Introduction:
Schizophrenia is amongst the most common psychiatric disorders [1]. Since the primary focus of the treating doctor is on core symptoms, it may frequently lead to ignorance of many secondary problems either due to illness or side effects of pharmacotherapy. Sexual satisfaction is one such problem that can affect the spouse and it may remain unexplained due to the taboo and stigma associated with it.
Materials & Methods:
This is a cross-sectional comparative Study of Sexual Satisfaction in Spouses of Male Patients diagnosed With Schizophrenia
Results & Discussion:
In our study, 49 cases are ≤30 years old whereas 51 cases are above 30 years old. The mean age of cases was 31.8 years (SD± 6.1years).This study was carried out to measure the levels of sexual satisfaction in the spouses of patients with schizophrenia in the domains of contentment, communication, compatibility, relational concern, and personal concern.
The mean score of total sexual satisfaction is 50.88±518. In the individual domain, communication is affected most severely.
On applying multiple linear regression test in an intragroup of cases: communication, personal concern, and relational concern are the domain, more important determinants in our study whereas the contentment and compatibility domain were less significant.
Conclusions:
This study attempted to understand female sexuality and examine the domains where the spouses of patients with schizophrenia were experiencing difficulties in their sexual life. Schizophrenia is a chronic relapsing condition and has been associated with sexual dysfunctions and dissatisfaction in earlier studies. We have attempted to compare the sexual satisfaction levels between the individual domains of contentment, communication, compatibility, personal concern, and relational concern and we found out that communication has been the most important determinant. We also found out that the duration of illness negatively affects the sexual satisfaction in spouses of schizophrenia patients.
Studies on female sexuality mostly tend to equate the idea of sexual dysfunction to sexual satisfaction. It is important to understand that sexual satisfaction may be compromised even in the absence of sexual dysfunction. Such a study had not been conducted in this part of the country before and we hope this study will pave the way for future research in this area.
Key words: Sexual satisfaction, sexology in psychiatry
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