. Previous cross-sectional studies show significant links between social m...

Background The Canadian government’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic included the implementation of several restrictive measures since March 2020. These actions sought to decrease social contact and increase physical distancing, including that within universities. Such constraints were required to impede the transmission of the virus; how...

Introduction Childhood maltreatment (CM) is an interpersonal trauma reported by 35% to 40% of individuals in population-based studies in North America. It refers to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, as well as physical and emotional neglect. Although there is a growing body of cross-sectional work focusing on associations between CM and sexual...

This study examined the mediating role of emotions related to sexual violence in adulthood in the associations between social reactions to sexual violence disclosure and sexual outcomes. Self-reported data were collected from 324 women reporting sexual violence and path analyses were conducted among the 264 women (81.5%) who disclosed their most re...

The aim of the present study was to examine the associations between interpersonal violence (IV) experienced in the context of sport by teenagers and three mental health outcomes: self-esteem, psychological distress, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. A convenience sample of 1055 French-Canadian athletes between the ages of 14 and...

Marcoux, L., Martel, N., Girard, M., Vaillancourt Morel, MP., Hébert, M., Fernet, M., et Godbout, N. (2022, mai). Trauma interpersonnel cumulatif en enfance et difficultés sexuelles chez les survivant.e.s consultant en thérapie sexuelle [affiche]. 2e Colloque relations interpersonnelles : sexualité et parentalité du Centre de recherche interdiscipl...

Doel: in deze gerandomiseerde klinische trial wordt een nieuwe cognitief-gedragstherapeutische relatietherapie (CGRT) vergeleken met lokaal toegepaste lidocaïne voor de behandeling van ‘provoked vulvodynie’ (pijn aan de vulva). Methode: de deelnemers waren 108 vrouwen (Mleeftijd = 27,06) en hun partner. De deelnemers werden aselect ingedeeld in een...

Whereas greater levels of intimacy have been shown to promote couples’ sexual well-being, recent theories suggest that satisfying sex is maintained via the capacity to encourage the partner’s individuality, while remaining intimately connected. Responses to capitalization attempts (i.e., the disclosure of a positive personal event) provide an oppor...

Achieving healthy and satisfying sexual relationships is a major developmental task in adolescence, but factors promoting sexual satisfaction among adolescent romantic relationships remain underexplored. Since sexuality is shaped by relational experiences, strategies mobilized to negotiate conflicts in romantic relationships could be related to sex...

Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is a chronic vulvovaginal pain condition affecting 8%-10% of women and is associated with negative sexual sequalae. Our randomized clinical trial comparing cognitive-behavioral couple therapy (CBCT) to a medical intervention (lidocaine) found that both treatments improved affected women's pain and both affected women's...

À la suite du confinement lié à la pandémie de la COVID-19, plusieurs recherches ont dû abandonner leurs méthodes de collectes de données au profit d’études en ligne apportant alors des méthodes relativement nouvelles dont la fiabilité est peu connue. Malgré des avantages tels que la facilité de collecter de plus grands échantillons, il existe auss...

Background Although distal developmental factors, such as attachment and childhood maltreatment (CM), are associated with the occurrence, severity, and adjustment to provoked vestibulodynia (PVD)—the most prevalent form of vulvodynia—no studies to date have examined whether these variables are related to treatment efficacy in the context of PVD. At...

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in pornography use has been reported based on cross-sectional findings , raising concerns about associated adverse outcomes, such as problematic pornography use (PPU). The aims of the present study were to document potential changes in adolescents' pornography use frequency, motivations, and...

This study examined the associations between childhood maltreatment (CM) and the mean-level of perceived partner responsiveness (PPR; the extent to which individuals feel cared for, understood, and validated by their partner) over 35 days, the day-to-day variability in PPR, and the initial levels and trajectories of PPR over 1 year in community cou...

Emotion dysregulation and intimacy problems are theoretically underpinned correlates of hypersexuality (i.e., uncontrollable sexual urges, fantasies, and behaviors resulting in distress and impairment in different areas of functioning), but the directionality of these associations has not been established, as work in this area has relied on cross-s...

Provoked vestibulodynia is a vulvar pain condition causing sexual dysfunction, affecting 8% to 10% of women. Our recently published randomized clinical trial (N = 108 couples) found that cognitive behavioral couple therapy (CBCT) and topical lidocaine reduced women’s pain and associated sexual symptoms, with CBCT showing more benefits. Little is kn...

We conducted latent profile analyses on community (n = 1663) and clinical (n = 575) samples to determine whether continuous scores of attachment anxiety and avoidance would lead to the identification of theoretically consistent and clinically useful profiles. We then compared these profiles according to gender, relationship status, psychological di...

Objective: Despite the high prevalence of adolescents’ pornography use and increasing societal concerns about it, the examination of problematic pornography use (PPU) among this population is still scarce, potentially due to the lack of well-validated, reliable measures. The aims of the present study were to validate a short, theory-based measure o...

Objective: This randomized clinical trial compared a novel cognitive-behavioral couple therapy (CBCT) and topical lidocaine for provoked vestibulodynia. Method: Participants were 108 women (M age = 27.06) and their partners randomized to one of two treatments and assessed at pre- and post-treatment and 6-month follow-up via questionnaires pertai...

Pornography use is prevalent, even among partnered individuals. Although pornography use motivations represent key predictors of sexual behaviors, prior studies only assessed the associations between pornography use frequency and sexual wellbeing, with mixed results. This cross-sectional dyadic study examined the associations between partners’ indi...

A growing number of large-scale studies suggest that people with disabilities are at greater risk of sexual victimization than nondisabled individuals. However, certain results are inconsistent and whether potential moderators explain this variability in previous findings remain to be considered. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the magnitude...

