NCT07203417

Brief Summary

Sexual desire discrepancy (SDD) occurs when partners have different levels of sexual desire and are distressed by it. It is one of the most common reasons couples seek help, but no proven dyadic treatment currently exists. This study will test STEP, an online program designed to support couples with SDD. The investigators will compare two formats of STEP: one with therapist support and one self-guided, against a waitlist control group. The investigators will also assess how satisfied couples are and how they engage with the two online formats. This study will generate new data on how effective STEP is with and without guidance, and inform treatment guidelines.

Trial Health

77
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
216

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
18mo left

Started Jan 2026

Typical duration for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

2 active sites

Status
recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress23%
Jan 2026Dec 2027

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

September 20, 2025

Completed
12 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

October 2, 2025

Completed
3 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

January 1, 2026

Completed
1.3 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

April 30, 2027

Expected
8 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 31, 2027

Last Updated

January 5, 2026

Status Verified

September 1, 2025

Enrollment Period

1.3 years

First QC Date

September 20, 2025

Last Update Submit

January 1, 2026

Conditions

Sexual Desire

Keywords

PsychoeducationSex TherapyOnline InterventionDyadic Treatment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

  • A change in relational sexual distress

    Relational sexual distress will be measured using the 6-item Relational Concern subscale of the 30-item Sexual Satisfaction Scale (SSS; Meston \& Trapnell, 2005).

    At baseline (T1), post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion; T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3).

  • A change in personal sexual distress

    Personal sexual distress will be measured using the 13-item Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised (female version: FSDS-R; Derogatis et al., 2008; male version: Santos-Iglesias et al., 2018).

    At baseline (T1), post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion; T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3).

  • A change in perceived sexual desire discrepancy

    Perceived sexual desire discrepancy will be measured by asking participants questions on their personal desire and their personal perception of partner's desire. Personal desire will be assessed by the 7-item Partner-related sexual desire subscale of the 13-item SDI-2 (Castro-Calvo et al., 2024). The personal perception of partner's desire will be measured by adapting the original version of SDI-2. SDD will be calculated by doing the absolute difference between one's personal desire and the personal perception of partner's desire scores.

    At baseline (T1), post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion; T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3).

  • A change in actual sexual desire discrepancy

    The actual sexual desire discrepancy will be measured by calculating the absolute difference between both partners' personal desire scores. Personal desire will be assessed by the 7-item Partner-related sexual desire subscale of the 13-item SDI-2 (Castro-Calvo et al., 2024).

    At baseline (T1), post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion; T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3).

Secondary Outcomes (4)

  • A change in sexual satisfaction

    At baseline (T1), post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion, T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3).

  • A change in relational satisfaction

    At baseline (T1), post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion, T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3).

  • A change in sexual pleasure

    At baseline (T1), post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion, T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3).

  • Treatment satisfaction

    At post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion, T2).

Other Outcomes (7)

  • Mediator through which STEP-T and STEP-NT improve the primary endpoints (self-compassion/self-criticism)

    At baseline (T1), post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion, T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3).

  • Mediator through which STEP-T and STEP-NT improve the primary endpoints (Interoceptive awareness)

    At baseline (T1), post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion, T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3).

  • Mediator through which STEP-T and STEP-NT improve the primary endpoints (Emotional Intimacy)

    At baseline (T1), post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion, T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3).

  • +4 more other outcomes

Study Arms (3)

STEP-T

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants assigned to this arm will receive STEP guided by a therapist.

Behavioral: STEP-T

STEP-NT

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants assigned to this arm will receive STEP without therapist guidance.

Behavioral: STEP-NT

Waitlist

OTHER

Participants in this arm will not receive any treatment during the first 10 weeks. After 10 weeks, the participants in this arm are re-randomized to either STEP-T or STEP-NT.

Other: Waitlist

Interventions

STEP-TBEHAVIORAL

Couples in the STEP-T group will meet online with a therapist for 120 minutes once a week over 8 weeks. Each meeting consists of a therapist-led session focused on the psychoeducational content from the STEP module. Sessions begin with a review of the homework completed during the previous week and end with the assignment of new sex therapy homework related to that day's session. After each session, the therapist will email the couple the module that includes the session's psychoeducational handouts and the sex therapy homework to be completed prior to the next session.

