Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Family and Sexual Health Unit in the Brain and Spinal Injury Research Center, Iranian National Center of Addiction Studies, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran

2 Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine,

3 Medical Education Research Centre, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

4 Research Center for Patient Safety, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad

Abstract

Background: The role of spousal response in woman’s experience of pain during the vaginal
penetration attempts believed to be an important factor; however, studies are rather limited in
this area. The aim of this study was to develop and investigate the psychometric indexes of the
partner version of a multidimensional vaginal penetration disorder questionnaire (PV‑MVPDQ);
hence, the clinical assessment of spousal psychosexual reactions to vaginismus by specialists
will be easier. Materials and Methods: A mixed‑methods sequential exploratory design was
used, through that, the findings from a thematic qualitative research with 20 unconsummated
couples, which followed by an extensive literature review used for development of PV‑MVPDQ.
A consecutive sample of 214 men who their wives’ suffered from lifelong vaginismus (LLV) based
on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th version (DSM)‑IVTR criteria during
a cross‑sectional design, completed the questionnaire and additional questions regarding
their demographic and sexual history. Validation measures and reliability were conducted by
exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient through SPSS version 16
manufactured by SPSS Inc. (IBM corporation, Armonk, USA). Results: After conducting EFA
PV‑MVPDQ emerged as having 40 items and 7 dimensions: Helplessness, sexual information,
vicious cycle of penetration, hypervigilance and solicitous, catastrophic cognitions, sexual
and marital adjustment and optimism. Subscales of PV‑MVPDQ showed a significant
reliability (0.71‑0.85) and results of test‑retest were satisfactory. Conclusion: The present
study shows PV‑MVPDQ is a multi‑dimensional valid and reliable self‑report questionnaire for
assessment of cognitions, sexual and marital relations related to vaginal penetrations in spouses
of women with LLV. It may assist specialists to base on which clinical judgment and appropriate
planning for clinical management.

Keywords

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