Evaluation of body and genital self-image in women with dyspareunia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33233/fb.v23i3.5121Keywords:
dyspareunia; body self-image; genital self-imageAbstract
Introduction: Dyspareunia is subclassified into penetration disorder/genital-pelvic pain in which the woman presents frequent genital pain. Apprehension of body and genital self-image may decrease sexual interest and pleasure. Objective: To evaluate the body and genital self-image of women of reproductive age with self-reported dyspareunia. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach; 127 women participated with self-reported dyspareunia. The participants answered an online questionnaire with questions related to the clinical and sociodemographic profile and the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS) and Female Genital Self-Image Scale (FGSIS). Results: Among the variables analyzed, a significant difference in the BAS was observed only regarding the question about having or not having children. In the FGSIS, this difference occurred in the classification of pain (p = 0.016), with differences between light and moderate (p = 0.045) and light and severe (p = 0.042) classifications, showing that the light classification had superior FGSIS data in both comparisons. Conclusion: Women with children had lower body appreciation, and older women with dyspareunia were classified as mild with a more positive genital self-image.
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