STEP-T
STEP-NTBEHAVIORAL

Couples in the STEP-NT group will receive STEP (i.e., one module per week for 8 weeks, including psychoeducational handouts and sex therapy homework), without the therapist-led online sessions. However, like couples in STEP-T, they will be allowed to contact the research team for clarifications related to the structure, instructions, or technical aspects of the exercises. This support will be limited to non-clinical guidance and will not involve any individualized feedback regarding participants' personal experiences or relationship dynamics.

STEP-NT
WaitlistOTHER

While couples randomized to STEP-T and STEP-NT will complete one online baseline assessment battery before randomization, those assigned to the waitlist control condition will complete two baseline assessments online, spaced 10 weeks apart, before being randomized to one of the active treatment groups (i.e., STEP-T or STEP-NT). The 10-week waiting period was selected to match the time it takes couples to complete the 8 modules of STEP. This design allows us to determine that improvements in clinical outcomes are due to the STEP intervention rather than the mere passage of time. Following the post-waiting period assessment (i.e., the second baseline battery), waitlist participants will be randomized to STEP-T or STEP-NT.

Waitlist

Eligibility Criteria

Age19 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Be a couple;
  • Be in a romantic relationship for at least one year;
  • Be 19 years of age or older;
  • Experience perceived and/or actual SDD with personal and/or relational distress reported by at least one partner;
  • Be fluent in English;
  • Be willing to participate in 8 weekly online treatment sessions;
  • For couples in long-distance relationships, be able to meet the partner in person and via video call to complete the couple's homework;
  • Be willing to abstain from starting any new treatment for SDD for the duration of the study;
  • Be willing to voluntarily complete questionnaires administered before, during, and after the treatment;
  • Have access to an electronic device capable of running Zoom platform (if randomized to STEP-T);
  • Have a stable internet connection.

You may not qualify if:

  • Cases where the discrepancy is attributable to at least one partner identifying as asexual (asexuality is not considered a sexual dysfunction; APA, 2013);
  • Presence of untreated psychiatric conditions at the time of recruitment (e.g., depression) that would interfere with participating in the treatment and homework;
  • Receive dyadic psychosexual treatment for SDD elsewhere during the study period.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (2)

UBC Sexual Health Lab, Vancouver Hospital

Vancouver, British Columbia, V5M 1M9, Canada

RECRUITING

University of British Columbia

Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1M9, Canada

RECRUITING

Related Publications (3)

  • Marieke D, Joana C, Giovanni C, Erika L, Patricia P, Yacov R, Aleksandar S. Sexual Desire Discrepancy: A Position Statement of the European Society for Sexual Medicine. Sex Med. 2020 Jun;8(2):121-131. doi: 10.1016/j.esxm.2020.02.008. Epub 2020 Mar 16.

    PMID: 32192965BACKGROUND

  • Brotto LA, Zdaniuk B, Chivers ML, Jabs F, Grabovac AD, Lalumiere ML. Mindfulness and Sex Education for Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder: Mediators and Moderators of Treatment Outcome. J Sex Res. 2023 May;60(4):508-521. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2022.2126815. Epub 2022 Sep 30.

    PMID: 36178481BACKGROUND

  • Brotto LA, Zdaniuk B, Chivers ML, Jabs F, Grabovac A, Lalumiere ML, Weinberg J, Schonert-Reichl KA, Basson R. A randomized trial comparing group mindfulness-based cognitive therapy with group supportive sex education and therapy for the treatment of female sexual interest/arousal disorder. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2021 Jul;89(7):626-639. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000661.

    PMID: 34383535BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Waiting Lists

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Appointments and SchedulesOrganization and AdministrationHealth Services Administration

Study Officials

  • Lori A Brotto

    University of British Columbia

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Roberta Galizia

CONTACT

604 875 4111roberta.galizia@ubc.ca

Kelsey Lynch

CONTACT

604 875 4111kelsey.lynch@ubc.ca

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Model Details: This is a parallel-assignment interventional study with three arms: STEP-T, STEP-NT, and Waitlist. Participants are initially randomized to one of these three arms. After 10 weeks, participants in the Waitlist arm are re-randomized to either STEP-T or STEP-NT. STEP-T and STEP-NT participants continue their assigned interventions without crossover. This design allows us to determine that improvements in clinical outcomes are due to the STEP intervention rather than the mere passage of time.
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

September 20, 2025

First Posted

October 2, 2025

Study Start

January 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2027

Last Updated

January 5, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

There is no plan to share individual participant data (IPD) for this study, due to the sensitive nature of couple-level data and the associated risk of re-identification.

Locations

CA(2)