Responses to Vulvovaginal Pain in Romantic Relationships : Congruence, Sexual Distress, and Pain Experience

Sammanfattning

Provoked Vulvodynia (PVD) is a prevalent chronic vulvovaginal pain condition that functions as a significant dyadic psychological stressor. This thesis aimed to investigate the role of perceptual congruence (the degree of congruence between the woman's perception of her partner's responses and the partner's self-report) in predicting the woman's and her partner's sexual distress while controlling for vulvovaginal pain intensity. Congruence was measured by exploring facilitative, negative, and solicitous responses. A cross-sectional sample of 105 couples partook in the study. Measures included pain intensity, Female (and Male) Sexual Distress Scale, and dyadic reports of partner responses. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses, controlling for the effect of pain intensity. Vulvovaginal pain intensity emerged as the dominant variable, demonstrating a significant positive association with sexual distress within women. Once pain intensity was statistically controlled for, no other variables were significant predictors of sexual distress in women and their partners. The results suggest that pain levels seem to override congruence significantly when measuring sexual distress in women with PVD. Further research is needed to explore the nuanced role of response congruence in relationships regarding sexual distress and pain.