Body Image and Genital Self-image in Pre-menopausal Women with Dyspareunia

Abstract

With a prevalence of 15-21%, dyspareunia is one of the most commonly reported sexual dysfunctions in pre-menopausal women under the age of 40. Studies to date have focused primarily on clinical samples, showing that women with dyspareunia report overall sexual impairment, anxiety, and feelings of sexual inadequacy. However, little is known about their body image and genital self-image and few studies have sampled women exclusively from the general population. The aim of the present, controlled study was to investigate body image and genital self-image in a community sample of pre-menopausal women with self-reported dyspareunia. In total, 330 women completed an online survey, of which 192 (58%) had dyspareunia and 138 (42%) were pain-free control women. In comparison to pain-free control women, women with dyspareunia reported significantly more distress about their body image and a more negative genital self-image. Moreover, findings from a logistic regression, in which trait anxiety was controlled for, showed that a more negative genital self-image was strongly and independently associated with an increased likelihood of reporting dyspareunia. These results suggest that, in women with dyspareunia, body image and genital self-image are significantly poorer and would benefit from more attention from both clinicians and researchers.

Psychosexual aspects of vulvovaginal pain

“…Specifically, a study conducted among a community sample of 330 women showed that, in comparison to pain-free controls, women with vulvovaginal pain reported significantly more distress about their body image and a more negative genital self-image. Moreover, a more negative genital self-image was strongly and independently associated with an increased likelihood of reporting vulvovaginal pain, above and beyond anxiety [20]. In the same community sample of women with vulvovaginal pain, worse self-image cognitions about vaginal penetration contributed uniquely to increased pain intensity, whereas worse self-image cognitions about vaginal penetration and genital self-image contributed to poorer sexual functioning.…”

“…A case in point is vulvodynia: a population-based study suggests that the lifetime cumulative incidence of vulvodynia is 16% [2,3] and its incidence is thought to be increasing in young women [4,5]. In fact, many women suffering from vulvovaginal pain are under the age of 30, with community estimates showing that one in five women aged [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] report chronic dyspareunia [6]. In addition to disrupting all aspects of sexual function, controlled studies have shown that vulvovaginal pain can adversely affect women and their partners' general psychological well-being, relationship adjustment and overall quality of life [7,8].…”

The Relationship Between Body Image and Sexual Function in Middle-Aged Women

“…Furthermore, quality of life is lower in menopausal women due to the high prevalence of sexual dysfunction (2). In a previous study, the frequency of sexual dysfunction was 38.5% and 72.4% among premenopausal and postmenopausal women, respectively (8). Also, the prevalence of sexual dysfunction among Iranian women has been estimated at 31.5% (9).…”

The impact of anxiety on sexual satisfaction in menopausal women

“…Women's sexual satisfaction was found to decrease with increasing anxiety levels (Spielberger 1983;Pazmany et al 2013). According to Api (2005), a significant decrease occurs in the sexual activity and libido of women after the menopause, and they also feel anxious due to the reluctance that they experience.…”