Mediating role of body image between sexual functioning and marital intimacy in Pakistani women with breast cancer

Abstract

Objective The current study aimed to explore the mediating role of body image (dissatisfaction) between sexual functioning (SF) and marital intimacy in Pakistani women with breast cancer. Design/Participants Correlation research design was used. One hundred and eighteen women suffering from breast cancer with age (M = 39.58, SD = 11.06) were taken from both Government and Private Hospitals of Lahore, Pakistan. The participants were asked to fill out a set of questionnaires including a Demographic Form, Female Sexual Function Index, Body Image Scale, and Marital Intimacy Questionnaire (MIQ). Findings Correlation analysis revealed that there was a significant positive relationship between higher SF and positive determinants of marital intimacy (consensus, openness, affection, and commitment). Body image dissatisfaction had a negative relationship with positive determinants of marital intimacy and positive relationship with intimacy problems (dimension of MIQ). SPSS (Process) revealed that SF came out to be a positive predictor of marital intimacy while body image (dissatisfaction) came out to be a negative predictor of positive dimensions of marital intimacy. There was a mediational role of body image (dissatisfaction) between SF and all dimensions of marital Intimacy. Conclusion It was concluded that women who perceived their bodies positively had better marital intimacy, which lead to a healthy marital life.

Body change stress, sexual function, and marital intimacy in korean patients with breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy: A cross-sectional study

“…Consequently, body change stress affected marital intimacy not sexual function. This study's findings were similar to that of another study 11 —the higher the body image satisfaction of patients with breast cancer, the higher the marital intimacy. The body change stress (BITS) score was 28.17, with mastectomy associated as the highest stress, followed by a lumpectomy, which was higher than that (18.38 points) measured with the same tool in another study, 18 months after surgery, for 63 patients with breast cancer.…”

“…Spousal support and quality of life are important factors that significantly affect the recovery process in patients with breast cancer. 10 , 11 However, in a 2017 survey of 358 patients with breast cancer, > 30% were dissatisfied with their family support, and 15.3% stated that they separated from or divorced their husbands during treatment. 12 This percentage is approximately three times higher than the 4.8% divorce rate in Korea, according to the National Statistical Office in 2016, 13 with most individuals getting divorced in their 40 s. 12 Therefore, it is necessary to confirm the degree of spousal intimacy in Korean patients with breast cancer; they comprise a high proportion of young patients with breast cancer in their 40s and 50s and the factors affecting it.…”

“…In sexual function and body image studies, 11 , 22 marital intimacy has an effect on quality of life 15 and mediating effects 16 in survivors of breast cancer who have completed treatment. There are no studies examining the factors affecting marital intimacy during chemotherapy.…”

“…The higher the marital satisfaction of patients with breast cancer, the lower the body change stress. 26 , 27 Sexual function affects marital intimacy, 11 and thus, the higher the marital intimacy, the higher the sexual satisfaction. 22 Sexual function correlates with marital intimacy and affects body image ( Fig.…”

A silence full of words: sociocultural beliefs behind the sexual health of Iranian women undergoing breast cancer treatment, a qualitative study

“…In Pakistan, women after marriage legally consider themselves responsible for meeting their husbands’ sexual needs. Therefore, if they do not succeed, their married life will be in trouble [ 55 ].…”