Assessment of several dimensions related to the sexuality of dissatisfied couples
J. Cáceres Carrasco

SUMMARY

Aims: To study different aspects (e.g. satisfaction, self-acceptance, mate acceptance, perceptual accuracy…) of couples attending a Mental Health Clinic, seeking counselling for relational and sexual problems.

Design: Exploratory, transversal descriptive Study.

Site: Community Mental Health Center, Servicio Navarro de Salud, Navarra, Spain.

Subjects: 87 persons, 44 males and 43 females, living in partnership. They all completed questionnaires, as part of diagnostic/treatment procedures followed in the Clinic.

Assessment instruments: Sexual Interaction Inventory.

Results: Mean scores obtained by males in scales measured, reach statistical difference when compared with those of females. Self acceptance, 7 versus 14 (p<.000); Mate acceptance, 21 versus 11 (p<.000); Sexual Pleasure, 5,1 versus 4,6 (p<.000); Perceptual accuracy, 17 versus 12 (p<.000).

Conclusions: Males obtain sexual pleasure from their relationship, their self acceptance is high, but complaint about low sexual frequency, and low sexual reactivity from women, who, on the contrary, obtain low sexual pleasure, show poor self acceptance, and reveal themselves with much better perceptual accuracy than males. In Spain, as in China, it is still important to promote sexual communication to enhance sexual satisfaction and self and mate acceptance.

KEY WORDS

Sexual behaviour, sexual activity, satisfaction, communication, sexual partners.