Abstract
The study investigates women who experience the chronic illness of endometriosis, their communication about sexual activity and physical, emotional and relational health outcomes. In an examination of data posted on Reddit over a one year period, 90 posts and responses, results indicate that women experience negative physical and emotional health outcomes more frequently than positive outcomes related to their chronic health condition and sexual activity. Further, women experience neutral outcomes as related to physical health, but no neutral outcomes are reported related to emotional or relational health. Finally, regarding relational health, women most frequently shared positive health outcomes related to sexual activity, suggesting the importance of positive and supportive partners and healthy relational communication. Discussion and implications follow.
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This manuscript is based on the first author’s thesis, directed by the second author. The authors would like to thank Drs. Pennington, McManus and Carrion for their assistance on this project
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Wiese, M., Emmers-Sommer, T. When Women with Endometriosis Communicate About Sexual Activity: Message Valence and Health Outcomes. Sexuality & Culture 27, 1288–1299 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-023-10063-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-023-10063-5