Effect of Pre-marital Sexual Counseling on Self-efficacy and Sexual Function of Iranian Newlywed Women

Abstract

Objectives: Sexual health counseling and education are important parts of pre-marital counseling programs, which can play effective roles in the prevention of sexual dysfunction and an increase in marital satisfaction. In this regard, this study aimed to assess the effect of the pre-marital sexual counseling of couples on self-efficacy and sexual function among females who referred to pre-marital training courses in Zahedan, Iran. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 110 couples before marriage, who were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. The intervention group was subjected to two 60-minute sexual counseling sessions whereas the control group received only the routine training in this regard. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 21) using independent and dependent t tests. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In this study, the mean score of sexual self-efficacy within the intervention group decreased from 20.61±6.05 before attending the counseling sessions to 17.34±4.89 three months after the intervention. However, the mean score of sexual self-efficacy within the control group represented a decrease from 17.87±5.49 to 17.45±5.86. Moreover, mean changes in the sexual self-efficacy scores of females in the intervention and control groups were -3.27±1.16 and -0.42±0.37, respectively. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups regarding the mean score of the sexual self-efficacy of females after the intervention (P = 0.01). In addition, there was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in terms of the mean score of sexual function among females (P = 0.0001). Conclusions: In summary, educational interventions and pre-marital counseling with regard to sexual health helped improve the marital relationships of couples.

Prevalence and Impact of Marital Sexual Relationship-Focused Premarital Counselling on Sexual Satisfaction Among Married Women

“…Women that were counselled on marital sexual relationships prior to their marriage had high sexual satisfaction mean score compared to those that were not. Earlier, 7,10,13 reported that marital/ sexual health-focused premarital counselling improves sexual satisfaction among couples. 6 recommend development of premarital counselling and continuous educational programs.…”

“…11 Premarital counselling raises levels of a couple’s sexual health knowledge. 12 Among newlywed Iranian women in a quasi-experimental study, 13 reported that sexual health-focused premarital counselling and educational intervention help in improving marital relationships of the couples.…”