Provoked Vestibulodynia Mediators of the Associat

Authors: Natalie O Rosen Sophie Bergeron Bernard Lambert Marc Steben

Publish Date: 2012/02/16

Volume: 42, Issue: 1, Pages: 129-141

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Abstract

Provoked vestibulodynia PVD is a chronic recurrent vulvovaginal pain condition affecting 12 of the general population and is associated with sexual dysfunction psychological distress and reduced quality of life There is growing interest in the role of interpersonal variables in PVD which have been widely neglected In a sample of 175 couples the present study examined the mediating roles of partner and participant catastrophizing and selfefficacy in the association between solicitous partner responses and pain intensity and that of dyadic adjustment in the association between solicitous and negative partner responses and sexual satisfaction Couples completed measures of partner responses catastrophizing selfefficacy dyadic adjustment and depression Women also completed measures of pain sexual satisfaction and sexual function Controlling for depression and solicitousness perceived by the other member of the couple catastrophizing and selfefficacy partially mediated the association between higher solicitous responses and higher pain during intercourse accounting for 26 and 25 of the variance in this association for participant and partnerperceived responses respectively For both participant and partners only pain catastrophizing was a unique mediator Controlling for depression sexual function and partnerperceived responses dyadic adjustment partially mediated the association between higher participantperceived solicitous responses and higher sexual satisfaction and between higher participantperceived negative responses and lower sexual satisfaction accounting for 26 of the variance in each association The current findings suggest that catastrophizing and dyadic adjustment may constitute a route by which partner responses exacerbate pain and increase or decrease sexual satisfaction in PVD couplesThis research was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research postdoctoral fellowship to Natalie O Rosen and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant to Sophie Bergeron We thank Mylène Desrosiers and Gaëlle Piché for their assistance with this study

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