Concordance of sexual dysfunction and dissatisfaction by self-report and those by partner’s perception in young adult couples

Abstract

We evaluated concordance levels of young adult spouses (N=107 couples, total N=214) with regards to sexual satisfaction by using Golombock-Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS). Each spouse of the couples filled out both female and male forms of the GRISS. Self- and spouse-reported scores were analyzed in terms of inter-rater correlation and agreement. The prevalence of overall sexual dissatisfaction was 10.3% and 26.2% in wives and husbands, respectively. The correlation coefficient (r) between the self-reported overall sexual satisfaction scores and those assessed by the spouses was 0.25 (P=0.014) and 0.04 (P=0.680) for wives and husbands, respectively. The sensitivity for perception of partner's sexual problems ranged 11% to 47%, and the specificity was around 64% to 100%, except for vaginismus, which had a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 25%. The prevalance-adjusted and bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK) value for overall sexual dissatisfaction reported by themselves and that assessed by their spouses was 0.68 and 0.16 for the wives and husbands, respectively. For specific female sexual problems, the PABAK value was the highest in female dissatisfaction (0.81) followed by anorgasmia (0.78), female avoidance (0.44), vaginismus (0.44), infrequency (0.33), non-communication (0.14) and female nonsensuality (0.14). For specific male sexual problems, the PABAK value was the highest in male nonsensuality (1.00), followed by male dissatisfaction (0.78), infrequency (0.46), non-communication (0.42), male avoidance (0.36), impotence (0.27) and premature ejaculation (-0.04). Our findings suggested that in this clinical sample the partner's perception of sexual dysfunction and dissatisfaction did not correlate well with the subject's self-reported sexual problems, and generally male sexual problems were less correctly perceived by the partners than were female sexual problems. This result may provide helpful information for clinicians who take care of patients' sexual problems.

The Relationship Between Sexual Satisfaction and Marital Satisfaction in Women With Ovarian Cancer and Their Spouses

“…Based on our study results, we can suggest that marriage is based on the women and their spouses living in love, harmony, and satisfaction. It is stated that the respect and understanding of couples for each other is effective in improving the deteriorated female image of women, coping with developing problems, marital satisfaction, and keeping sexual relationship in balance 31 . Therefore, in the ovarian cancer process, it is thought that the understanding of each other about sexuality and making efforts to maintain the marriage in a positive way may be effective in increasing sexual and marital satisfaction of the spouses.…”

When Couples Disagree: Predicting Informant Differences in Adults’ Emotion Regulation

“…Although using parent informants to collect data on children and adolescents is considered the "gold standard" (Renk 2005), using partner informants is far less common when assessing adults, with the exception of adults whose self-reports are deemed questionable due to psychosis, cognitive limitations, substance use/abuse, forensic or legal issues, or serious mental illness (Achenbach et al 2005). Self and partner ratings are most often gathered in studies of intimate couples to examine concordance or divergence in partners' behaviors or opinions, such as for alcohol and tobacco use (Machado et al 2017), physical health status (Wolinsky et al 2016), or sexual dysfunction and dissatisfaction (Gungor et al 2015). Personality traits have also been widely evaluated using multiple informant reports (Costa et al 2018).…”

“…In the case of emotion regulation, one's thoughts or internal emotional states are not visible to others; even some mood regulation behaviors may not be readily observed by others (Hourigan et al 2011). Furthermore, sociocultural factors such as traditional gender norms may also influence how women and men perceive and report about behaviors and attitudes, such as sexual activity and satisfaction (Gungor et al 2015); this may also apply to the gender-stereotyped domain of emotional expression and regulation (Zimmermann and Iwanski 2014). Additionally, studies that have examined intimate partners find that couples exhibit signs of bias, wherein one member assumes similarity to their partner, particularly for constructs that pertain to their relationship (Kenny and Acitelli 2001).…”