Erotic dreams are common, but the ways in which they reflect waking day romantic relationships remain understudied. We examined the targets of erotic dreams reported by 470 men and 575 women in a romantic relationship as well as the associations between these targets and measures of couple and sexual life. Over 95% of all participants reported havi...

A large number of partnered individuals regularly use or are in a relationship with someone who uses pornography. However, knowledge concerning the association between pornography use and partnered sexual health-sexual satisfaction, distress, and function-is fragmentary. The current study used an event-level dyadic design to examine the association...

The present study examined whether romantic disengagement decreases over the course of couple therapy and whether attachment insecurities are associated with partners’ levels of romantic disengagement after 15 weeks of couple therapy. Participants included 163 mixed-sex couples seeking couple therapy in a private psychotherapy clinic, and 11 therap...

Body dissatisfaction has been consistently associated with sexual and relationship dissatisfaction; however, much less is known about the association between satisfaction with the partner's body and relationship outcomes. Our aim was to examine the mediating role of sexual satisfaction in the associations between one's satisfaction with one's own a...

Recent studies demonstrate that interpersonal violence towards athletes (VTA) is a significant problem in some countries. However, in Canada, little scientific evidence on the prevalence of this issue exists. The objective of this study was to describe the magnitude of interpersonal violence towards young Canadian athletes in the context of sport a...

Child sexual abuse (CSA) tends to occur in close relationships and involves sexual acts and betrayal. Thus, it is thought to affect sexual well-being in adulthood more so than any other form of childhood trauma. Research conducted over the last decade resulted in an impressive diversity of evidence reporting that CSA may be related to greater sexua...

This study examined the contribution of child maltreatment (CM) to trajectories of couples’ sexual well-being, and whether relationship satisfaction moderates these associations. Using a sample of 269 mixed-sex couples followed over one year, dyadic latent growth curve models showed both actor and partner effects. In terms of actor effects, women’s...

Pornography use is now considered a normative sexual activity, including for partnered individuals. Although there are documented positive and negative effects of pornography use on romantic relationships, studies to date suffer from key limitations, narrowing their clinical relevance. Most rely on vague recall measurement that may inadequately cap...

Although facilitative and negative partner responses are known to impact couples’ adaptation to provoked vestibulodynia (PVD), a chronic genito-pelvic pain condition, it is still unknown what leads individuals to adopt or perceive such adaptative or detrimental behaviors. Attachment influences sexual and relationship adjustment, emotional reactivit...

Objective: The postpartum period is a vulnerable time for sexual health, yet the relationship between biopsychosocial factors and sexual function over time remains unclear. Our aim was to identify trajectories of postpartum sexual function in first-time mothers (N = 646) and examine associations with biopsychosocial factors. Methods: Biopsychoso...

Background The ease of access to pornography has made its use common among adolescents. Although sexual and gender minority (SGM) (eg, gay, transgender) adolescents may be more prone to use pornography owing to sexual orientation–related information seeking and/or scarcity of potential romantic or sexual partners, relatively little attention has be...

Coker-Cranney et al. (2018) recently stressed the need for the development and validation of a questionnaire that assesses a young athlete’s level of conformity to sport ethic norms. The objective of this study was to develop and begin an initial factor validation of the Conformity to the Sport Ethic Scale (CSES), a scale assessing the conformity o...

This study sought to develop and validate a questionnaire about violence experienced by children in sport. A convenience sample of 1055 French-Canadian athletes between 14 and 17 years old was recruited to participate in an online study assessing their experiences of interpersonal violence in sport. The Violence Toward Athletes Questionnaire (VTAQ)...

Purpose of Review: Pornography use is highly prevalent among adolescents, yet lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adolescents remain an understudied population and knowledge about their pornography use is limited. Therefore, we aimed to provide an overview of LGBTQ adolescents’ pornography use patterns and compare them with those...

Introduction: Some Facebook users have difficulty regulating the amount of time they spend online, and some Facebook features, such as likes, promote habitual use. Theoretically, attachment insecurities could be related to problematic Facebook use, but the findings of past studies were mixed with limited knowledge about potential moderators and med...

Sexual self-efficacy—the belief in one’s ability to engage in desired and to refuse unwanted, sexual activities and behaviors—is an important feature in promoting adolescent sexual health and well-being. One factor that may affect the development of sexual self-efficacy is child sexual abuse. However, little is known about the processes underlying...

La présente étude porte sur les profils de répercussions sexuelles observés chez des femmes victimes d’une agression sexuelle à l’âge adulte (ASA). Ces profils sont comparés selon diverses caractéristiques sociodémographiques et la sécurité d’attachement des participantes. L’échantillon est formé de 150 femmes victimes d’ASA qui ont répondu à des q...

Introduction: Attachment influences the way individuals anticipate, react, and seek support when faced with chronic pain. Although cross-sectional research indicates that attachment insecurity and pain self-efficacy are associated with pain intensity in chronic pain populations, little is known about their long-term effects on pain, and about the...

Introduction: A significant proportion of women report a reduction of symptoms over time-even without treatment-yet the natural progression of vulvodynia and which factors may explain decrease vs persistence of pain remain unclear. Aim: To identify subgroups of pain trajectories in women with vulvodynia and to predict these different trajectorie...

Trauma theories suggest that childhood maltreatment (CM) may partly explain intimacy problems in romantic relationships. However, empirical studies have yielded conflicting findings, likely due to the varying conceptualizations of intimacy. Findings that support long-term negative effects of CM on sexual and relationship satisfaction are almost exc...

Purpose of Review Pornography use is a common sexual activity for men and women engaged in a romantic relationship. The objective of this literature review was to highlight the current state of research on the associations between pornography use and relational and sexual well-being in mixed-sex couples, with a particular focus on the context of us...