Sexual satisfaction among involuntarily childless women: A cross-cultural study in Italy and Brazil

Abstract

Infertility has been negatively associated with sexual satisfaction. This study aimed to estimate the relation of infertility to sexual satisfaction from a cross-cultural perspective, comparing Italian and Brazilian women. Between June 2012 and January 2013, 528 women seeking Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) treatment in Italy (39%) or Brazil (61%) completed self-reports of sexual satisfaction (ISS) and infertility-related stress in the marital domain (IRS). IRS was the same across countries, ISS differed, with 34.31% of the Italians and 43.52% of the Brazilians being sexually dissatisfied at a clinical level (ISS score > 30). Multiple logistic regression models showed that being sexually dissatisfied at a clinical level was associated with lower education and higher IRS among Italian women, regardless of having a diagnosed cause of infertility. It was instead associated with higher IRS only among the Brazilian women who had a A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 2 diagnosed cause of infertility. These findings suggest that, regardless of nationality, sexual satisfaction and infertility-related stress need to be addressed in the treatment of infertile women turning to ART. However, as factors associated with these dimensions vary across countries, interventions to promote sexual satisfaction among infertile women should be adapted to their specific socio-cultural context.

The Infertility-Related Stress Scale: Validation of a Brazilian–Portuguese Version and Measurement Invariance Across Brazil and Italy

“…Brazilian and Italian participants in this study reported similar levels of infertility-related stress, both overall and in the intrapersonal and interpersonal domains. A previous study using a different self-report measure of infertility-related stress also reported no differences in mean scores between Brazilian and Italian infertile individuals (Gremigni et al, 2018).…”

The Inferto-Sex Syndrome (ISS): sexual dysfunction in fertility care setting and assisted reproduction

“…Thus, the cultural differences can impact the sex drive in an infertility context [ 12 ]. A substantial culture-dependent influence has been reported in each partners’ perception of SD, in their views on sexuality and their own levels of sexual functioning [ 13 , 14 ]. In addition, ART can collide with sociocultural and religious practices, separating the sexual act from the reproductive function that is the dominant purpose in some cultures.…”