Sexual Function and Satisfaction in Couples with Infertility: A Closer Look at the Role of Personal and Relational Characteristics |
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| Institution: | 1. Departement of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada;2. Departement of Psychology, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada;3. Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada;1. School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA;2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.;1. Department of Urology, Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA;2. Center for Bioethics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA;1. Department of Urology and Institute of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China;2. Department of Pediatric Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China;1. Department of Urology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA;2. The Smith Institute for Urology, New Hyde Park, NY, USA;3. Division of Urology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA;1. University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA;2. University of Miami, Department of Urology, Miami, FL, USA;3. Case Western Reserve University, Department of Psychiatry, Cleveland, OH, USA |
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| Abstract: | BackgroundResearch to date suggests that couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) are at a high risk of experiencing sexual difficulties.AimThis dyadic cross-sectional study aimed to provide a better understanding of the infertility-specific personal (ie, emotional, mind-body) and relational stressors associated with the sexual desire, orgasm, arousal, and sexual satisfaction of infertile couples seeking ART.MethodsThe sample included 185 mixed-sex infertile couples seeking ART. Participants completed online the Fertility Quality of Life tool and either the Female Sexual Function Index or the International Index of Erectile Function. Data were analyzed using path analyses based on the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model.OutcomesIndividuals’ own and their partners’ sexual function (desire, orgasm, arousal domains) and sexual satisfaction.ResultsFor men and women, infertility-related emotional stressors were associated with their own and their partner's lower sexual desire. For women, experiencing greater infertility-related emotional stressors was also associated with their partner's lower sexual satisfaction. While experiencing greater infertility-related mind-body stressors was not associated with men and women's own sexual desire, arousal, orgasm, and satisfaction, for women, it was associated with their partner's lower sexual arousal. Lastly, for men and women, infertility-related relational stressors were associated with their own lower sexual arousal, as well as with their own and their partner's lower sexual satisfaction. For women, experiencing greater relational stressors was also associated with their own lower sexual desire and orgasm.Clinical ImplicationsInterventions addressing the emotional, mind-body, and relational spheres of infertile couples seeking ART may help facilitate improvements in sexual function and satisfaction and better serve their needs.Strengths & LimitationsThis study included a large sample of couples. Our sample was heterogeneous with regards to couples’ cause of infertility and treatment stage. The use of an infertility-related measure allowed us to better capture personal and relational stressors specific to couples seeking ART. Given the cross-sectional design of our study, causality between infertility-related stressors and sexual function and satisfaction cannot be inferred. Our sample included predominantly White, mixed-sex individuals with a high level of education, which may reduce the generalizability of our findings.ConclusionCouples’ subjective experience of infertility and treatment (personal and relational stressors) seems to be strongly associated with their sexual health, allowing us to identify potential targets of intervention with couples seeking ART.S.E. Amiri, A Brassard, N.O. Rosen, et al. Sexual Function and Satisfaction in Couples with Infertility: A Closer Look at the Role of Personal and Relational Characteristics. J Sex Med 2021;18:1984–1997. |
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