Objective: Sexual satisfaction is a predictor of marital satisfaction, and marital satisfaction is a predictor of sexual satisfaction. This study was an evaluation of the quality of this relationship in Turkish women and men with diagnosed sexual dysfunction (SD).
Method: A total of 65 married couples in which at least 1 partner had diagnosed SD and who had presented at the Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic were enrolled in the study. Data were collected using a sociodemographic and clinical data form, the Golombok-Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS), and the Birtchnell Marital Partner Evaluation Scale (BMPES). The participants were divided into 4 groups according to gender and the presence of SD: SD+ female (n=44), SD- female (n=14), SD+ male (n=23), and SD- male (n=35).
Results: Comparison of the men and women who were SD+ revealed that the BMPES directiveness subscale scores were higher among the males, whereas the detachment and dependency scores were lower. When compared with their SD- partners, the males also had higher BMPES directiveness scores and lower detachment scores. Analysis of the SD+ and SD- female group findings indicated a significant difference only in the GRISS vaginismus subdimension. Among the men, those who were SD+ had higher total GRISS scores than those who were SD-. Correlations between marital adjustment and sexual satisfaction scores demonstrated a significant relationship between dependency and reliability, and dependency and the total GRISS score in the SD+ male group. The SD+ male group responses indicated that a perception of the female partner as dependent was associated with a higher quality sex life and greater sexual satisfaction, in addition to a high reliability score.
Conclusion: Gender and other significant complexities are important considerations for clinicians evaluating sexual satisfaction and marital adjustment in couples with SD. Marital adjustment problems should be examined in couples with SD, and sexual problems should be examined in couples with marital adjustment problems.