Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154-5030, USA.
J Sex Med. 2011 Mar;8(3):814-23. doi: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.02150.x. Epub 2010 Dec 8.
Recurrent painful intercourse or dyspareunia is a highly prevalent health problem associated with impairments in sexual function and psychosocial well-being. Despite its particularly high prevalence in young women, little is known about how young women experience the onset of dyspareunia and how they attempt to manage or address the problem.
To explore the subjective experience of early dyspareunia symptoms in young women so as to model its cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and help-seeking trajectory.
Using a qualitative methodology broadly based on grounded theory, 14 young women reporting recurrent entry and/or deep pain with intercourse underwent in-depth semistructured interviews asking them to describe their personal experience with dyspareunia symptoms.
The Female Sexual Function Index was used to screen women with symptoms of dyspareunia. The main outcome measure was a semistructured interview inquiring about the cognitions and emotions associated with the experience of pain with intercourse, causal attributions for the pain, interference with personal, relational, and sexual well-being, and help-seeking decisions.
The model/theory that emerged suggested a sequence of experiences that began with confusion about the onset of pain and a relatively fruitless search for causal attributions. Attempts to self-manage the pain via a number of cognitive and behavioral strategies provided little relief. Deleterious consequences on sexual function, well-being, and relationships ensued, and women reported a number of barriers to help-seeking.
The findings from this study suggest that a lack of public health information about dyspareunia and the reluctance of health care providers to inquire about sexual problems may contribute to many young women delaying treatment for a serious sexual health problem with potentially negative biopsychosocial outcomes.
反复出现的性交疼痛或性交困难是一种与性功能和社会心理健康受损相关的高发健康问题。尽管其在年轻女性中尤为普遍，但对于年轻女性如何体验性交困难的发作以及她们如何试图管理或解决该问题，人们知之甚少。
探索年轻女性早期性交困难症状的主观体验，从而构建其认知、情感、行为和寻求帮助的轨迹。
采用基于扎根理论的定性方法，对 14 名报告反复出现性交时进入和/或深部疼痛的年轻女性进行深入的半结构化访谈，要求她们描述自己的性交困难症状的个人体验。
使用女性性功能指数筛选出有性交困难症状的女性。主要观察指标是询问与性交疼痛相关的认知和情感、疼痛的因果归因、对个人、关系和性健康的干扰以及寻求帮助的决策的半结构化访谈。
出现的模型/理论表明，一系列体验始于对疼痛发作的困惑和对因果归因的相对无益的寻找。通过多种认知和行为策略来自我管理疼痛并没有带来太大的缓解。性功能、幸福感和人际关系随之产生不良后果，女性报告了寻求帮助的许多障碍。
本研究的结果表明，缺乏关于性交困难的公共卫生信息以及医疗保健提供者不愿意询问性问题，可能导致许多年轻女性延迟治疗这一严重的性健康问题，从而产生潜在的负面生物心理社会后果。
