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

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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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Development and Regeneration, Institute for Family and Sexuality Studies, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 33 bus 7001, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Els Pazmany & Paul Enzlin

  2. Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Sophie Bergeron

  3. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Translational Research Centre for Gastrointestinal Disorders (TARGID), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Lukas Van Oudenhove

  4. Department of Gynaecology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Johan Verhaeghe

  5. Context - Centre for Couple, Family and Sex Therapy, UPC KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Paul Enzlin

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  1. Els Pazmany
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  2. Sophie Bergeron
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  3. Lukas Van Oudenhove
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  4. Johan Verhaeghe
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  5. Paul Enzlin
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Correspondence to Els Pazmany.

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Pazmany, E., Bergeron, S., Van Oudenhove, L. et al. Body Image and Genital Self-image in Pre-menopausal Women with Dyspareunia. Arch Sex Behav 42, 999–1010 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-013-0102-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-013-0102-4

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